Wednesday 19 August to Sunday 23 August: Renewi Tour – Diest – Leuven (918 km)

The Renewi Tour closes out the WorldTour programme in Flanders with five days of racing on home soil. For the 21st edition of the race, once launched as the Eneco Tour before being renamed the BinckBank Tour and then the Benelux Tour, the entire route this year lies exclusively in Belgium for the first time in years. Earlier editions still crossed the border into the Netherlands, such as the Terneuzen-Breskens stage in 2025, but this year the peloton rides from Diest to Leuven without a single kilometre outside Flanders and Wallonia. The route therefore leans more heavily than ever on the classic roads of the Flemish spring classics, with climbs such as the Kapelmuur, the Bosberg, the Taaienberg and the Paterberg, all familiar from the Tour of Flanders.

The 918-kilometre route features five stages and no individual time trial, unlike earlier editions that sometimes included one. Three stages are flat and offer chances for the fast men, while two stages cross the climbs of the Flemish Ardennes and Haspengouw. Defending champion Arnaud De Lie takes on Tim Wellens, the record holder with four overall victories, who is chasing a fifth win. For the first time this season, the four fastest sprinters of the year will also line up together: Jonathan Milan, Tim Merlier, Jasper Philipsen and Olav Kooij, making the race not just a GC battle but also a genuine sprinters' showcase.

Stage 1 runs from Diest to Diest over 188 kilometres, with two cobbled sectors ridden twice and a local finishing circuit featuring a short climb. The sprinters' teams get a chance, though the hectic finale brings uncertainty.

Stage 2 between Blankenberge and Ardooie (174 km) is completely flat and crosses the windy coastal plain. With no climbs at all, a bunch sprint looks likely here, although the wind could cause surprises in the open polders.

The stage from Celles to Geraardsbergen (185 km) on Friday is considered the decisive stage for the GC. The route includes tough climbs such as the Taaienberg and the Paterberg, after which the Kapelmuur and the Bosberg are each climbed twice. The riders finish with a final passage over the Kapelmuur and a steep, cobbled finish in the centre of Geraardsbergen.

Saturday brings the stage from Riemst to Bilzen-Hoeselt (187 km), an undulating ride through Haspengouw with a series of short climbs. The finish in Bilzen is slightly uphill, offering chances for riders who can keep pushing after the final acceleration.

The final stage in Leuven (184 km) uses the circuit that hosted the World Championships in 2021, with a tough, technical route in the final fifty kilometres. Last year Arnaud De Lie won the overall title here; a bunch sprint remains possible, but late attacks cannot be ruled out either.

Candidates

Without a time trial, the final GC of the Renewi Tour will be decided by the time gaps on the climbs of Geraardsbergen and Bilzen-Hoeselt, supplemented by bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints and stage finishes. That profile suits punchers and classics riders. Defending champion Arnaud De Lie combines a fast finishing sprint with strength on short climbs, while four-time winner Tim Wellens has the experience and explosiveness to gain time on the Kapelmuur and the Bosberg. De Lie narrowly beat Wellens last year in the final stage in Leuven, after Wellens himself had taken the overall win the year before: the two Belgians have been facing off for this title for several years now. Wellens' teammate Florian Vermeersch, second overall in 2023, is considered the second card at UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Alec Segaert and Tiesj Benoot are also among the contenders thanks to their strength on short, hilly terrain. Pure sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, Olav Kooij and Jonathan Milan will mainly fight for stage wins and the points classification, though a strong finishing sprint with bonus seconds could also bring them closer to the GC.

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