Sure, Amstel Gold is on Sunday. But on Friday, riders line up across the border in Belgium for the 2026 Brabantse Pijl. Brabantse Pijl, which is Flemish for the arrow of Brabant, is a tough little race designed to get riders ready for the hillier Ardennes races in a week’s time. Last year, Remco Evenepoel took a nice win over Wout van Aert, and in the women’s it was Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) over Marianne Vos.

For 2026, it shifts to Friday. The men’s distance has been shortened to 162.6 km to avoid taking too much out of riders ahead of Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race. The women’s race distance stays the same at 126 km. Despite the shortened race, several big names are still lining up, including Paris-Roubaix winner (how great is that to read) Wout van Aert and Evenepoel.

The Canadians

There’s a strong Canadian presence in the women’s race. World champ Magdeleine Vallières-Mill is lining up, with Ardennes races looming. She is focusing on Flèche Wallonne (another arrow race, this time of Wallonia) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège—a clear focus. The Sherbrooke rider suits this kind of terrain and was active in the race last year. Lidl-Trek’s Isabella Holmgren is also racing just her second event of the season. EF Education-Oatly’s Alexandra Volstad comes in with solid form, while Kiara Lylyk (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) and Émilie Fortin (Minimax) round out the Canadian names. Among the top contenders are Karlijn Swinkels, Mischa Bredewold, Lotte Kopecky, Anna van der Breggen, and Yara Kastelijn.

The men

The men’s race runs from Beersel to Overijse over a punchy 162.6 km course. It loops north early before returning to a series of short climbs, then finishes on the familiar local circuit featuring Hertstraat, Holstheide, Moskesstraat, and the S-bend near the line.

Despite the men’s start list being a little thinner, that opens things up for a guy like Tibor Del Grosso. At Roubaix, he was in domestique mode, even changing a wheel for Mathieu van der Poel after the whole flat tire/pedals meshugge moment in the Arenberg Forest.

Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) is the lone Canadian in the men’s race. After missing Étoile de Bessèges due to illness, he returned at Itzulia Basque Country and finished 40th overall. However, there will be more Canadian dudes toeing the line on Sunday. But first, we cycling fans get to watch some bike racin’ on Friday.

You can watch Brabantse Pijl on Flobikes.com starting at 9:15 a.m. EDT.

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