De Brabantse Pijl has confirmed the teams set to race its 2026 men’s and women’s editions on April 17th, with start lists that underline the event’s role as the spring’s hinge point between the cobbled climbs of Flanders and the longer, more attritional Ardennes-style racing.
The organiser’s announcement frames the day around the familiar finale in Overijse, where repeated local laps through the Druivenstreek typically turn the race into a test of positioning, repeated accelerations and who still has a punch after the final run through Hertstraat, Moskesstraat, Holstheide and the S-Bocht. It is a race that rarely rewards the pure diesel effort alone. Instead, it is about surviving the constant changes of pace, then having the snap to finish it off on the Brusselsesteenweg.
On the men’s side, the headline is a 19-team peloton that blends top-level depth with a handful of second-tier and Continental squads, and a list of named contenders already being used to sell the story: former winners Tim Wellens and Benoit Cosnefroy are highlighted by the organiser, with Tom Pidcock and Michael Matthews also namechecked as confirmed starters.
For the women’s race, the field is larger again, with a full 24 teams announced. The organiser has also spotlighted Belgian champion Justine Ghekiere as one of the early names to watch, alongside the Team SD Worx – Protime pairing of Mischa Bredewold and Anna van der Breggen.
What happened at Brabantse Pijl in 2025
Brabantse Pijl arrives in the calendar with a very particular identity, and the 2025 editions leaned into it. The race once again sat in that awkward, fascinating space where the final can tilt towards a reduced sprint from a tough front group, or split into a late, selective attack that never gets brought back because the chasers are already on the limit.
Remco Evenepoel and Elisa Longo Borghini took the 2025 victories, a reminder of what typically wins here: riders who can handle repeated climbs at speed, stay calm through the reshuffles, and still produce a decisive acceleration when everyone else is riding on feel rather than numbers.
The point is not that Brabantse Pijl copies the Ardennes, or that it is a cobbled classic in disguise. It is that the race asks for the same skillset as the biggest one-day targets: sustained punch, technical positioning, and the ability to commit to a move that has to stick.
Photo Credit: GettyBrabantse Pijl 2026 route in brief
The organiser has reiterated the two-course structure that has become familiar.
The men’s race starts in Beersel and is listed at 162km, with 21 climbs. The early kilometres bring Alsemberg into play quickly, and the route later folds back into the shared finale used by both races, with repeated local circuits around Overijse.
The women’s race starts in Lennik at 11:25 and is set at 125km with 19 climbs, mirroring the final 125km of the men’s route. Both pelotons then tackle three local laps of roughly 20km, each featuring the same quartet of climbs: Hertstraat, Moskesstraat, Holstheide and the S-Bocht Overijse, before the fast, slightly draggy finish on the Brusselsesteenweg.
Men’s Brabantse Pijl 2026 teams
The organiser has confirmed a 19-team men’s field, made up of ten men’s WorldTeams, seven ProTeams and two Continental teams. It is a line-up that should give the race a proper top-end feel while still leaving room for aggressive second-tier teams to animate the middle phases.
The full list of teams announced for the men’s race is:
Alpecin-Premier Tech
Bahrain Victorious
EF Education – EasyPost
Groupama-FDJ United
Lotto Intermarché
NSN Cycling Team
Soudal Quick-Step
Team Jayco AlUla
UAE Team Emirates XRG
Uno-X Mobility
Burgos-Burpellet-BH
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
Cofidis
Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
Team Flanders – Baloise
TotalEnergies
Unibet Rose Rockets
Beat Cycling Club
Tarteletto – Isorex
Photo Credit: Cor VosWomen’s Brabantse Pijl 2026 teams
For the women, the organiser has announced a full 24-team peloton, built around ten Women’s WorldTeams, three Women’s ProTeams and eleven Women’s Continental teams. In practical terms, that means a race that can develop in more than one way: enough top-tier control to shape the finale, but enough extra teams to increase the chance of early pressure, breakaways, and opportunistic racing before the local circuits do their damage.
The full list of teams announced for the women’s race is:
AG Insurance – Soudal Team
EF Education – Oatly
FDJ United – Suez
Fenix-Premier Tech
Lidl – Trek
Liv-AlUla-Jayco
Team Picnic PostNL
Team SD Worx – Protime
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Mobility
Lotto Intermarché Ladies
Mayenne Monbana My Pie
VolkerWessels Cycling Team
Aromitalia Vaiano
Citymesh – CUSTOMM Pro Cycling Team
DAS-Hutchinson
Handsling Alba Development Road Team
Hitec Products-Fluid Control
MAT ATOM Deweloper Wroclaw
Meridian Bikebug
Minimax Cycling Team
O’shea Red Chilli Bikes
Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team
Vini Fantini – BePink
