After the drama and the pain of Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the procyling circus moves on to the Belgian classics for Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallone, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and first of all, the 64th running of De Brabantse Pijl – La Flèche Brabançonne.

Bahrain Victorious will come to each of these four races with changing line-ups, and with Sports Director Roman Kreuziger masterminding our approach over the coming fortnight:

“So we have just finished the Flemish classics with Roubaix and now we start the Ardennes. Brabantse is what we call a ‘semi-classic’, and the course isn’t that long: less than 200km. Looking at the shape the riders are in individually, I’m confident we can do well. We’re all looking forward to starting these two weeks in Belgium now. There will be many changes in the rosters up to and including Liège-Bastogne-Liège. But for now, our focus is on Brabantse.”

Starting in Leuven, the 195.2km parcours is explosive, and contains both cobbles and no fewer than 22 climbs in total. The peloton will ride to Lot, before turning back on themselves and retracing the route until Overijse, where they will do tackle four laps of a 22km circuit. Within that last 88km there are four climbs each time around, (two of which are cobbled), ending with the ascent to the line at S-Bocht Overijse.

Kreuziger observes, 

“The course is typical, and very similar to what it has been in the past. There aren’t many surprises. There are some small changes to previous route with the local laps in the finale which might create some confusion because there is one climb fewer, and some new roads. We know the first 116 km might be a bit annoying, with open roads, and potentially some wind. While it doesn’t look like that will have much of an impact, we need to be ready. We’ve tried to prepare by sending younger riders to recon ahead of Wednesday so we get a better overview and an idea of how it is. Bahrain line up with a good mix of youth and experience, with 23 year old Slovenian Matevž Govekar the designated leader, and Italian Nicolò Buratti another card we can play.”

Fresh (or not so fresh!) from Roubaix are Andrea Pasqualon, Cameron Scott, and Dušan Rajović.

The team is completed by Danish powerhouse Johan Price-Pejtersen, who raced Itzulia last week, and youngster Alberto Bruttomesso.

“In general we start with a very young team. There are 3 guys coming from Roubaix so let’s see how they recover, but they should be able to support Nicolò & Matevž in the closing stages, and deliver them in good position. Johan is coming from Basque country where he had some knee issues, but he’s ok and motivated for BP24. If there is a big selection at the start and a big breakaway we’d like to send him out in it. The rest of the team, especially Cameron, should take care of the two leaders and deliver them onto the circuit in good position. I would love to see big efforts from Nicolò and Matevž. They should be driven for this race because they don’t have many chances to race for themselves and here is a great opportunity to do that.”

With Kreuziger will be Italian legend Sonny Colbrelli, whose record at the event is exceptional: a first, a second, and 4th & 6th place finishes in his last six entries.

The 2021 Paris-Roubaix champion will be a great help at analysing the situation from the car as the race unfolds, but given how modern racing seems to be evolving, our Sports Director is not leaving anything to chance.

“From what we’ve seen in recent races maybe we should expect attacks from far out. If that comes to pass, Dusan and Andrea should be alert, as they both have a decent punch and could anticipate any big moves. Having said that, ours is not by any means the only team affected by the crashes over the last few weeks, so we need to see the confirmed startlist before we can finalise our tactics for Wednesday”

Winners of this unique race have not always been easily forecasted, so as Kreuziger acknowledges, anything can happen, and he believes we have the riders to start this Ardennes block in a very positive way.

“If we are in good moves, and in good position on the circuit, I’m confident we can put together a decent result. Our objective is a top five finish, which is very realistic, but of course, that all depends on how the guys approach it and how the race unfolds.”

De Brabantse Pijl – La Flèche Brabançonne starts at 12:35 Central European Time on Wednesday, with the finish predicted between 17:08 & 17:35