There was Belgian delight on the final stage of the Renewi Tour as Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) took the stage 5 victory on the Muur van Geraardsbergen while Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) – finishing in second place at five seconds – grabbed the overall win.
Wellens had 16 seconds to make up over race leader Alec Segaert (Lotto-Dstny) on the final day of the race and duly did just that as the 21-year-old Belgian dropped well out of contention with moves flying up the road late in the stage.
The overall win marks Wellens' fourth success at the race, the veteran having previously won the 2014, 2015, and 2023 editions. De Lie, meanwhile, could celebrate his sixth win of the season after the duo broke away at the front of the race in the last 5km.
With climbs of the Onkerzele Berg, Dendeoordberg, Bosberg, and Muur van Geraardsbergen dotting the day's 203km route from Menen to Geraardsbergen, the final day was always likely to be the decisive stage of the five-day race.
The early stages of the race, a strong early breakaway made it clear, with Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) joined out front by the likes of Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Brent Van Moer (Lotto-Dstny), Matteo Trentin (Tudor), and Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).
That strong lead group wouldn't last long, however, as the break fell apart on the hilly local laps where the battle for the win would be fought. Several riders – including Trentin, De Bondt and Van Moer – remained in the lead as the race hit the final ascent of the Muur van Geraardsbergen at 25km from the line.
Behind them, Lotto-Dstny and UAE Team Emirates led the chase on behalf of race leader Alec Segaert and GC contender Tim Wellens. The remains of the breakaway were caught on the way, leaving Wellens to make a move at the front as he sought the overall victory.
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Only De Lie was able to follow along with Wellens, the Belgian pair later joined by Per Strand Hagenes (Visma-Lease A Bike), who had earlier been in the breakaway move. It was Wellens who powered the move along, picking up eight bonus seconds in the green kilometre sprints.
The trio morphed into a sextet at 15km from the line as Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Rick Pluimers (Tudor), and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) chased across the gap as the likes of Segaert and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) continued to chase 15 seconds down.
This situation held until the final 7km of the race, at which point Wellens put in several accelerations which split the group. Once the dust had settled, it was Wellens and De Lie out in the lead and only the run-in to Geraardsbergen, including the final climb, to contend with.
In the end, the closing acceleration of sprinter De Lie's unsurprisingly proved too much for Wellens to contend with. The three-time winner was all too happy to take second on the stage, however, as with Segaert finishing 47 seconds down, it would mark his fourth overall victory of the race.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
