Belgium's Brabantse Pijl 2023, or La Flèche Brabançonne for French speakers in Wallonia, links the cobbled Classics and the Ardennes Classics. The winner is crowned after 205km and 25 climbs.

American Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers) won solo in 2022 but unfortunately he will not be defending his title at Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday, April 12. He made a spectacular debut in the WorldTour last year, winning the midweek Belgian classic at 19 years old.

Sheffield is currently recovering from a demanding Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, which followed a series of tough races during the classics season. In Italy for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Milano-Sanremo, and in Belgium for Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Tour of Flanders, and then France's Paris-Roubaix.

Sheffield wants to make his Tour de France debut this summer and needs to save himself for the next block of races. Team Ineos Grenadiers instead will lead with Michał Kwiatkowski.

Formerly held on the weekend preceding the Tour of Flanders, Brabantse Pijl has been scheduled since 2010 for the Wednesday following Paris-Roubaix and preceding the Amstel Gold Race. The race, which has been a staple of the Belgian Spring Classics since 1961, has seen Edwig Van Hooydonck win the most races, with four victories between 1987 and 1995. Oscar Freire holds the record for consecutive wins with three in a row from 2005 to 2007.

In 2022, the date of Paris-Roubaix was changed due to local elections, resulting in the Brabantse Pijl being held after the Amstel Gold Race and before Paris-Roubaix on a mid-week day.

The 205.1km course begins at Ladeuzeplein in Leuven and features climbs such as the Sollenberg and the Bruineput in Beersel, followed by a series of four laps of a 22km finish circuit in Overijse. The circuit includes four challenging climbs: Hagaard, Hertstraat, Moskesstraat, Holstheide, and the S-bend, leading to the final climb of the S-bend in Overijse and the finish on the Brusselsesteenweg.

FloBikes has the race live and on demand in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. 

Sheffield won with a solo attack at 3.5km from the finish line last in 2022. World Champion Julian Alaphilippe missed the decisive split after his team car appeared to knock him to the ground.

The women depart from Lennik for a race of 141.2 km with no less than 24 climbs. Top stars are Alison Jackson (EF Education-Tibco), winner of Paris-Roubaix, and Demi Vollering (SD Worx).