New date for Ronde van Limburg and De Brabantse Pijl
In 2025, the Flanders Classics cycling spring will look a little different compared to its traditional format. With the Ronde van Limburg, an extra race is being added to the Flemish spring calendar. The Limburg classic takes the place of De Brabantse Pijl, which moves to Friday to attract more climbers to the field.
For the first time since its inception in 2010, the traditional Flanders Classics spring no longer consists of six classics. News broke late last year that, as from 2025, the Tour of Flanders organiser would be taking on the Amstel Gold Race, working together with race director Leo van Vliet and owner Heineken.
As well as this addition just over the border, there will be an additional race in 2025. The Ronde van Limburg, a collaboration with vzw Limburg Demarreert, will be moving from Whit Monday to the Wednesday between Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race. Tomas Van Den Spiegel, CEO of Flanders Classics: “That completes the Flemish spring, because now there is finally also a spring classic in Limburg. We’ve only just wrapped up a very successful European Cycling Championships in Limburg, where we saw that cycling is very much alive in the easternmost Flemish province, contrary to what many perhaps thought. So the fact that the Ronde van Limburg now has a spot in the Flemish cycling spring is a fantastic continuation of those great championships which we are still savouring today.”
We’ve only just wrapped up a very successful European Cycling Championships in Limburg, where we saw that cycling is very much alive in the easternmost Flemish province, contrary to what many perhaps thought
De Brabantse Pijl moves to Friday
The date of De Brabantse Pijl, which Flanders Classics together with Rode Sportief traditionally organises on that very same Wednesday, also changes. In 2025, the Flemish-Brabant classic moves two days forward and will take place on the Friday. Tomas Van Den Spiegel: “De Brabantse Pijl traditionally marks the transition from the Flemish to the Walloon spring events. In recent years, we have observed that many riders racing in the Amstel Gold Race on the Sunday are often not in the country on the Wednesday before that race. By organising De Brabantse Pijl on the Friday, that combination with the Amstel Gold Race becomes much more feasible for the riders and it will help us to achieve our goal of attracting more climbers and a stronger starting line-up. Moreover, the trio Ronde van Limburg - De Brabante Pijl - Amstel Gold Race provides a logistically appealing option for the teams, especially considering the Walloon classics that follow.”
An overview:
01/03 – Omloop Nieuwsblad
30/03 – Gent-Wevelgem
02/04 – Dwars door Vlaanderen
06/04 – Tour of Flanders
09/04 – Scheldeprijs
16/04 – Ronde van Limburg
18/04 – De Brabantse Pijl
20/04 – Amstel Gold Race
Besides the traditional spring events, Flanders Classics also has the Brussels Cycling Classic in its portfolio. That will take place in 2025 on 8 June. The youth days also have a place on the schedule. The fourth edition of the Tour of Flanders Youth Day takes place on 25 May in Oudenaarde. The City of Ypres welcomes the second edition of the Gent-Wevelgem Youth Day on 11 May.
