Célia Gery took the biggest one-day win of her career at Brabantse Pijl Women 2026, producing a sharply judged sprint in Overijse to beat Mischa Bredewold and Silvia Persico after a tense and tactical finale. It was the fifth win of the 19-year-old French rider’s career, and another sign that FDJ United-SUEZ now have far more than just Demi Vollering to lean on in the spring.
For much of the final hour, it looked as if Anna van der Breggen might bend the race to her will. Later, Loes Adegeest and Anneke Dijkstra seemed to have the move that could hold to the line. But Brabantse Pijl Women has a habit of turning late, and once the final climb to Overijse brought everything back together, Gery was the rider who read the finish best.
Early aggression shapes the race
The race began at a high tempo without any early move sticking over the opening climbs. The bunch was already thinning before the race had truly settled, with the repeated rises around Lennik and the run towards Overijse putting smaller teams under pressure from the outset.
The first meaningful break formed after around 35 kilometres, with Alexandra Volstad, Nicole Steigenga, Carina Schrempf, Loes Adegeest, Talia Appleton, Ella Wyllie, Daniela Hezinova, Steffi Häberlin, Silvia Persico and Anneke Dijkstra forcing clear. It was an intriguing selection, not least because FDJ United-SUEZ had missed it while most of the other major teams were represented.
That imbalance made the situation obvious. FDJ United-SUEZ had to chase, and they did, gradually bringing the gap down before the move was finally reeled in. Adegeest immediately counter-attacked, and from there the race began to take on its final shape.
Photo Credit: GettyAdegeest and Dijkstra force the race open
Adegeest was first out on her own and then joined by Dijkstra as the race headed onto the first ascents of the local circuit. The pair worked well together and, for a time, looked strong enough to make the race awkward for the bigger teams behind.
Their advantage grew from a few seconds to over a minute as the peloton hesitated. That was helped by the usual tension between the strongest squads, all of whom had reasons to wait. Lidl-Trek had Adegeest in front and every interest in disrupting the chase. SD Worx-ProTime had numbers and options. UAE Team ADQ, Liv-AlUla-Jayco and EF Education-Oatly all had riders to play later. It was the sort of stand-off that often lets a dangerous move breathe.
Behind them, the race remained nervous rather than fully committed. Britt Knaven tried to bridge from behind, Persico later attacked across, and then Anna van der Breggen launched the move that really changed the dynamic of the day.
Van der Breggen turns the screw
Van der Breggen’s acceleration was the first truly serious move from the favourites. Once she went, the peloton finally began to fracture in a meaningful way. Koch was alert, Gery was tucked in just behind, Vallieres was nearby, and Fleur Moors was still there as the race thinned over Moskesstraat and Holstheide.
Van der Breggen rode with intent, and at one point looked strong enough to bridge across and then drop the leaders herself. Persico tried to follow the same line, while Koch and Gery sat in a useful position just behind the main pressure point. Kopecky, meanwhile, was often on the front or close to it, but more in a controlling role than as the rider immediately making the decisive move.
Once Van der Breggen made contact with the front, the race became tactical again. Adegeest was still strong, Dijkstra was beginning to suffer, and Van der Breggen was clearly frustrated that she could not shake the Lidl-Trek rider. Behind, the chase repeatedly stalled, which kept the front move alive longer than many expected.
The race comes back together late
For all the attacks and pressure, Brabantse Pijl Women still came down to a late regrouping on the final climb. The leading riders were caught on the S-Bocht Overijse with just over a kilometre to race, and from there the finish finally tilted towards the punchier sprinters rather than the long-range attackers.
That late catch altered the likely winners immediately. Liv-AlUla-Jayco began working for Letizia Paternoster. UAE Team ADQ moved forward for Karlijn Swinkels. Lidl-Trek had numbers for Moors. Kopecky was perfectly placed. Bredewold was also right where she needed to be.
FDJ United-SUEZ, though, had played the run-in cleverly. Koch had spent much of the final circuit helping to keep Gery out of trouble and in contact with the right moves. That gave the young Frenchwoman the platform she needed once the race reset inside the last kilometre.
Gery times the sprint perfectly
Van der Breggen led into the final kilometre, with Kopecky right where she wanted to be and Bredewold also close at hand. Lidl-Trek took over briefly to try to launch Moors, while UAE Team ADQ hovered just behind with Swinkels as their likely finisher.
Then Gery opened her sprint first.
That was the key moment. It could easily have left her exposed too early on a finish like this, but instead it caught the rest hesitating. Bredewold responded and Persico came through strongly as well, but Gery had chosen exactly the right moment. She held her speed all the way to the line and took the win ahead of Bredewold, with Persico third.
It was not a chaotic bunch sprint in the usual sense. It was a reduced-group uphill finish after a hard race, and Gery handled it with the sort of confidence that usually belongs to much older riders.
Another big step in Gery’s rise
This win fits neatly into the trajectory Gery has been building over the past year. Her world under-23 road race title in 2025 underlined her talent, as did three stage wins at the Tour de l’Avenir Femmes. But Brabantse Pijl Women is a different kind of statement. This was not a junior-level or development-race result. This was a hard Belgian one-day race, full of established names, won through positioning, patience and finishing speed.
The quality of the riders behind her matters too. Bredewold remains one of the smartest puncheurs in the bunch, while Persico is a former winner of this race and one of the most reliable finishers on this kind of course. Beating both on this finish gives the result proper weight.
For FDJ United-SUEZ, it is another reminder that the team’s strength now extends well beyond one headline name. Koch was once again central to the race, while Gery was there to finish it off. That combination made the difference.
Brabantse Pijl Women 2026 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
