History

The undisputed “Mister Brabant Arrow”. Even if he was saddled with another nickname, “Eddy Bosberg”, “Eddy Alsemberg” would perhaps have worked better. With 4 wins, Edwig Van Hooydonck is the record holder for the competition. While just a 20 year-old kid, he won it for the first time in 1987. Van Hooydonck was relatively unknown at the time, but all that would change when he won the Ronde for the second time. He added the Brabant Arrow to his trophy cabinet in 1987, 1991, 1993 and 1995. One year later, he ended his professional career prematurely. He was a vocal opponent of the use of EPO by leading cyclists.

A man needing no introduction, the Flanders Lion has a record that speaks for itself. He was the best one-day cyclist of his generation and won several classics. In reality, the Brabant Arrow wasn’t really the best preparation for the Tour of Flanders. Often, right before the Arrow, Museeuw would already be in Harelbeke getting ready for the competition. But Museeuw had a soft spot for our race, and the Lion took the lead on several occasions, winning it in 1996, 1998 and 2000.

The Limbourg native Johan Capiot won the Brabant Arrow in 1988, 1989 and 1992 and was active between 1986 and 2000. For the majority of his cycling career, he raced for the Dutch team TVM, led by Cees Priem. Over the course of his career, highlights included being the two-time winner of the Omloop, winning the Paris-Tours and winning the Brabant Arrow three times in 1988, 1989 and 1992. This period saw many great contests between Capiot and Van Hooydonck.

The Spaniard had some great times on the Bruineput and the Alsemberg. Freire began his professional career in 1998, then with Vitalicio. One year later, while still a relatively unknown rider, he became world champion for the first time in Verona. His most successful season came in 2000 where he won 10 titles. He would go on to wear the rainbow jersey on two occasions. Freire was one of the most talented riders in the peloton, only needing a limited amount of training to stay in shape. Oscarito was also known as something of a daydreamer, which led to a number of hilarious situations: the 2005 Brabant Arrow comes to mind, when, with just 500 m to go, he asked his team-mate Michaël Boogerd how much longer it was until the finish line. The most remarkable thing is that he still went on to win the race.