Brussels Cycling Classic 2022 [LAST 10 KM]

June 5, 2022

Brussels Cycling Classic 2022 – Brussels – Brussels : 203,9 km

The Brussels Cycling Classic, formerly known as Paris-Brussels, is one of the oldest one-day races on the international cycling calendar. The first edition was held back in 1893 as an amateur race, running for a colossal distance of 397km. Despite attracting some of the strongest riders of the time, the race really struggled to establish itself and it wasn’t until 1906 that it held its second edition. The route is also now entirely contained within Belgium, with the riders undertaking an intrepid tour of the Walloon and Flemish Brabant regions before a long, flat run in to the finish in Brussels. The earlier part of the race may be characterised by a number of short sharp climbs, like the Vossemberg, Smeysberg and Langestraat, but it’s rare that these ‘hellingen’ actually dictate the outcome of the race – especially in more recent years where we’ve seen the race almost exclusively end in a mass bunch sprint.

A desperate late effort has netted Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) a spectacular last-gasp victory in the 102nd edition of the Brussels Cycling Classic.

The former Giro d’Italia stage winner chased down a sustained late solo attack by Thimo Willems (Minerva Cycling) to come past the Belgian just a few metres before the line in central Brussels. Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Fenix) took third.

The three had formed part of a group of ten which formed early on in the rain-soaked 203 kilometre race and that just stayed clear of a fragmenting peloton.
With less than a kilometre to go, Willems made his move, and Van der Hoorn then launched a last attack to take the seventh victory of his career.

Results :