Overijse, at the centre of the Druivenstreek — Flemish Brabant's historic grape-growing district — has been the finish town of De Brabantse Pijl for decades, the race's local circuit built around a repeated sequence of short, sharp climbs: the Hertstraat, Moskesstraat, Holstheide, and the cobbled Schavei.
None of these climbs would stand out in isolation — the Schavei gains just 47 metres over 900 metres — but ridden three or four times each, in quick succession, in a race that closes out the Flemish spring campaign, they've produced some of the calendar's tightest finishes.
In 2019, Mathieu van der Poel won the sprint into Overijse by bike lengths over Julian Alaphilippe and Tim Wellens; in 2025, Remco Evenepoel out-kicked training partner and rival Wout van Aert in the final 250 metres — the kind of finish this circuit seems built to produce.
The town also hosted part of the 2021 UCI Road World Championships circuit, its climbs folded into the same course that eventually delivered Alaphilippe's rainbow jersey in nearby Leuven — proof that Overijse's hills carry weight well beyond their modest size.
