Image 1 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) on the move (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 2 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) wins the Brabantse Pijl (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 3 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) wins in his typical fashion (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 4 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) celebrates victory (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 5 of 80 Happy with his solo victory, Thomas Voeckler celebrates in the Fleche Brabanconne (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 6 of 80 A trophy and flowers for Thomas Voeckler (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 7 of 80 Pierre Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen) was third. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 8 of 80 Kisses for race winner Thomas Voeckler (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 9 of 80 Freire, Voeckler and Serry on the podium of the Brabantse Pijl (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 10 of 80 Thomas Voeckler had his young son on the podium (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 11 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) crosses the line ahead of Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 12 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) finishes up (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 13 of 80 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Colombia - Coldeportes) crosses the line (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 14 of 80 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Colombia - Coldeportes) finished fourth (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 15 of 80 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) leads a chase group in (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 16 of 80 Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) on the podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 17 of 80 Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 18 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) on the podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 19 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 20 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) solo off the front (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 21 of 80 Oscar Freire (Katusha) second in Brabantse Pijl (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 22 of 80 Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol Team) takes a pull (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 23 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) crosses the line ahead of Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 24 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) finishes up (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 25 of 80 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Colombia - Coldeportes) crosses the line (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 26 of 80 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Colombia - Coldeportes) finished fourth (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 27 of 80 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) leads a chase group in (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 28 of 80 Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) on the podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 29 of 80 Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 30 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) on the podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 31 of 80 Oscar Freire Gomez (Katusha Team) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 32 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) solo off the front (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 33 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) on the move (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 34 of 80 Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol Team) takes a pull (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 35 of 80 Philippe Gilbert at the start (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 36 of 80 Brian Bulgac (Lotto Belisol Team ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 37 of 80 Julien Vermote (Omega Pharma-Quickstep ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 38 of 80 Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol Team ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 39 of 80 Marco Bandiera (Omega Pharma-Quickstep ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 40 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 41 of 80 Voeckler's son enjoys his time on the podium (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 42 of 80 Thomas De Gendt (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 43 of 80 Martin Velits (Omega Pharma-Quickstep ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 44 of 80 Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 45 of 80 Andy Schleck (Radioshack-Nissan ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 46 of 80 Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 47 of 80 Fabio Duarte (Colombia - Coldeportes ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 48 of 80 (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 49 of 80 Arthur Vanoverberghe (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 50 of 80 Peter Sagan (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 51 of 80 Maxime Vantomme (Katusha Team ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 52 of 80 Kevin Reza (Team Europcar ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 53 of 80 Frederik Veuchelen (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 54 of 80 (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 55 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 56 of 80 Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-Quickstep ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 57 of 80 Koldo Fernandez (Garmin-Barracuda ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 58 of 80 Freire takes a tough second in Fleche Brabanconne (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 59 of 80 Gilbert finishes the Brabantse Pijl at the head of the peloton (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 60 of 80 Rain falls on Philippe Gilbert (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 61 of 80 The flags of Flanders fly behind Freire and Serry (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 62 of 80 Philippe Gilbert (BMC) led home the chasing peloton (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 63 of 80 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 64 of 80 Philippe Gilbert (BMC) led home the chasing peloton (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 65 of 80 Freire and Perry passed a fading Fabio Duarte in the final meters (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 66 of 80 Oscar Freire (Katusha) sprints to second in the rain ahead of Pierre Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 67 of 80 Voeckler can breathe easy after a long solo attack (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 68 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) solos to the win in the 2012 Brabantse Pijl (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 69 of 80 Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team ) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 70 of 80 Pierre Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen) happy to be on the podium (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 71 of 80 Lotto-Belisol director Marc Sargeant chats with Francis De Greef at the start. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 72 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) before the start (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 73 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) on the podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 74 of 80 The podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 75 of 80 The podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 76 of 80 Kisses for race winner Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 77 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) wins (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 78 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) triumphs after an audacious solo effort (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 79 of 80 Riding alone to victory, Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) had plenty of time to celebrate (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 80 of 80 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) on the podium with his son (Image credit: Sirotti)

French star Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) showed off his good form and rode to a solo victory through hail and rain at the Brabantse Pijl-La Flèche Brabançonne in Overijse, Belgium. The 32-year-old attacked a diminished peloton on wet roads 35km from the finish and despite efforts from local riders Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol), the Frenchman went the distance.

Voeckler endured stints of heavy precipitation in the final kilometres but rode flawlessly over the tricky parcours to claim his first victory of the 2012 season, 1:11 ahead of a chase group led in by Oscar Freire (Katusha and Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator).

"I'm really happy to have won my first race of the season," Voeckler told Sporza. "I love this race and finished fifth some years ago [sixth in 2010-ed.]. On the wet roads it was hard to ride in the peloton and since there were no more strong teams to control the race I tried something. I figured some would come back but that didn't happen. I wanted to get a gap of a minute as soon as possible to take away the believe in the chase group. I've got the legs for these races. I would love to do a good result at the Amstel Gold Race but this result doesn't mean anything. It's not a specific goal because there's a lot of strong men at the start."

In Voeckler's wake a chase group featuring pre-race favorites Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Jelle Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol) and three-time winner Oscar Freire (Katusha) battled for second place but they were surprised by a move from Fabio Duarte (Colombia Coldeportes) with four kilometres remaining. The 25-year-old Colombian rider appeared to have second place secured, but as he struggled in the tough finale he was passed by Freire and Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) on the final straight within sight of the finish line; Duarte finished fourth while Greg Van Avermaet won the sprint for fifth place.

"The winner of today was the strongest," said Freire. "He raced really good and attacked at a difficult moment. He was the best rider in the race."

The Spaniard held off Serry in the sprint but nevertheless the young Belgian was pleased with his result. "I can't believe it," Serry told Sporza. "I've been aiming to do well in these races but I didn't expect to be this good. I saved some energy in the last lap and had something left to follow Freire."

The peloton featuring last year's winner Philippe Gilbert (BMC) finished two minutes behind Voeckler. Pre-race favorite Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) crashed before the finale got underway and never played a role in the race's outcome.

Much earlier and in sunny weather conditions the riders rolled out of the historical center of university town Leuven, Belgium for the start of the 195km race.

After several attempts Daniel Schorn (Team NetApp) set-up a breakaway group with Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Artem Ovechkin (RusVelo). The trio powered away after 30km of racing and reached a maximum gap of more than five minutes, 64km into the race. Just before arriving near the finish town Overijse and its endless series of climbs, rain and hail came down on the riders' backs.

On the wet roads Andy Schleck crashed together with some other riders on a roundabout 69km from the finish. It took a long time for the RadioShack-Nissan rider to bridge back up to the peloton where the BMC team of Philippe Gilbert as well as Rabobank set a fast pace. The Luxembourger drafted behind the team car for a long time, received a couple of pushes and eventually joined the back side of the peloton about six kilometres later, just before the next climb. On that climb, the Hagaard, Schleck didn't move up in the group and he quickly sat up. Ten kilometres later Schleck crossed the finish line for the first of four 13km finishing laps, more than three minutes behind the peloton.

Tough finale in Overijse

In advance of starting the first finishing circuit, 2011 champion Philippe Gilbert accelerated twice on the climbs of the Hertstraat and then on the Ijskelderlaan without causing much damage. Some more accelerations followed including efforts from Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) and Jerôme Pineau (Omega Pharma-QuickStep). While off the front alone, Pineau crashed on a tricky, twisting descent towards the final climb of the Schavei. Meanwhile, at the front of the race, Schorn dropped his breakaway companions on that series of climbs and he continued solo while the peloton trailed the Austrian by 1:40.

During the first finishing circuit Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) attacked on the cobbled Hertstraat. He gained some ground but a counter-attack from Gilbert and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol) brought everybody back together. On the same descent where Pineau had crashed, his Omega Pharma-QuickStep teammate Gerald Ciolek also hit the deck.

Schorn began the second local lap with half a minute on Belkov and 1:10 on the peloton. During this lap Thomas Voeckler powered away from the peloton over the top of the Hagaard, 35km from the finish line. Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Vanendert failed to bring back Voeckler on the next climb and the Frenchman was gone.

In the chase group Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) showed his good form on the climbs but he, too, came to grief on the twisting descent which had already claimed Pineau and Ciolek.

Meanwhile, Voeckler blasted past Schorn and hit the penultimate lap with 23 seconds on the first chase group that included Van Avermaet, Vanendert, Devenyns, Oscar Freire (Katusha), Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank), Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator), Alex Howes (Garmin-Barracuda) and a tired Schorn; the peloton trailed Voeckler by 47 seconds.

Voeckler continued to extend his lead over the chase group and entering the final lap of the finishing circuit his advantage over the chasers had grown to 1:10. Just prior to beginning the final lap, Fabio Duarte (Colombia Coldeportes) escaped the peloton and quickly bridged to the chasers.

Voeckler further extended his gap over the chase group on his way to a commanding solo victory amidst stints of rain and hail. Duarte attacked the chase group with four kilometres remaining but was caught and passed by both Freire and Serry inside the final 200m, resulting in a fourth place finish behind the Spaniard and Belgian.

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