DE BRABANTSE PIJL (1.HC) Team Giant-Alpecin will begin its Ardennes campaign at De Brabantse Pijl this Wednesday.

Wanty-Groupe Gobert rode last week Paris-Roubaix, the last Flemish cycling classic. Frederik Backaert was our best rider with a 22nd place. The race reports and reactions of, respectively, Frederik Backaert and Hilaire Van Der Schuren in this week’s newsletter.

After 15 years competing in professional cycling, and 24 years riding a bicycle, Yaroslav (Popo) Popovych has officially announced his retirement Monday, one day after competing in his final Paris-Roubaix.

Veteran classics specialist Mathew Hayman has produced a masterful performance for ORICA-GreenEDGE  last 10th of April, sprinting to victory on the iconic velodrome of Paris-Roubaix, one of cycling’s five monuments.

Following on from his momentous win at the 100th Ronde van Vlaanderen, UCI World Champion Peter Sagan will lead Tinkoff at this weekend’s Paris-Roubaix. The 114th edition of the ‘Hell of the North’ will roll out on Sunday morning from Compiègne, covering 257.5km and 27 cobblestone sections before finishing in the iconic Roubaix velodrome.

Samuel Sánchez crossed the line with a look of pure happiness as he took the win on Stage 4 of Vuelta al Pais Vasco and claimed his first victory for the season and his first individual win with BMC Racing Team.

The Scheldeprijs traditionally forms the transition race between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The 200-kilometre race between Antwerp and Schoten usually finishes in a bunch sprint.

The recent initiative of Muslim women, who in Milan rode together to reaffirm the right to ride a bike without bans and thus the equality between men and women, may also be inspired by this beautiful movie: Wadjda.

Peter Sagan won Ronde van Vlaanderen in style the 3rd of April, taking the win after a solo breakaway 15km from the finish on the Paterberg climb. The UCI World Champion took his first Monument victory, finishing an exceptionally tough race twenty-five seconds ahead of his rivals.