Description
August 20, 2026
5th GP Lucien Van Impe 2026 🇧🇪 (1.Pro) WE – Erpe-Mere – Erpe-Mere : 140 km
GP Lucien Van Impe is a UCI 1.Pro one-day race run over rolling Belgian roads,
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August 20, 2026
5th GP Lucien Van Impe 2026 🇧🇪 (1.Pro) WE – Erpe-Mere – Erpe-Mere : 140 km
GP Lucien Van Impe is a UCI 1.Pro one-day race run over rolling Belgian roads, where short climbs, rural lanes, and exposed sections create a compact but demanding profile. The terrain is not mountainous, yet the repeated rises and frequent changes of rhythm can gradually split the field and make positioning important well before the finish. Riders must handle narrow roads, quick accelerations, and occasional wind exposure, especially when the course opens into farmland or transitions between technical sectors. Race dynamics usually involve breakaways trying to exploit the selective terrain, while organized teams attempt to keep the race together for a controlled finale. Typical profiles include a sequence of punchy ascents, fast descents, and a finishing stretch that can suit a reduced group if the pace has been high throughout. The race often rewards riders with explosive climbing ability and strong endurance rather than pure speed alone. Finishing styles commonly range from a small-group sprint to a late solo move, depending on how selective the final circuit has become.
Charlotte Kool returned to winning ways on Thursday, the Fenix-Premier Tech rider winning the sprint at the GP Lucien Van Impe in Belgium.
In what was aggressive race, her team were able to take control in the final, bringing back a late move by Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), allowing Kool to take the win. Adegeest’s teammate, Lucinda Brand was second, with Babette van den Wolf (EF Education-Oatly) taking third place.
Though she had a stage win at the Baloise Ladies Tour in mid-July, Kool had a difficult Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and was forced out of the Grand Tour after finishing over the time limit on stage 7. The win will be a great relief to her and her Belgian team.
For its third edition the GP Lucien Van Impe climbed to become a 1.Pro race, taking its place in the second tier of pro racing, and attracted a strong start list, with eight World Teams taking to the Belgian roads.
Covering 140km and starting and finishing in Erpe Mere, the riders first tackled a long loop to the south-west which included three well known Flemish climbs, La Houppe, Leberg and Hostellerie.
With those done, the race covered five undulating laps of 12.5km around the finish town before a slightly uphill finish.
A rash of attacks punctuated the early kilometres, though no one was able to establish a lead anywhere near one minute, and even when heavy rain and crosswinds split the peloton, the attacks persisted, though still no one got away.
Finally, as the race entered the closing circuits, Sofia Arici (Vini Fantini-BePink) and Tirza Wisse (Volkerwessels) escaped, building a lead of just over one minute, eking out a few more seconds on the second lap.
On the penultimate lap, with their lead down to 30 seconds, three riders tried to bridge, succeeding only in dragging the peloton with them, and Arici and Wisse were caught. More attacks came and went, but the day was set to conclude in a bunch sprint.
Results :
 WE </strong> - Erpe-Mere - Erpe-Mere : 140 km
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GP Lucien Van Impe is a UCI 1.Pro one-day race run over rolling Belgian roads, where short climbs, rural lanes, and exposed sections create a compact but demanding profile. The terrain is not mountainous, yet the repeated rises and frequent changes of rhythm can gradually split the field and make positioning important well before the finish. Riders must handle narrow roads, quick accelerations, and occasional wind exposure, especially when the course opens into farmland or transitions between technical sectors. Race dynamics usually involve breakaways trying to exploit the selective terrain, while organized teams attempt to keep the race together for a controlled finale. Typical profiles include a sequence of punchy ascents, fast descents, and a finishing stretch that can suit a reduced group if the pace has been high throughout. The race often rewards riders with explosive climbing ability and strong endurance rather than pure speed alone. Finishing styles commonly range from a small-group sprint to a late solo move, depending on how selective the final circuit has become.
Charlotte Kool returned to winning ways on Thursday, the Fenix-Premier Tech rider winning the sprint at the GP Lucien Van Impe in Belgium.
In what was aggressive race, her team were able to take control in the final, bringing back a late move by Loes Adegeest (Lidl-Trek), allowing Kool to take the win. Adegeest’s teammate, Lucinda Brand was second, with Babette van den Wolf (EF Education-Oatly) taking third place.
Though she had a stage win at the Baloise Ladies Tour in mid-July, Kool had a difficult Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and was forced out of the Grand Tour after finishing over the time limit on stage 7. The win will be a great relief to her and her Belgian team.
For its third edition the GP Lucien Van Impe climbed to become a 1.Pro race, taking its place in the second tier of pro racing, and attracted a strong start list, with eight World Teams taking to the Belgian roads.
Covering 140km and starting and finishing in Erpe Mere, the riders first tackled a long loop to the south-west which included three well known Flemish climbs, La Houppe, Leberg and Hostellerie.
With those done, the race covered five undulating laps of 12.5km around the finish town before a slightly uphill finish.
A rash of attacks punctuated the early kilometres, though no one was able to establish a lead anywhere near one minute, and even when heavy rain and crosswinds split the peloton, the attacks persisted, though still no one got away.
Finally, as the race entered the closing circuits, Sofia Arici (Vini Fantini-BePink) and Tirza Wisse (Volkerwessels) escaped, building a lead of just over one minute, eking out a few more seconds on the second lap.
On the penultimate lap, with their lead down to 30 seconds, three riders tried to bridge, succeeding only in dragging the peloton with them, and Arici and Wisse were caught. More attacks came and went, but the day was set to conclude in a bunch sprint.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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