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2023 Brussels Cycling Classic (1.Pro)
Formerly Paris-Brussels/Paris-Bruxelles

103rd edition: Sunday, June 4, 2023

Brussels Cycling Classic podium history | 2022 edition | 2024 edition | Course map & profile | Start list

Brussels - Brussels, 207.1 km

Arnaud Démare gets his second win in the Brussels Cycling Classic. He also won the 2017 edition.

Les Woodland's book Cycling Heroes: The Golden Years is available in the print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the start/finish city of Brussels at 2:00 PM, local time: 23C (73F), sunny, with the wind from the northeast at 14 km/hr (9 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from second-place Tobias Lund Andresen's Team DSM.

The peloton rolled out of Brussels this morning, faced with a 207 kilometre route that took on some of the famous climbs from the spring classics with a double passage of the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg. It was a steady start to proceedings with a four rider group going clear, and with all Team DSM riders in the bunch, focus remained on staying safe and saving energy for what was to come.

Approaching the first passage of the Muur the break’s advantage had reached a maximum of around four minutes but an increase in pace saw that fall dramatically and a group of around 20 riders forge clear from the peloton; which included Team DSM’s Tobias Lund Andresen, after some great positioning work by the rest of the team. With around 70 kilometres to go Lund Andresen’s group built up a 45 second advantage over the peloton and that’s where it hovered at for most of the race, as they swept up the remnants of the break on the second passage of the Muur.

Heading into the last 20 kilometres the gap fell to just 15 seconds at one point and it looked as if the peloton, where Pavel Bittner, Casper van Uden and Vlad Van Mechelen were, was going to come back. Yet the elastic snapped for the final time and the front group would go on to battle it out for the win. Due to the size of the group attacks were expected but Lund Andresen played it calm, allowing others to close down the moves and set up a sprint finish. Biding his time, Lund Andresen used his positioning skills to take up a strong slot near the front of the group before launching a powerful sprint on the uphill drag to the line. Giving everything he had, Arnaud Démare just came around the Team DSM rider in the closing 25 metres, with Lund Andresen taking a very credible and impressive second place.

Lund Andresen said: “The boys did an amazing job first time into the Muur which made it possible for me to get over in the first group. After the first time, I could just sit on and manage my energy. Going over the Muur the second time was more or less controlled and the same group made it the whole way to the finish. The last 50 kilometres I was on the verge of a cramp the whole way, so I’m very happy that I could finish on the podium in the sprint.”

Team DSM coach Pim Ligthart added: “I think today went according to plan. We wanted to have one of our fast guys at the head of the race in the important moments and Tobias made it into a 20 rider group after the Muur, which was good. It meant we then didn’t have to ride behind in the peloton but also Tobias could then play the card of the guys behind and not ride full gas in front either. He’s obviously in great shape at the moment, twice coming second in Norway recently. Today I think he did a really good sprint. He created a nice position for himself, opened up the sprint, did his own sprint, saw the line and went for it. He was beaten just on the line by Démare but it’s still a really nice result for the team.”

Complete results:

207.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 44.087 km/hr

Course map & profile:

Course map

Course profile

Start list with back numbers, June 3, 2023: