Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) surged to the front of a seven-rider breakaway group in Overijse and won 2024 De Brabantse Pijl.
The Frenchman had room to spare as he crossed the line, trailed by Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) in second and former winner Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) in third.
The peloton remained together for most of the 195.2km mid-week Belgian Classic, the front group of seven forming just before the final climb of 22 short punchy ascents approached. Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) attacked for a solo effort, but was caught 500 metres from the line, which set up the small group sprint.
De Brabantse Pijl 2024 information
De Brabantse Pijl took place April 10, 2024 for a 64th edition, a firm fixture as a midweek Flemish spring Classics event. French speakers in nearby Wallonia still call the race La Flèche Brabançonne, “The Brabant Arrow”.
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.
On the calendar, 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.
Get unlimited access to all of our coverage of the Spring Classics- including reporting, breaking news and analysis from the Paris Roubaix, Tour of Flanders and more. Find out more.
Brabantse Pijl 2024 route
The one-day race begins at Ladeuzeplein in Leuven with the first of the 21 total climbs returning to Chaussée d'Alsemberg 60km into the route. Then the route moves across Bruineput (1,200m, 5.7% average/10.9% max) and four more climbs on the march to Hertstraat for the finishing circuits around Overijse, which provide the launchpad for attacks and fireworks.
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, Moskesstraat, Holstheide and then the S-bend. Missing this year is the Hagaard climb, which was 10.2% for 300 metres. The peloton finish with the 1.3km climb of the S-bend on the way to the finish on the Brusselsesteenweg.
