Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert have shared their Strava rides from the 2021 Brabantse Pijl, after a thrilling battle on the Belgian streets.
After a brutal day of racing on the relentless climbs, the race came down to a three-rider sprint between cyclocross rivals Pidcock and Van Aert, and formidable one-day racer Matteo Trentin.
But as Jumbo-Visma’s Van Aert launched an early sprint and Trentin slipped back, Pidcock was the rider able to dig the deepest, taking his first pro victory after joining Ineos Grenadiers at the start of the season.
Pidcock, 21, posted his ride on Strava along with Van Aert.
Although sadly the pair removed their power data from their efforts, Strava still offers some fascinating insights into the race.
Pidcock averaged 43.1km for his 204km ride, which lasted four hours and 44 minutes, and covered 2,305m of altitude gain.
Van Aert actually held a higher average speed over the duration of the day, holding 43.5km/h.
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Along the way, both Pidcock and Van Aert topped the leaderboard on the Hertstraat climb, a 720 metre segment with an average gradient of 4.9 per cent, which was the spot where Pidcock launched his decisive attacks out on the course.
Both riders crested the climb in 1-06, with an average speed of 39.3km/h.
While we don’t know their power on the climb, the third place rider on Strava Amaury Capiot (Arkea-Samsic) averaged 652 watts when he climbed in 1-08 last August.
On the full segment for the 2021 Brabantse Pijl finishing circuit in Overijse, Van Aert and Pidcock were only the second and third fastest riders on Strava.
Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix) was the fastest rider on Strava on the lap, completing it with an average speed of 45km/h in a time of 29-04.
Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
