2020 De Brabantse Pijl (1.Pro), Belgium
La Flèche Brabançonne
60th edition: Wednesday, Oct 7, 2020
De Brabantse Pijl podium history | 2019 edition | 2021 edition
Leuven - Overijse, 197.2 km
Julian Alaphilppe wins in Orverijse. Photo: Getty Sport
Weather at the finish city of Overijse at 1:50 PM, local time: 14C (58C), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the west at 24 km/hr (15 mph). There is a 5% chance of rain.
The race: The organizers posted this note a few days before the race: On Wednesday 7 October, the 60th edition of De Brabantse Pijl is on the programme. Given the current health situation in Belgium, we as organisation call on you to follow the race at home. It was therefore decided not to release any information about the course.
Here's the report from winner Julian Alaphilippe's Deceuninck-Quick step team:
One year after finishing runner-up in Overijse, Julian Alaphilippe took the spoils at Brabantse Pijl, adding the Belgian one-day race to his ever-growing palmares. Making just his second appearance since becoming World Champion at the end of September, Alaphilippe lined out in Leuven, supported by a strong Deceuninck – Quick-Step team, as one of the main favourites, and he didn’t disappoint.
Determined to make amends after last Sunday’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Julian ignited the race with 60 kilometers to go, when he plugged away from a stunned peloton, which needed some time to organise itself before making the catch. The Frenchman immediately sent his team to the front to set a searing pace and bring back the original breakaway, before doing another move, this time 35 kilometers from the finish.
Only Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) could match the World Champion’s acceleration, and the duo began working together, opening a 20-second gap which saw them stay at the front until 25 kilometers to go, when the bunch got back on terms. On the Mosskestraat, one of the last hills of the day, Zdenek Stybar came to the front and drove a huge tempo, setting up another attack of Alaphilippe. The Frenchman lit up the race again, this time being joined by the same Dutch Champion, but also by countryman Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R), together with whom he forged a 20-second advantage that proved too much for the chasing group.
On the Schavei, no attacks came from the trio, who preferred to wait for the final 200 meters to battle for victory. Alaphilippe patiently bided his time as Cosnefroy led out, and came around with just 100 meters to go, crossing the line ahead of last year’s winner Van der Poel for a tyre’s width and putting his name on the race’s roll of honour.
“This win makes me happy as it came at the right moment after the disappointment of last Sunday. I took some time to think about what happened there and I arrived here without any pressure, just to have fun and enjoy the experience. I am grateful to the team, which was very strong, and always by my side. Dries played an important role today; he is indispensable to me, has a lot of experience, works hard for the team, is always calm and knows what to do in the important moments.”
“In the final I took the responsibility and attacked several times to make the difference. Going into the last kilometer, I had some pain in the legs, but gave my best, and although it was really close again, I’m delighted that I came out on top. I didn’t expect to win today, but I believed in my chances and I couldn’t be happier with this victory”, said the fourth reigning World Champion in history and the first in 15 years to triumph at Brabantse Pijl.
Complete Results:
197.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.735 km/hr
| 1 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 4hr 36min 52sec |
| 2 | VAN DER POEL Mathieu | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 3 | COSNEFROY Benoit | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 4 | COLBRELLI Sonny | Bahrain-McLaren | @ 13sec |
| 5 | BARGUIL Warren | Arkea-Samsic | s.t. |
| 6 | KWIATKOWSKI Michal | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 7 | BAGIOLI Andrea | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 8 | TURGIS Anthony | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 9 | COVI Alessandro | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 10 | DEVENYNS Dries | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 11 | DEWULF Stan | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 12 | TEUNS Dylan | Bahrain-McLaren | 0:17 |
| 13 | SCHELLING Ide | Bora-hansgrohe | 0:25 |
| 14 | PASQUALON Andrea | Circus-Wanty Gobert | s.t. |
| 15 | LIVYNS Arjen | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 16 | MEZGEC Luka | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 17 | GODON Dorian | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 18 | ERIKSSON Lucas | Riwal Securitas | s.t. |
| 19 | DE BUYST Jasper | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 20 | SBARAGLI Kristian | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 21 | DE MARCHI Alessandro | CCC Team | 0:28 |
| 22 | VANENDERT Jelle | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 23 | FRAILE Omar | Astana | s.t. |
| 24 | KRON Andreas | Riwal Securitas | 0:30 |
| 25 | VALGREN Michael | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 26 | OLIVEIRA Rui | UAE-Team Emirates | 0:32 |
| 27 | BARDET Romain | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 28 | BAKELANTS Jan | Circus-Wanty Gobert | s.t. |
| 29 | JENSEN August | Riwal Securitas | 0:54 |
| 30 | CAPIOT Amaury | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 1:04 |
| 31 | DEGENKOLB John | Lotto-Soudal | 1:38 |
| 32 | VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan | CCC Team | 1:44 |
| 33 | PEYSKENS Dimitri | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 34 | BACKAERT Frederik | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 35 | BURGHARDT Marcus | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 36 | LEMOINE Cyril | Cofidis | 1:49 |
| 37 | MEURISSE Xandro | Circus-Wanty Gobert | 1:55 |
| 38 | POSTLBERGER Lukas | Bora-hansgrohe | 1:58 |
| 39 | VAKOC Petr | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 40 | DECLERCQ Benjamin | Arkea-Samsic | s.t. |
| 41 | CLAEYS Dimitri | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 42 | THEUNS Edward | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 43 | CHAMPOUSSIN Clement | Ag2r La Mondiale | 2:32 |
| 44 | VAN ASBROECK Tom | Israel Start-Up Nation | 2:58 |
| 45 | SCHULTZ Nick | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 46 | JENSEN Mattias | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 47 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 48 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 49 | WELLENS Tim | Lotto-Soudal | 3:25 |
| 50 | DE BONDT Dries | Alpecin-Fenix | 4:22 |
| 51 | MENTEN Milan | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 52 | VAN DER LIJKE Nick | Riwal Securitas | s.t. |
| 53 | RIABUSHENKO Alexandr | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 54 | VAN ROOY Kenneth | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 55 | JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 56 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 57 | ZIMMERMANN Georg | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 58 | PACHER Quentin | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 59 | BOUHANNI Nacer | Arkea-Samsic | s.t. |
| 60 | SHAW James | Riwal Securitas | s.t. |
| 61 | ARENSMAN Thymen | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 62 | LAMMERTINK Maurits | Circus-Wanty Gobert | s.t. |
| 63 | LIGTHART Pim | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 64 | STORER Michael | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 65 | POELS Wout | Bahrain-McLaren | s.t. |
| 66 | VANSEVENANT Mauri | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 67 | LEDANOIS Kevin | Arkea-Samsic | s.t. |
| 68 | GRMAY Tsgabu | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 69 | KAMNA Lennard | Bora-hansgrohe | 4:41 |
| 70 | GESCHKE Simon | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 71 | HUYS Laurens | Bingoal-WB | 4:48 |
| 72 | DONOVAN Mark | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 73 | ROWE Luke | INEOS Grenadiers | 4:52 |
| 74 | STYBAR Zdenek | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 75 | TRENTIN Matteo | CCC Team | 5:06 |
| 76 | DE KORT Koen | Trek-Segafredo | 7:05 |
| 77 | PEAK Barnabas | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 78 | BOIVIN Guillaume | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 79 | WURF Cameron | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 80 | BARBERO Carlos | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 81 | VELASCO Simone | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
| 82 | AASVOLD Kristian | Riwal Securitas | s.t. |
| 83 | GOLDSTEIN Omer | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 84 | LAFAY Victor | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 85 | VAN POUCKE Aaron | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 86 | RUSSO Clement | Arkea-Samsic | s.t. |
| 87 | BASSO Leonardo | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 88 | HARDY Romain | Arkea-Samsic | s.t. |
| 89 | STANNARD Robert | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 90 | SIMON Julien | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 91 | BUITRAGO Santiago | Bahrain-McLaren | s.t. |
| 92 | TILLER Rasmus | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 93 | FERRON Valentin | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 94 | VERMOTE Julien | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 95 | GAILLARD Marlon | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 96 | SPRENGERS Thomas | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 97 | VAN HOECKE Gijs | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 98 | VINJEBO Emil | Riwal Securitas | s.t. |
| 99 | FOMINYKH Daniil | Astana | s.t. |
| 100 | KUZNETSOV Viacheslav | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
| 101 | DEBUSSCHERE Jens | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 102 | CANOLA Marco | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
| 103 | STEIMLE Jannik | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 104 | JULLIEN Anthony | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 105 | KRIEGER Alexander | Alpecin-Fenix | 7:19 |
| 106 | HEINSCHKE Leon | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 107 | COQUARD Bryan | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | 10:10 |
| 108 | ALLEGAERT Piet | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 109 | CHEVALIER Maxime | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 110 | GIDICH Yevgeniy | Astana | s.t. |
| 111 | EDMONDSON Alex | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 112 | SCHELLING Patrick | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 113 | STRAKHOV Dmitry | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
| 114 | TIBERI Antonio | Trek-Segafredo | 15:07 |