Mathias Vacek second overall as Strong secures GC with move in late five-rider break
Tour de Wallonie: Clement Izquierdo of Cofidis scores his first pro victory on stage 5, with runner-up Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) taking the GC title(Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) won the overall title at the Tour de Wallonie after the peloton caught five attackers just before the finish line in Bertrix.
Strong started the final hilly stage just one second ahead of Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) but took six bonus seconds for his second place to seal the overall.
Vacek lost a few seconds at the finish and so was second overall at nine seconds. Britain's Oliver Knight (Cofidis) won stage 2 and finished third overall at 22 seconds.
Overall victory was revenge for Strong after he finished second to Matteo Trentin in 2024. The two were tied on time but the Italian was declared the winner due to better stage placings.
Clément Izquierdo (Cofidis) won the final stage around Bertrix in the south of Belgium after being in the break for 145km.
He just avoided being caught by the peloton to give Cofidis their eighth win of the 2025 season and their second at the Tour de Wallonie.
It was Izquierdo's first professional victory and Strong's first stage race victory.
Corbin Strong celebrates GC victory in Bertrix with Israel-Premier Tech teammates Tom van Asbroeck (left) and Floris van Tricht (right) (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
"It's a really nice feeling," Strong said. "It was a hard stage with a lot of climbing and I knew how strong Vacek was after watching at the Giro d'Italia working for Mads Pedersen. They really threw it at me, especially on the last climb but I was really happy to win this race.
"My teammates did a good job of controlling from the start of the stage, setting a solid pace to keep the break in check. We weren't bothered about the stage win. I only had one second on Vacek and so it was better if the break took all the time bonuses.
"Lidl-Trek took over on the last lap and I knew I just had to stay on Vacek's wheel. If we came to the line with a chance of the stage win and time bonuses, I knew I needed to beat him. It was pretty touch and go but I knew I had good legs. I almost got the stage win too but I'm really happy to win the overall this week."
The final 183.km stage covered a twisting route around Bertrix in the south of Belgium. It included eight classified and many others that hurt riders legs. The second half of the stage covered three 36.5km circuits and two 22.35km circuits before the finish in central Bertrix.
Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) leads the early breakaway (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
The tough stage route was ideal for a strong breakaway and 13 riders joined the key move.
The attack included Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), Matevz Govekar (Bahrain Victorious), Filip Maciejuk (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe ), with Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) the best placed overall at 2:46.
They extended their lead to four minutes at one point but it was down to two minutes as the race began the final two laps.
The break eventually reduced to just five riders but they rode smoothly together sensing they had a chance of a stage victory. They had a one-minute lead with 13km to race. Rochas got away on the final climb but was eventually reeled in as the five thought about the sprint finish.
Clement Izquierdo of Cofidis celebrates at finish line as stage 5 winner (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
They did not realise that Vacek was leading the chase after using all his Lidl-Trek teammates. He and surges from other riders brought the gap down quickly but in the chaos of the chase, Strong kept a cool head and strong legs.
The chasers caught the attackers on the gradual climb to the line. Izquierdo managed to stay away but Strong sprinted alongside the barriers to snatch second and so secure overall victory on the line.
Corbin Strong of Israel - Premier Tech celebrates at podium as Orange Leader Jersey winner (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
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