Preview: Binche-Chimay-Binche 2024 – The end of the Belgian Cycling year!

Can’t get enough of all those fun Belgian one-day races? Well, Tuesday it’s that time again. Then Binche-Chimay-Binche is on the menu. The Walloon semi-classic guarantees an attractive race where the strongest rider in the race almost always wins. It immediately marks the end of the Belgian Cycling season at UCI level. CyclingFlits looks ahead!

History

Latest edition

Course

The name Binche-Chimay-Binche already suggests what the route will look like. And different from, for example, Paris-Roubaix, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne or Ghent-Wevelgem, the name of this race fully corresponds to the route. That route of just under 200 kilometers has changed virtually nothing compared to last year.

We start a little after twelve o’clock on the Grand Place of Binche, the carnival city in the province of Hainaut. Via a relatively flat run-up, the riders reach Chimay after just under fifty kilometers, where a remarkable intermediate sprint is located. The riders can win a considerable amount of Trappist beer. Not bad, at the end of the season.

Another forty kilometers further – with serious challenges such as the Petit Poggio and the Wall of Thuin – we start the local circuit in and around Binche. This is a circuit of 16.2 kilometers, which must be completed a total of five times. As usual in Wallonia, it goes up and down constantly, and the wind often has free rein on the wide roads.

The only listed obstacle is the ascending cobblestones of Pépinière, just under 900 meters from the finish. Here the value relationships often become clear and some chaos arises towards the final sprint.

About five hundred meters from the end, the riders turn right, where it flattens out a bit and it is important to hold on for a while in the narrow and winding streets of Binche. The finish is located after a gentle left bend.

Sunday 1 October 2024: Binche – Binche (198.6 km)
Start: 12:05 p.m
Finish: between 4:45 PM and 5:15 PM

Favorites

This Walloon season finale can count on a good field of participants every year. This year too we see nine WorldTeams present in Binche, which is one less than last year, but still impressive for a UCI race of 1.1 caliber. Furthermore, as many ProTeams and two Walloon continental formations complete the field of participants.

We must look for the big favorite in Walloon pride, Arnaud De Lie. The Belgian champion loves nothing more than to race in his home region, although Lescheret in Luxembourg is a lot further south. We also have to ask some questions about De Lie. He ultimately skipped the previous cycling weekend, including the Gooikse Pijl, due to fatigue, and on his return to the Zwevezele race he had to give up after a fall.

The question therefore becomes whether De Lie can recharge one more time to race close to home. According to team leader Dirk Demol, De Lie certainly does not lack morale and motivation, so we see that things will work out. On a finish like the one in Binche, De Lie seems unbeatable. If for some reason it doesn’t work out, you can Jenno Berckmoes become the advanced pawn in Lotto Dstny. In the Grand Prix of Québec he impressed by being one of the few to follow Tadej Pogacar, but his sprint is not bad either.

Another man with his fair share of doubts Jasper Philipsen. The leader of Alpecin-Deceuninck already felt something simmering after the European Championships in his own country, but the disease only broke through completely after the SUPER 8 Classic where he could not even finish the race. Later, Philipsen announced via social media that he did not want to end his season yet and wanted to participate in these Binche-Chimay-Binche and Paris-Tours at all costs. This way, the Limburger can end a good year on a positive note.

In a possible final sprint, Philipsen will have to trump his major competitor from the European Championship and all previous races. New European champion Tim Merlier seems to be currently on a winning streak, with after the European Championship also victories in the Championship of Flanders in Koolskamp and the Gooikse Pijl. Agreed, not the biggest races, but the starting and sprint field was there. An extra motivation for Merlier: he can go on holiday after this Soudal Quick-Step race.

Also Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) in Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) can hold their own in a possible sprint. And Cort in particular gets a kick out of such a final sprint that increases, and both riders are also not averse to cobblestones. In addition to Merlier, Soudal Quick-Step also has many riders in its ranks who could use those cobblestones. Just think Luke LampertiYves Lampaert and Kasper Asgreen. At UAE Emirates it is Antonio Morgado the man to be played, Jasper Stuyven has to do it at Lidl-Trek before he focuses on a post-season full of clay.

Yet the strongest formation in width is probably the home team of this match, Intermarché-Wanty. Since main sponsor Wanty is located in Binche itself, Jean-François Bourlart’s team must come to the start with that little bit of extra motivation every year. You also notice this in the names they use here. Green jersey winner Biniam Girmay is the biggest name in the selection and also promising in many scenarios. When it gets tactical, we also underestimate Laurenz Rex, Hugo Page and Mike Teunissen not.

And things sometimes get tactical in Binche. Anyone who looks at the honors list will see that we sometimes get ‘crazy’ names on the podium in Binche, who normally do not win so quickly. Think of Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg, Ramon Sinkeldam, Tom Van Asbroek and last year Luca Mozzato. Who will be this year’s surprise? Perhaps Milan Fretin (Cofidis), Amaury Capiot, Luca Mozzato or Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Oliver Naesen or Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R) or Emilien Jeannière or Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies)?

Favorites according to WielerFlits
**** Arnaud De Lie
*** Tim Merlier, Biniam Girmay
** Jordi Meeus, Jasper Stuyven, Jasper Philipsen
* Jenno Berckmoes, Luke Lamperti, Mike Teunissen, Antonio Morgado

Website organization
Participants list (CyclingFlash)

Weather and TV

It’s not going to be a very pleasant day for cycling on Tuesday. Weatheronline expect temperatures barely above 15 degrees Celsius. In addition, there is a 40% chance of precipitation and there is a strong wind – with a force of up to 5 Beaufort – from the southwest. All this could mean that we will see real wear and tear.

Binche-Chimay-Binche can be followed live on television. Eurosport 1 switches on at 2:25 p.m. Furthermore, the Walloon race can also be viewed via the online channels of HBO Max in Discovery+. For more information you can always visit our TV guide Cycling on TV.