Belgian comes back from early mishap to overcome his compatriot in entertaining duel Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) emerged victorious at the Overijse round of the Superprestige after a thrilling battle with Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal).  The two Belgians traded blows for the final three laps of the gruelling circuit and while Iserbyt was more than a match on the early climb over mud and cobbles Nys had the edge through the more technical sections and on the final laps he managed to tease open the cracks he’d found on the previous laps.  Iserbyt had looked to hit him on those uphill cobbles but Nys took back control ahead of the series of technical sections in the middle of the circuit getting a gap as he dived downhill through the woods before extending it on a muddy hairpin that he ran from start to finish - a tactic Iserbyt had begun to copy having lost ground there two laps previously.  Iserbyt attempted to fight back in the latter part of the circuit but the damage was done and Nys held firm to celebrate his first win of a cyclo-cross campaign that had been delayed by illness with Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) emerging as the best of the rest to clinch the final spot on the podium at four seconds.  "I have the feeling I still need to wake up because I am living a dream for the moment," Nys said "People don't realise how difficult the last two weeks have been.  "I've been looking forward to the cyclo-cross season all summer so to miss out on the final weeks of preparation due to illness.. it's so difficult to keep the confidence when you never have the great feeling in training or races who opened his campaign with 13th at Exact Cross Beringen and then 12th at the opening round of the Superprestige in Ruddervoorde last weekend suffered another set-back within the race itself in Overijse when he was forced to stop and fix a mechanical on the third of the eight laps A strong seven-man group was only just forming when he slipped out on a technical mud section and compounded the problem by running his rear mech into a wooden post forcing him to re-string his jammed chain.  His head might have dropped but instead he calmly made his way back to the group within the space of a lap but he soon came through and led the chase of European champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) Nys hit it again on the climb on the fifth lap by the end of which the group of seven were back together plus David Haverdings (Baloise Trek Lions) and the Alpecin-Deceuninck duo of Niels Vandeputte and Jenthe Michels.  Lap six was where Nys and Iserbyt went away Nys this time tracking the assault from his compatriot on the early climb before easing past and zipping clear with his decision to run up that muddy hairpin Vandeputte put in an impressive lap to hang onto their coattails but on the penultimate lap the climb was telling once more as Nys and Iserbyt eased clear with Iserbyt copying the early dismount but stumbling and losing a couple of seconds once again.  The pair crossed the line only just ahead of Vandeputte and a resurgent Van der Haar and so it proved as they hit the crucial early climb for the final time before Iserbyt tried to counter on the cobbles Nys succeeded in nipping through to lead through the technical sections and a fast run down through the woods where Nys had consistently looked more sure-footed on the off-cambers.  Those superior lines gave him a small margin which Iserbyt couldn't stitch back together despite his best out-of-the-saddle efforts out of the corners that remained And so it was for Nys to nip down onto the tarmac and point to the sky as he crossed the line.  Last week's surprise winner Joran Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) produced a remarkable late charge to finish fifth despite not being among the running for most of the race to remain at the top of the overall Superprestige standings Results powered by FirstCycling Patrick FletcherSocial Links NavigationPatrick is a freelance sports writer and editor He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023 Frustrated at getting pipped at the line last week in Ruddervoorde Lucinda Brand got her revenge by dominating Sunday’s second round of Superprestige series on a climby course in Overijse It was her second victory of the 2024-2025 season Brand takes over the series lead from Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado Brand and runner-up Fem van Empel are even on points Winner of the last two Superprestige overall trophies and three in total, Alvarado got straight to work last Sunday defending her title with victory over van Empel and Brand in Ruddervoorde Alvarado was hot off of a triumph in Saturday’s Exact Cross round All three riders had won the Overijse round in previous years Neither Brand (pedals) nor Alvarado enjoyed a good start led on Lap 1 with AnneMarie Worst and van Empel tight on her wheel French Van Dysel rider Hélène Clauzel replaced Worst in the front trio Hungarian Kata Blanka Vas and Inge van der Heijden bridged over to create a sextet Clauzel broke trail and van der Heijden clung to the end of the string Brand and Casasola lit out on their own on Lap 3 The Superprestige lead was getting away from Alvarado The Dutch champion held an 11-second advantage over her chasers going into the penultimate lap skipping off her bike when she lost her front tire in a tight turn On the bell lap a Casasola error yielded second place to van Empel; it would be consecutive Superprestige runner-up spots for the world champion Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Dutch champion takes the race by the scruff of the neck and sees it through Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) powered to victory in Overijse in the second round of the Superprestige on Sunday the Dutch champion storming away solo ahead of a classy field of riders.  Brand didn’t have the best of starts but dragged her way across to the lead group on the second of six laps, before starting her assault on the third lap. By the end of the fourth lap, she was alone and, despite the world champion Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) leading the chase behind she held firm to win by nine seconds.  Italian champion Sara Casasola (Crelan-Corendon) clinched the final spot on the podium a final-lap mistake costing her after an impressive ride in which she nevertheless finished comfortably clear of last week’s winner Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) in fourth place.  "I completely missed my start - I couldn't get into my pedals," Brand admitted in her post-race interview dragging her way up alongside Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) and Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon) to reach the early frontrunning trio of Van Empel One of the keys to the race was that Alvarado and spent most of the second lap chasing alone off the back of the group.  She made contact towards the end of that lap but had precious little time to recover by the time Brand burst out of the saddle and went hell for leather from the start of the third lap.  "I hoped they'd keep a hard pace up front to keep Alvarado behind but it didn't happen so I had to do it myself," Brand explained and the pair of them crossed the line at the end of the third lap with a five-second lead over Van Empel and the rest of that lead group in pieces behind Brand continued her assault on the fourth lap who dropped back to Van Empel to cross the line 11 seconds in arrears with two laps to go.  The penultimate lap saw a scare for Brand as she slipped out on the twisting sandy 'carousel' section not falling herself but having to pick her bike off the ground she only conceded a second of her lead on that lap.  The final lap threatened to produce a dramatic finale as Van Empel left Casasola behind - the Italian struggling up that early climb -  and began to make serious inroads Brand kept her cool and rode faultlessly through the technical twists in the middle of the course to extend the lead once more and see it through to the tarmac where she had time to sit up and enjoy her victory.  Brand now moves to the top of the overall Superprestige series standings after two events, having placed third in Ruddervoorde last weekend who has placed runner-up on both occasions with Brand enjoying top spot due to the fact she has a win to her name Alvarado drops to third just a point behind.  Instagram or YouTube Shorts – and use #whatsyourtour to show us what the Tour de France means to you… explore the countryside or just cruise down the road in a zen-like state Follow the Tour with general updates and become the best version of Peter Sagan you can be How to successfully explain that you need a new bike Factual reports on all the latest health trends and nutritional methods We’ll help you get the most out of your training sessions Veer off the main road and explore nature first-hand Learn to navigate the jungle that is city cycling For a sense of adventure that knows no bounds Guide your relatives toward the one thing that actually matters WeLoveCycling.com is an online magazine that brings you original stories fresh videos and special reports from the wide world of cycling Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) went against each other for the last three laps in the Overijse round of the World Cup who earlier suffered a mechanical and had to work hard to get back to the front from 43rd place suffered again on the penultimate lap and crashed Vanthourenhout took advantage and held off his opponent by three seconds I think [it was] even better than the European Championships It was very difficult,” Vanthourenhout said https://www.instagram.com/p/CkoJFwHMrqS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) rode to a solo third place to round up the podium In the second half when the rest were getting more tired I could secure a podium and that was all for today,” Van der Haar said at the finish It's going to be so great to have you with us We just need your email address to keep in touch WeLoveCycling.com is an online magazine that brings you original stories Be one of the first to try our new activity feed Reigning world champion Mathieu van der Poel overcomes a late mechanical to take his first win of the season at Druivencross After a knee injury hindered the early goings of his cyclocross campaign this fall reigning world champion Mathieu van der Poel finally took his first win of the season at Vlaamse Druivencross Overijse The Dutchman again suffered a mechanical while leading in Overijse he was forced to watch his rivals zoom past after it seemed that he’d buried them making a mechanical adjustment on the course and regaining his advantage in a matter of minutes He ultimately claimed victory ahead of Kevin Pauwels Michael Vanthourenhout (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) jumped out to an early lead Sunday joined before long by Tom Meeusen (Telene-Fidea) The pair open up a 10-second advantage over the rest of the field by the second lap but a determined van der Poel stayed calm and closed the gap by the end of the fourth lap As Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games team) made his own effort to work his way up to the leaders Van der Poel put in a powerful uphill dig on a stretch of muddy course and left everyone in the rearview mirror but then a mechanical forced him to stop and dismount While van der Poel spent time making a frantic drivetrain adjustment the head of the field caught up with him again and sailed past But van der Poel got back on the bike and powered back into the mix before again leaving the field behind on lap six but from there on out it was all van der Poel Van der Poel took a 16-second lead over Pauwels into the last lap and only padded his advantage during the final trip around the circuit ultimately winning the race by 21 seconds ahead of Pauwels Van der Poel celebrated the much sought-after win by pointing to his surgically repaired left knee as he crossed the line who celebrated a 2000 Paris-Roubaix victory in similar fashion after a knee injury nearly ended his career First race for Alpecin-Deceuninck rider since abandoning Tour de France on stage 11 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will be back building race form after his abandon at the Tour de France in the second week with race organisers and his team confirming the Dutch rider will be lining up at Druivenkoers-Overijse “Look who'll be back in action this Wednesday,” said Alpecin-Deceuninck in a social media post announcing a team that included Van der Poel as well as sprinter Jasper Philipsen who swept up two stages at the Tour de France this year “We've got a strong and motivated team for the Druivenkoers Overijse!” He did race some post-Tour criteriums in late July but has not lined up since with a light race calendar since the Giro d'Italia including only ten full stages of racing at the Tour de France where he abandoned after being in the break on stage 11 The World Championships course this year is another that is expected to suit the Classics riders like Van der Poel Wout van Aert (Belgium) and the winner of the last two titles with a heavy dose of short climbs to cause a selection and a technical course A number of Van der Poel’s rivals are also likely to be getting in race kilometres at either the Tour of Britain or the one-day Canadian WorldTour races in September – Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal – ahead of the World Championships from September 18 to 25 However Alpecin-Deceuninck isn’t on the start list for either Other potential early September options on the team’s calendar include the 1.Pro GP de Fourmies on September 8 and the GP de Wallonie on September 14 The multi-discipline rider has set aside mountain biking this season to focus on the road and his key goals of the Giro d’Italia the Tour de France and the World Championships after having a cyclo-cross season that came to an early end due to his back injury which also delayed his start on the road.  Racing for Alpecin-Deceuninck at Druivenkoers-Overijse She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor Previously she worked as a freelance writer Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport 'Pushing the limits would not be a good idea' say Jumbo-Visma Marianne Vos shot out of the blocks at Saturday's Superprestige cyclocross race in Merksplas but the world champion soon paid the price.  After slipping back through the field to finish down in 10th place Vos has now pulled out of the weekend's main appointment the World Cup event in Overijse on Sunday.  "[She] deduced that pushing the limits tomorrow would not be a good idea," read a statement from the Jumbo-Visma team.  "She will therefore pass up the World Cup race in Overijse." sprinting from the front row to take pole position into the first corner she put the hammer down and had soon broken up the field with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado the only rider able to stay on terms.  She had to let Alvarado through as she had problems clipping in and then started to lose some ground in the second half of the circuit but still crossed the line at the end of the first lap in clear second place the writing was on the wall and she lost her way on the second lap From there she ground her way to hang onto a top 10 but was clearly far from her best I knew the first stretch was difficult and that riding your own lines has its benefits," said Vos "I was really at my limit when Ceylin took over Alvarado herself described Vos' scorching opening lap as "a good lead-out" and it may simply be that she went too hard too early and failed to recover There were no major incidents or crashes but she looked to be suffering from the second lap.  the decision has been made to skip a round of the World Cup in order to avoid any risk.  who won her eighth cyclocross world title back in January started her 2022-2023 season at the end of October placing 6th at the World Cup in Maasmechelen ahead of Saturday's showing in Merksplas.  She is scheduled to be back in the field next weekend and compete all the way through the World Championships in Hoogerheide on February 5 Van Empel humbled into second place as Van Anrooij rounds out podium crushing the competition at the Druivencross in Overijse.  The 20-year-old took control on the opening lap of a muddy course and extended her lead on the following four to reach the finish more than a minute clear.  who has dominated the World Cup series so far this season She had to let Pieterse go on the opening lap and rode the rest of the race alone in pursuit but only slipped further back crossing the line at an arrears of 1:03.  who ended Van Empel's winning streak in Bergen last weekend "I just took all the risks on the first laps to take an advantage then rode my own pace "I expected it to be more together in the beginning of the race but it wasn't and I'm really happy about that." Pieterse said she aimed to be in first place on the first descent on the muddy and slippy course and it turned out to be a race-winning moment.  "I knew my descents would be good," she said after expertly negotiating the tricky off-camber drop and that ballooned on the following lap when almost everyone behind her crashed on another downhill - first Van Empel Denise Betsema and Aniek van Alphen.  the gap continued to rise but the race settled into a rather predictable format with Van Empel holding firm in second place while Van Anrooij won the only major battle - that for the final podium spot.  "My legs felt really heavy from the start," Van Empel said "I chose to ride my own pace and I'm happy with second Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) placed fourth at 1:51 but was arguably better value than that result would suggest She suffered some early mishaps but fought her way back through the field and produced an exhilarating late charge to take fourth place.  Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) couldn't back up her victory in Merksplas the previous day but nevertheless made the top five as the only other rider within two minutes of Pieterse.  while Clara Honsinger was the top non-European and indeed top non-Dutchwoman while Inge van der Heijden and Denise Betsema rounded out the top 10 just over three minutes down.  Van Empel's lead is secure after six rounds of competition The Dutch youngster went to the USA and won both rounds before winning the first two on European soil and then finishing runner-up behind Van Anrooij last weekend.  extending her lead to 90 points over Alvarado while Pieterse - who did not race in the USA - moves up to third on 125 points.  World champion beats Pidcock and Hermans in Overijse The world champion rode away with the victory ahead of Tom Pidcock (Trinity Racing) and Quinten Hermans (Telenet-Baloise) The race started with Pidcock and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) taking the early lead At the start of the second lap a stray dog ventured on course and was seen running along the finish-line straightaway as the riders raced through to start the second lap Van der Poel found his form and settled into a good rhythm during the third lap where he caught and passed the lead riders; Pidcock He extended his lead to 14 seconds on Pidcock and 25 seconds on Hermans The previous day's Hotondcross winner Toon Aerts (Telenet-Baloise) finished fourth Van der Poel has won in Overijse on three other occasions in 2015 He went into this edition as an unknown having lost Hotondcross on Saturday by more than two minutes behind Belgian champion Aerts.  That loss ended his 35-race winning streak that began Koppenbergcross in 2018 he took time away from cyclo-cross in December to train for two weeks in Spain The training camp was to prepare for the upcoming road season.  He said the transition back to cyclo-cross racing at Hotondcross in Ronse was a challenge but that he hoped to show better form at Sunday's race in Overijse Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006 Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023 and Dylan Teuns compete in the breakaway at Brabantse Pijl 2024(Image credit: Getty Images) Race winner Benoit Cosnefroy at Brabantse Pijl 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)The podium at Brabantse Pijl 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)Benoit Cosnefroy wins at Brabantse Pijl 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)Dylan Teuns Benoit Cosnefroy and Tim Wellens celebrate on the podium at Brabantse Pijl 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)A powerful sprint from a seven-rider breakaway has netted Benoit Cosnefroy a resounding victory in De Brabantse Pijl succeeding his teammate Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale Dorion Godon as winner of the mid-week Belgian Classic Cosnefroy crossed the line with a comfortable advantage ahead of Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) and former winner Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) After a fast and furious opening segment of the hilly cobbled one-day race in central Belgium failed to produce any breakaways with an advantage higher than two minutes Teuns and Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) finally eked out a minimal gap in the final 35 kilometres Joined by four more riders as the finish and final climb of 22 short punchy ascents Van den Berg attempted a long-distance attack only to be caught 500 metres from the line Teuns’ young teammate Joseph Blackmore led out the sprint only for Cosnefroy to come past and clinch his fourth win of the season “I’m very pleased finally to get this,” Cosnefroy three times a podium finisher in Brabantse Pijl but only a winner for the first time in 2024 “I made a gesture [pointing at the ground] like that because I feel like this is a second home for me “It’s never easy to win a race I was actually pleased because I thought—great that’s one less rider for the sprint I got on Dylan’s wheel because I knew he was the fastest of those left and I could find a bit more to come past him.” Perhaps the 2024 race was held on a slightly easier course with three ascents and 15 kilometres less than in 2023 or perhaps it was because of the warmer weather and the absence of a standout favourite in the start list the 63rd edition of De Brabantse Pijl got off to a sizzlingly fast start and the pace subsequently never stopped all the way to the finish at Overisje.  Then even after Jordi Warlop (Soudal-QuickStep) Anders Halland Johannessen (Uno-X) sheered clear both Decathlon-AG2R and Alpecin-Deceuninck were so determined to keep a lid on proceedings that the race leaders’ margin never got any higher than 1:50 Such was the speed that with 68 kilometres to go the eight-man break fell apart almost of its own volition despite Warlop’s best efforts to keep the ball in the air for just a little longer Warlop’s surrender to the peloton was the signal for a number of short-lived moves to go clear starting when Alec Segaert (Lotto-Dstny) followed in the wake of Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X) and Antoine Huby (Soudal-Quick Step) Yet if that relatively small attack folded almost instantly another much bigger group enjoyed equally poor luck: the ten-man group containing final winner Cosnefroy Lawson Craddock (Jayco-AIUIa) and the promising young Portuguese pro Antonio Morgado (UAE Team Emirates) barely endured 10 kilometres at most only for EF Education-EasyPost to put the race back at square one again It felt truly remarkable for a race with such a relentless series of climbs for any move to fail to gain traction and talk amongst TV commentators about how Brabantse Pijl might come down to a rare uphill bunch sprint was getting more and more frequent some kind of more expected pattern finally came clear when with 33 kilometres to go on the viciously steep Moskesstraat climb there was a pronounced acceleration by Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) followed by former winner Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) and Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) with all three riders sure of a podium spot at least but Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lotto-Dstny were equally aware of the danger A gifted sprinter and recent winner of Circuit de la Sarthe Van den Berg’s powerhouse abilities proved even more invaluable to the leading trio on the race’s few flat segments while Wellens and Teuns were able to handle the pace on the climbs After being recently caught on the line in Flanders when battling for a podium place behind Mathieu van der Poel Teuns could hardly have been more motivated to get some sporting revenge he and Wellens worked well together to try to keep clear Coming through the barriers for the second last time in the warm sunshine the trio still only had a 25-second advantage as TotalEnergies Dries van Gestel and former double podium finisher Michael Matthews (Jayco-AIUIa) attempted to bridge across But by this point in such a fast and furious race with no break in the action everybody’s strength was ebbing fast and some serious collaboration was going to be necessary to bring the trio back Decathlon-AG2R’s determined drive ultimately proved to be the most effective  and Van den Berg pushed so hard he all but caused Teuns to crack on the last ascent of the Moskestraat - and behind him First Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Quinten Hermans and then on the steadily rising Holstheide Benoit Cosnefroy (Decathlon-AG2R) made it five in front followed by Joseph Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA racer Jefferson Cepeda but with only 25-30 seconds between the first rider and the 40th at the front of the race with five kilometres left to go Blackmore went straight to the front to work for his teammate Teuns the move of seven ahead could finally stick Van den Berg suddenly upped the pace a little on the left-hand side of the road and after the rider behind him failed to follow Brought back with 500 metres to go on the last uphill Israel-Premier Tech made use of their slight superiority in numbers for Blackmore to lead out Teuns for the sprint was stuck firmly to Teuns back wheel and had more than enough strength to blast past and take Decathlon’s ninth win of the season by over a bike length Alasdair FotheringhamSocial Links NavigationAlasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991 He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain he has also written for The Independent,  The Guardian,  ProCycling AG2R Citroën rider out-paces breakaway companion Ben Healy The two emerged from a quality attack on the hilly finishing circuits around Overijse on the cobbled Hertstraat climb with 15km to go cobbled Moskesstraat but the Irishman got back on and impressed on the ride to the finish He then sat on Godon for the final S-Bocht climb up to the finish forcing the Frenchman to lead out the sprint However Godon had more power in the sprint He accelerated with anger and Healy had no response dropping his head and accepting second place Benoît Cosnefroy surged from the chasing group to also give AG2R Citroën third place on the podium celebrating a great start to the Ardennes Classics for the French team “This is the best win of my career,” Godon said happily after hugging Cosnefroy and celebrating their double podium “If you look at the palmares of this race due to the weather and the difficult course “I was in the front from the start of the local laps because I wanted to be in the breakaway Initially I had a hard time recovering properly after the climbs but then got better as the final kilometres progressed.” Godon was not convinced he could win the sprint after Healy had ridden strongly to distance Cavagna “You never know in a sprint with two,” he warned It's fantastic that Benoît Cosnefroy was also on the podium because we had a lot of bad luck in the cobbled classics but now we’re more optimistic for the Ardennes Classics." De Brabantse Pijl - La Flèche Brabançonne includes a testing mix of cobbles and climbs marking the season change from the cobbled Classics to the Ardennes Classics Just like the women’s race earlier in the day the men lined up for the start under grey skies and a real risk of a heavy rain during the 205 kilometres of hilly racing southeast of Brussels the rain came several times as heavy showers soaking the riders and leaving them with fatigued dirt faces The early break formed after 10km of racing the peloton happy to let four rides go clear convinced they could sweep them up on the hilly finishing circuit around Overijse Irish national champion Rory Townsend (Bolton Equities Black Spoke) and Tord Gudmestad (Uno-X Pro Cycling) They quickly opened a lead of a minute and it was up to four minutes after just 25km of racing riding for last year's runner-up Cosnefroy led the chase on the long loop south towards Waterloo the Chaussée d'Alsemberg after 62 km,with a lead of six minutes The gap was still 4:00 as the riders reached the 100km and half-way point the four working well together despite the pouring rain and temperatures of just 10C There was no sign of spring in Belgium today Crashes raised the tension in the peloton with 80km to race Jason Osborne (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) were involved while Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech) appeared worse off and he needed medical assistance As the race hit the cobbled Moskesstraat climb for the first time Ineos Grenadiers upped the pace and so the gap to the break was down to 2:30 The rain returned as the riders started the three 21.9km finishing circuits with little respite between each narrow or cobble climb with Cosnefroy making an attack and sparking a quality chase move However a more aggressive and more ambitious move came from Cavagna as the rain poured once again He got away alone and powered over to the remains of the break Cavagna hit the front and only Tord Gudmestad (Uno-X Pro Cycling) could go with him But then Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) Dorian Godon (AG2R Citröen) and Lucas Eriksson (Tudor Pro Cycling) came across as the team tactics came into play the six had opened a 40-second gap on the peloton which appeared unwilling or unable to lead the chase Bahrain Victorious and then Cofidis led the chase but the peloton was down to a rabble of tired and rain-soaked riders The sun came out but the roads were still wet testing riders’ bike skills on the twisting Healy tried a solo attack with 38 km to go but he was pulled back and perhaps regretted using valuable energy  The six attackers then stayed together until the bell rang out to signal the final 21.9km lap Gudmestad cracked after a big day out and Healy again tried to split the group He was joined by Godon and eventually Cavagna to form the strongest trio with 18km to go The peloton was at 1:00 but running out of road and time to fight for victory The cobbled Hertstraat climb always hurts and Healy wisely stuck to the smoother gutter and powered away Godon was able to go with him but surprisingly Cavagna struggled and was distanced His time trial skills were not enough to close the gap On the steep and cobbled Moskesstraat climb Godon opened a five-metre gap on Healy but the Irishman fought his way back on to keep his chances alive They stayed together over the gentler Holstheide climb with Healy even leading Godon as they worked to make sure they stayed away from Cavagna and the peloton Godon and Healy started the twisting S-Bocht climb together in an attempt to play mind games and boost his chances in the sprint to the line Godon decided to lead the two up the 1.3km long S-Bocht and so lead out the sprint as the road flattened He waited for the right moment and then stomped on the pedals Healy tried to hold his wheel but soon accepted second place It was a good result for the EF Education-EasyPost as he started his Ardennes campaign Twenty-one seconds later Cosnefroy surged past Cavanga who suffered a slow puncture in the final five kilometres to take third and give AG2R Citroën two places on the podium.  Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) finished an impressive seventh in the chase group at 25 seconds He can finally take a break after the cobbled Classics while the climbers head to Maastricht and the Limburg hills for Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race Stephen FarrandSocial Links NavigationHead of NewsStephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team having reported on professional cycling since 1994 He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022 before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters Belgian holds off chase after fire stops race A car accident and fire forced race organisers to stop the race for 15 minutes with 35km to go when Evenepoel had just a 35-second lead However he calmly waited for the race to restart and then opened a bigger gap on his rivals.  His Deceuninck-QuickStep teammate Mikkel Honoré finished second 40 seconds down on Evenepoel with Aime De Gendt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) third after they escaped the peloton in the final kilometres The modified race route included a number of the short steep climbs that will be raced during this year's Road Race World Championships near Leuven in September Evenepoel has been selected for the Belgian team for the time trial at the European Championships in Trento Italy but has still to secure one of the eight much sought after places in the Belgian team for the World Championship on home roads Druivenkoers-Overijse marked the start of Julian Alaphilippe's return to racing with Tour of Flanders winner Kasper Asgreen also in the Deceuninck-QuickStep line-up and Fernando Gaviria Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) and  Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) also in action Deceuninck-QuickStep worked to split the peloton on the Veeweide climb with 65km to go caught the early breakaway and then sparked a further selection Alaphilippe told him over the radio to press on and so the 21-year-old wunderkind surged away Lotto Soudal and Alpecin-Fenix ​​led the chase before and after the fire but were unable to pull back Evenepoel He sat in the road and cried for a moment after crossing the finish line just 30km from his home to the south of Brussels "It wasn't the main plan to attack alone with 60km to go but there were three of us in the eight-rider move and then Julian told me to go and said they'd block from beyond Evenepoel was disappointed that the car fire had disrupted his attack but set off more determined than ever when the race was restarted But I was hoping to recover more than bunch and then keep the gap on them It was a hard day but we finished it off well I leave that to the national coach," he said carefully dodging questions about his place in the national team "It is just unbelievable that I can win here." Démare and Van Gestel round out podium following late attack Matis Louvel (Arkéa-Samsic) soloed to victory at the Druivenkoers-Overijse the 23-year-old claiming the second victory of his young career in Overijse The Frenchman was part of a late attacking move that also included Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) which went away on the cobbled final climb of the Bekestraat 22km from the line Lotto Soudal and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert gave chase behind there was nothing that could be done as the group built a half minute lead before Louvel took his chance on the final He seized his opportunity while he could and powered away to the finish to cross the line alone Démare led Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) across the line for second and third place while Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) led the peloton home Louvel's win delivered a valuable 125 UCI points to his team at a time when they're awaiting the outcome of Nairo Quintana's appeal against his Tour de France disqualification – a decision which could cost Arkéa-Samsic 450 points in the WorldTour promotion/relegation battle Dani has reported from the world's top races She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia Belgian rider had an dramatic day at Brabantse Pijl Remco Evenepoel had an active day out in Belgium on Wednesday At the end of Brabantse Pijl in Overijse the 22-year old was magnanimous in defeat: "In the end I didn’t really have the legs to win today." The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider certainly looked good all day which may have counted against him in the end the sole Quick-Step representative in a group of seven which contained three three guys in the front," Evenepoel explained afterwards "When they let one one guy go like this and you jump behind and they jump on your wheel That is exactly what happened in the final kilometres as Magnus Sheffield attacked and soloed to victory while the remaining four non-Ineos riders were powerless to do anything Evenepoel looked well positioned to sprint for the podium but was clearly boxed out and forced to brake in the the last 500m a move which caused Tim Wellens to be relegated from third to ninth.  The former was clearly angered by the move saying afterwards: "If you do this in a bunch sprint you get disqualified so I hope they rewatch it because it was really dangerous It was a wet day out in the middle of Belgium with rain appearing despite it not being forecast causing some sketchy scenes on the cobbled climbs that featured towards the end of the race "I didn’t know today was the cyclocross at Overijse but it looked like a cyclocross race today," Evenepoel quipped it was a big task to stay on the bike and not crash." The young Belgian appeared to question Sheffield's aptitude before immediately rowing back on his comments as they appeared to race like Quick-Step in previous years "I’m not sure the strongest rider won.. probably yes because if you can still attack like this you are still strong but for sure the strongest team won," he said We are unlikely to see Evenepoel in races with more cobbles than Brabantse Pijl so do not expect to be watching him on the Oude Kwaremont or the Muur van Geraardsbergen anytime soon "On the cobbles I was not really comfortable," he said I do not really like to do the Flemish classics He will be one to watch at the upcoming Ardennes Classics Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds Before cycling took over his professional life he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes The Ineos Grenadiers rider dug deep to take second in the Belgian cyclocross classic Cyclocross world champion Tom Pidcock staged a gritty performance in this afternoon's World Cup event in Overijse fighting back from a mechanical to take second place.  The Brit lost out to European champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) by just three seconds in his second race of the season bowing his head in frustration as he came across the line having fallen victim to a bike issue on the start line and despite nursing a long-term knee injury soon found himself alone at the front of the race with Vanthourenhout.  but a crash on a muddy cobbled section caused him to lose valuable seconds to the Belgian but ultimately had to settle for second.  On Saturday, Pidcock eased into his cyclocross campaign with a seventh place at the Merksplas Superprestige, his first race since winning the World Championships in January.  “It was beetje moeilijk (a bit difficult),” Pidcock said after Saturday's race “On the corners I was losing so much time but I was losing time in a lot of places.” The world champion took a tumble on the technical Merksplas course before crossing the line almost a minute and a half behind race winner Laurens Sweeck “It was maybe not the best race to start with,” the Ineos Grenadiers rider said “There were just a few too many mistakes he added: “To win in this jersey would be nice.”  Pidcock hinted that he would not defend his cyclocross world title next year in Hoogerheide “The road season is so much more important to me,” he told Belgian publication Het Nieuwsblad I especially want to perform consistently in those spring Monuments The UCI Cyclocross World Championships will be held on 4-5 February 2023, three weeks before the road calendar's ‘Opening Weekend’ at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.  offering race analysis and rider interviews Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition Race doesn’t run to plan but Australian Lotto Soudal rider says he is happy with form at this point The Australia rider had initially hoped that this would be the year that he could take at least one stage victory in all three Grand Tours He was on track after the Giro d’Italia but that plan quickly unravelled when he crashed and suffered a displaced complex fracture of the right collarbone on the very first opportunity for a sprint stage victory at the Tour de France.  The recovery has seen him miss the Vuelta a España and instead turn his attention to other goals for 2021 including the UCI World Championships in Flanders where he will be spearheading the Australian squad alongside Michael Matthews.  Ewan lined up alongside Tim Wellens and Philippe Gilbert for Lotto Soudal at the one-day Druivenkoers-Overijse steep climbs that will be raced during this year's World Championships but it turned out to be a racing return that didn’t run to plan for the 27 year old.  “First day back racing after breaking my collarbone,” said Ewan in an Instagram post. “Hasn’t been the smoothest comeback but happy with where my form is now.” Ewan, who has five victories to his name this year despite the injury interruptions, did not finish the race. He may have posed a DNF on the results, but was far from sitting back quietly in the peloton at his return event. "The race exploded at around 70 kilometres to go where I was together with Caleb part of an attack but he went a little over his limits and had to let go,” said teammate Wellens in a team post. “I think it was clear that Evenepoel was the strongest rider in the race, he attacked when everyone was at the limit and I didn’t have the legs to join him." The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep) won the race with a 60 kilometre solo attack. The Belgian rider had a 35 second lead when, with 35 kilometres to go, a car accident and fire forced race organisers to stop the race for 15 minutes. Evenepoel didn’t let it interrupt his momentum, stretching out the gap even further after the restart. Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling The Dutchman was racing for the first time since abandoning the Tour de France last month The 192km Druivenkoers Overijse wasn’t enough for Mathieu van der Poel on Wednesday The Dutchman decided to ride home and add another 65k onto his day Van der Poel returned to competition at the Belgian one-day race having been out of action since abandoning the Tour de France at the start of the second week Aside from a puncture with about 55km to go the Alpecin-Fenix rider had a relatively quiet day on the bike in the Flemish Brabant he put his efforts into working for teammate Jasper Philipsen who finished fourth in the sprint after Arkéa-Samsic’s Matis Louvel took a surprise win from a breakaway Van der Poel had a delayed start to the 2022 season as he took time out to recover from a back injury He has packed in a hectic schedule since then and then going on to win the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia Despite never having finished a grand tour in his career Van der Poel took on the ambitious challenge of riding the Giro and the Tour de France back-to-back He excited fans with his aggressive racing at the Giro though he was not able to add to his stage 1 win https://twitter.com/AlpecinDCK/status/1562464040798257153?s=20&t=oTjzq_tOX1xHmMsiKqnqeA Fifth place in the opening time trial of the Tour de France looked like it was the start of something good for Van der Poel but he struggled to find his top form as the race progressed Following some disappointing performances in the opening week he eventually pulled out en route to the Col du Granon on stage 11 He later suggested that he hadn’t given himself enough recovery time between the two grand tours and may have pushed himself too much in an altitude training camp in June he has taken it relatively easy and has only recently begun pushing himself on the bike The hilly Druivenkoers Overijse was an opportunity to get some tough riding in the legs as he looks to return to his peak for the final road races of the season “I hesitated for a long time between this race and the Tour of Germany. The stages were perhaps a little too easy to ride ‘normally’ there, while I now need the hardness,” Van der Poel told reporters at the start, according to Dutch publication Wielerflits I mainly spent a lot of time in the gym and for the rest – I don’t put everything on Strava – I did try to work on my base for two weeks That’s what I’m trying to get into with the races now.” The first round of the 2023-2024 Superprestige series in Overijse A crash in the final 500 meters took Thibau Nys out of contention and Eli Iserbyt earned the victory and first series lead There were no Van Aert and World champion van der Poel at Overijse but last season’s Superprestige titlist Lars van der Haar 2022-2023 X2O Badkamers Trofee winner Iserbyt reigning World Cup champ Laurens Sweeck and last Sunday’s World Cup opener victor Nys were all in the house Nys led up the steps that arrived soon after the start on Lap 1 continuous string for the first three minutes Nys returned to the front as the train started to break up The front group grew again at the start of Lap 2 of 8 Nys suffered his first crash when Iserbyt attacked the young Baloise Trek Lion having to make his way upstream from Position 20 Van der Haar was the first to grab Iserbyt Nys and Vanthourenhout headed into Lap 6 together the quartet matched each other’s surges It was Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal vs Baloise Trek Lions Vanthourenhout was the only one in the foursome who didn’t pit on the penultimate lap This gave him the opportunity to push clear of the others First Van der Haar and then Nys did the chasing Nys was two seconds back when he heard the bell Van der Haar and Iserbyt were seven seconds back Vanthourenhout toiled to stay with Iserbyt and Nys Just after Nys made an inside move to take the lead The next round is next Saturday in Ruddervoorde Puck Pieterse ran wild in the mud to win Sunday’s sixth round of the UCI ‘Cross World Cup on a wet course in Overijse, Belgium. Wildly skilled Pieterse’s domination of the mucky conditions brought her first World Cup win and saw her jump up to third in the overall standings despite missing the first two rounds in the U.S.A. You can watch the 2022-2023 UCI ‘Cross World Cup at FloBikes After winning the first four rounds, Fem van Empel held a commanding 81-point lead over Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, who took Saturday’s second round of the Superprestige series. Last Sunday’s victor Shirin van Anrooij sat sixth in the standings Sidney McGill was once again the sole Canadian The pack immediately faced the red steps on Lap 1 French rider Helene Clauzel was near the front Van Empel was eight seconds back and van Anrooij trialed by 12 seconds Pieterse crossed the line of the first 3.2-km circuit at 10:07 Denise Betsema wasn’t enjoying the conditions The U23 world champion was 45 seconds clear of van Empel and a minute ahead of van Anrooij going into the middle circuit Van Anrooij took a gap on her podium rivals It was “as you were” on the penultimate lap Alvarado distinguishing herself as van Anrooij’s closest pursuer but a couple of crashes meant that van Alphen passed her Lucinda Brand rose and they met near the bottom of the top 10 Puck took over a minute’s gap over the World Cup leader van Empel into the bell lap It would be Anrooij who would claim the final podium spot despite Brand’s fantastic work in the second half of the contest The Superprestige series kicked off on Sunday with Fem van Empel continuing to roll and chalking up her third consecutive victory of the season Reigning series champ Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado runner-up There were a few riders in Belgium who weren’t racing the World Cup in the U.S.A Annemarie Worst and Sanne Cant were accounted for but Puck Pieterse was absent; she’ll be back racing later in November Fem van Empel took the hole shot on Lap 1 with Marie Schreiber and Helene Clauzel her closest pursuers and Alvarado in Position 4 and Alvarado came forward to lead a quintet of chasers Van Empel completed the first 2.77-km lap in 8:34 with Alvarado 9 seconds back and Inge van der Heijden at +0:14 On Lap 2 of 5 the world champion continued to plow on in the lead Van der Heijden found Alvarado’s wheel Van Empel’s lead was 27 seconds at the end of the circuit Alvarado once more shook loose of the other chasers Van der Heijden and Worst battled for the last podium spot six seconds behind Alvarado Van Empel’s gap got up to 35 seconds The penultimate lap saw van der Heijden drop Worst The woman in the rainbow stripes had plenty of time to take a fresh ride on the final lap Lennik - Overijse 134.9 km / Leuven - Overijse 195.2 km Enough hills to whet the appetite of the Ardennites and just a little bit of cobbles to gently ween the cobblites off their month long heavy stone diet Expected finish time: 14:14 CEST / 17:05 CEST Duke and Duchess of Brabant: Demi Vollering & Michael Matthews Today’s bets: SD Worx have got their groove back Matthews is too good this season not to get a reward at some point Official Site , Startlist Women , Startlist Men Brabantse Pijl overviewDateApril 18, 2025Start locationLeuvenFinish locationOverijseDistance195.2kmPrevious editionDe Brabantse Pijl 2024Previous winnerBenoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)De Brabantse Pijl 2025 results Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) accelerated in the final 250 metres in Overijse to fend off Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and win De Brabantse Pijl.  The Belgian duo attacked on the Hertstraat the first of three climbs on the 19.8km circuits with 55km to go and were joined by Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) then struck out on the final lap for a two-man battle António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates) led the peloton to the line for third place The race marked Evenepoel’s return from injury and first win since the World Championships time trial last September and his first representing Soudal-QuickStep since his time trial stage victory at the Tour de France a firm fixture as a midweek Flemish spring Classics event French speakers in nearby Wallonia still call the race La Flèche Brabançonne This semi-Classic forms a bridge between the cobbled Classics and the Ardennes Classics It has its fair share of cobblestones but also pushes riders with its hillier terrain marking the change from the cobbled Classics to the Ardennes Classics The race continued for a fifth year at the UCI ProSeries level after being a 1.HC event for the 10 previous years Brabantse Pijl has held a traditional position on the Wednesday after Paris-Roubaix and before the Amstel Gold Race In 2022 when the date of Paris-Roubaix was shifted because of local elections Brabantse Pijl shifted slightly to go after Amstel Gold Race and serve as the lead into Paris-Roubaix Edwig Van Hooydonck holds the record for most victories with four between 1987 and 1995 In 2023 Dorian Godon (AG2R Citroën) won De Brabantse Pijl after 195km and 25 climbs outsprinting breakaway companion Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) across the final S-Bocht climb to the finish once the two got away with 15km to go De Brabantse Pijl starts in Beersel in 2025 in the provincial park of Huizingen The peloton heads toward Lennik before returning via Beersel to Overijse where they will face three laps of a hilly circuit part of which was used in the 2021 UCI Road World Championships There are four laps of a 19.8km finish circuit around Overijse with a series of four climbs that are a signature of the race - Hertstraat The peloton finish with the 1.3km climb of the S-bend on the way to the finish on the Brusselsesteenweg By 2015-04-16T12:45:00 Overijse is a place that few outside Belgium will know Yet if ‘fresh’ and supermarkets are of interest Already have an account? Sign in here Site powered by Webvision Cloud two provinces and two regions stands a transmitter site that brought television to a large chunk of Belgium and radio to Belgium and beyond The Wavre-Overijse transmitter has over the years analogue television AM and FM radio and shortwave radio for both the forerunner of the VRT the BRT(N) and the Francophone public broadcaster RTBF The VRT now only uses the site for DAB radio broadcasts It is currently used by RTBF for its FM broadcast to Walloon Brabant DAB and until the end of this year for the AM broadcasts of its information station La Première Once La Première’s 621 AM frequency goes off the air it will spell the end of AM (better known to some as medium wave) broadcasting in Belgium The VRT switched off the last of its AM transmitters language politics played a role when developing the site The actual transmitting station and the masts are sited on land that is entirely within the borders of the Francophone Walloon town of Wavre some adjacent land was purchased and incorporated into the site and this land is within the boundaries of the Dutch-speaking As you can see from the photographs taken inside the transmitter site building At the heart of the station is a hall where the medium wave and short wave transmitters were housed The shortwave transmitters broadcast programmes in Dutch and French to Belgians abroad above all to our compatriots that were living in what was then the Belgian Congo These broadcasts were the forerunner to what became the VRT’s world service RVI When RVI ceased broadcasting in languages other than Dutch in 2005 the VRT launched Flandersnews.be Flandreinfo.be and Flanderninfo.be to keep non-Dutch-speakers at home and abroad informed about events here in Flanders There are also emergency studios at the site as well as diesel generators that can be used to maintain power to the transmitters in the event of a power cut In 1953 television was broadcast from Wavre-Overijse for the first time The first FM radio broadcasts from the site were in 1973 During a storm in 1983 the 315 meter-high TV FM mast collapsed just two months after its guarantee was up It wasn’t permanently replaced until 1990 when RTBF opened a 220 metre-high mast for its FM and TV broadcasts The VRT built a new FM and television transmitter at a new site at Sint-Pieters-Leeuw In its heyday 30 people worked at the site Shortwave broadcasting from Wavre-Overijse ceased in 2001 The VRT stopped its medium wave broadcasts from the site in 2011 It is likely that the transmitter building will be demolished sometime and the redeveloped The photographs in the slideshow below were taken by our colleague Alexander Dumarey