At Belgium’s Renewi Tour, Arnaud De Lie ended his long winless run with victory in the final stage at Leuven, outsprinting Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to also secure the overall title. De Lie began the decisive fifth day with just a one-second advantage over Van der Poel but slipped behind when the Dutchman claimed the first of three Green Kilometre sprints, gaining three bonus seconds. De Lie salvaged only one second for third, leaving him a point adrift on GC.
In the closing kilometre, Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) launched a powerful solo move that nearly held, only to be caught within sight of the line. Van der Poel surged past on one side, but De Lie came through even faster to snatch both the stage and overall victory his first WorldTour win since the same race in 2024. “When Van der Poel gained those seconds I thought, ‘Shit!’ but I focused on the finish. I wasn’t at my best, but I timed the sprint perfectly. After months of injuries and crashes, this is incredible,” said De Lie, who ultimately took the GC by three seconds over Van der Poel. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) placed third at 31 seconds, with Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) fourth at 55 seconds.
Meanwhile, at the Deutschland Tour, 20-year-old Briton Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) claimed his second stage win of the four-day race, moving up to second overall behind Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility). The finale was far less controversial than the previous day, when Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) lost a sprint victory due to relegation. This time, Van Poppel crashed in the last kilometre after contact with Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek). Brennan, expertly led out by Wout van Aert, finished a bike length clear of Wærenskjold, with Milan third. The win marked Brennan’s 11th triumph in a remarkable debut season.
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