The organization of the Brussels Cycling Classic (1.Pro, 28/08) succeeded in breaking with the tradition of a royal sprint in the Belgian capital by integrating a double passage on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, the Bosberg and Congoberg in the parcours. Seven riders escaped from the start, but the favorites revealed their ambitions in the region around Geraardsbergen. Nine riders distanced the peloton on the first passage on the Bosberg. Aimé De Gendt, 3rd in the Druivenkoers in Overijse last Thursday, showed on his favorite roads that he was feeling good again. Behind the breakaway with De Gendt, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert with Andrea Pasqualon, Taco van der Hoorn and the van Poppel brothers controlled the peloton.
The way back towards Brussels was not without issues for the breakaway. Two riders were dropped, Aimé De Gendt punctured and five leaders deviated from the parcours at an intersection. Aimé De Gendt did follow the right direction, with Remco Evenepoel in his slipstream. The duo worked well together until Evenepoel attacked with 11 kilometer to go. Just like two days before in the Druivenkoers, the local rider soloed to the victory. De Gendt reached the finish line 50 seconds later, concluding one place better than in Overijse. Behind the chasers, Danny van Poppel sprinted to 8th place. Recently, De Gendt and van Poppel took four podiums on Belgian soil in four races. The duo is motivated to continue its succes in the Benelux Tour starting from Monday.
This Brussels Cycling Classic received a serious facelift. On this new parcours, the strongest riders are automatically in the front. I'm happy about it, because in this kind of races it is easier for me to achieve a good result. Just like last Thursday, I felt good so I was happy that we managed to escape with a strong group. Everything went well until my breakaway companions followed the wrong way with 20 kilometer to go. I just looked to my Bryton Rider 750 gps and saw that we had to turn left. When I saw that only Remco Evenepoel followed me, I prepared for a big final effort. He was stronger than me, but I resisted well to the chasers. So I'm very happy with this 2nd place!
