Description
June 21, 2025
94th Baloise Belgium Tour 2025 🇧🇪 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 4 – Durbuy – Durbuy : 173 km
The Tour of Belgium (Dutch: Ronde van België;
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June 21, 2025
94th Baloise Belgium Tour 2025 🇧🇪 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 4 – Durbuy – Durbuy : 173 km
The Tour of Belgium (Dutch: Ronde van België; French: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries.
Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto) took his third win of the season on stage 4 on the steep slopes of the final climb into Durbuy at the Baloise Belgium Tour as the GC battle became a matter of a few seconds.
It was an emotional victory for the Belgian who attacked a breakaway of four with 100 metres to go to cross the line ahead of runner-up Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) and third-placed Orluis Aular (Movistar).
“The last kilometre was pretty stressful, but I knew I could focus really well when I see the finish line. Also, two days ago, I was third in a bunch sprint, and I’m not a sprinter at all, so I could focus on the finish,” Berckmoes said.
“It’s good to go first, most the the time, I saw I had a gap immediately and go on and win the race. It has been a difficult time, and it was difficult to keep it dry, but then my family and my girlfriend was here to support me, so it’s big emotions.”
Filippo Baroncini (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who was also in the breakaway, held off the chasing field to take fourth place, and earned enough bonus seconds on the stage to take the overall lead from Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep) by just four second.
Berckmoes moved up to third overall at seven seconds when the Golden Kilometre bonus seconds were carefully calculated. Filippo Ganna (Ineos-Grenadiers) slipped to fourth place overall at ten second back ahead of the stage 5 finale in Brussels on Sunday.
How it unfolded
Many of the riders in the peloton signed on at the start wearing ice vests to try to stay cool in warm 30C conditions to compete in the penultimate stage 4, a 173.1km circuit race in Durbuy. There were four main climbs on the circuit: Rue du Bout, Côte de Hermanne, Mur de Duruy, Champs des Hêtres, and a sprint at the top of Petite Sommes. The field also contested the Golden Kilometre.
The Golden Kilometre offered three sprints, separated by 500m each: one at the start, one at the middle, and one at the exit of the kilometre. These are for the benefit of general classification riders, offering 3, 2, and 1-second time bonuses.
An early breakaway emerged, including Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto-Isorex), Alexys Brunel (Team TotalEnergies), and Axel Huens (Unibet Tietema Rockets), later joined by Dylan Vandenstorme (Team Flanders-Baloise) and Jens Reynders (Wagner Bazin WB). The five riders gained just under a minute, but it was a hit-or-miss effort as several chase groups formed behind them.
Tom Portsmouth (Wagner Bazin WB), Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines), and Michiel Hillen (Baloise Glowi Lions) attempted to bridge but were later caught by a larger chase group that included overall race leader Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep).
There were also four other riders among the top 10 in the overall classification in that large chase group, including Huub Artz (Intermarché-Wanty), Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Filippo Baroncini (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Héctor Álvarez (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), and the group also had in the mix; Kevin Vermaerke (Team Picnic PostNL), Orluis Aular and Carlos Canal (both Movistar Team, Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto), Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech), Lander Loockx (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility) and Olivier Godfroid (Baloise Glowi Lions).
With 60km remaining, the three front groups merged back together to form a 21-rider breakaway 50 seconds ahead of a peloton led by Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Missing from the chasing group was runner-up in the overall classification, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), but with Swift up the road, the team appeared content to let their rival teams manage the time gap.
Aular made a late-race attack inside the last 35 kilometres. At the same time, the front group was reduced to 17 and continued to split apart over the final ascents, with Hayter struggling to stay in contact, and was reabsorbed into the reduced main field behind.
Up front, Baronchini, Berckmoes and Frigo joined Aular to form what would be the winning breakaway of four, stretching their lead out to 20 seconds ahead of the smaller chase group of seven; Artz, Swift, Alvarez, Vermaerke, Brunel, Loockx, and Holter.
The reduced peloton, which included Jasper Philipsen (Soudal-QuickStep) and Hayter, reconnected with the seven chasers inside 30km.
The quartet raced into the Golden Kilometre sprinting for the valuable time bonuses, with Aular taking the win in the first sprint, Baroncini winning the second, and Frigo winning the third before going on a solo attack and leaving his three companions behind with 8km to go.
Frigo’s efforts were short-lived, and he was caught by Berckmoes, Aular, and Baroncini, the quartet holding a slim 10-second lead in the last three kilometres.
They reached the cobbled base of the final climb, with Baroncini taking the lead and setting a fast pace into the last 800 metres, the field led by Hayter just seconds behind, fighting to hold onto his overall leader’s jersey.
Berckmoes was the one who launched his winning attack in the final 100 metres, crossing the line ahead of Frigo and Aular, with Baroncini holding off the field to take fourth on the day, but claiming the overall race lead.
Results :
 ME - Stage 4 </strong> - Durbuy - Durbuy : 173 km
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The Tour of Belgium (Dutch: Ronde van België; French: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries.
Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto) took his third win of the season on stage 4 on the steep slopes of the final climb into Durbuy at the Baloise Belgium Tour as the GC battle became a matter of a few seconds.
It was an emotional victory for the Belgian who attacked a breakaway of four with 100 metres to go to cross the line ahead of runner-up Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) and third-placed Orluis Aular (Movistar).
"The last kilometre was pretty stressful, but I knew I could focus really well when I see the finish line. Also, two days ago, I was third in a bunch sprint, and I'm not a sprinter at all, so I could focus on the finish," Berckmoes said.
"It's good to go first, most the the time, I saw I had a gap immediately and go on and win the race. It has been a difficult time, and it was difficult to keep it dry, but then my family and my girlfriend was here to support me, so it's big emotions."
Filippo Baroncini (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who was also in the breakaway, held off the chasing field to take fourth place, and earned enough bonus seconds on the stage to take the overall lead from Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep) by just four second.
Berckmoes moved up to third overall at seven seconds when the Golden Kilometre bonus seconds were carefully calculated. Filippo Ganna (Ineos-Grenadiers) slipped to fourth place overall at ten second back ahead of the stage 5 finale in Brussels on Sunday.
<strong>How it unfolded</strong>
Many of the riders in the peloton signed on at the start wearing ice vests to try to stay cool in warm 30C conditions to compete in the penultimate stage 4, a 173.1km circuit race in Durbuy. There were four main climbs on the circuit: Rue du Bout, Côte de Hermanne, Mur de Duruy, Champs des Hêtres, and a sprint at the top of Petite Sommes. The field also contested the Golden Kilometre.
The Golden Kilometre offered three sprints, separated by 500m each: one at the start, one at the middle, and one at the exit of the kilometre. These are for the benefit of general classification riders, offering 3, 2, and 1-second time bonuses.
An early breakaway emerged, including Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto-Isorex), Alexys Brunel (Team TotalEnergies), and Axel Huens (Unibet Tietema Rockets), later joined by Dylan Vandenstorme (Team Flanders-Baloise) and Jens Reynders (Wagner Bazin WB). The five riders gained just under a minute, but it was a hit-or-miss effort as several chase groups formed behind them.
Tom Portsmouth (Wagner Bazin WB), Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines), and Michiel Hillen (Baloise Glowi Lions) attempted to bridge but were later caught by a larger chase group that included overall race leader Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep).
There were also four other riders among the top 10 in the overall classification in that large chase group, including Huub Artz (Intermarché-Wanty), Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Filippo Baroncini (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Héctor Álvarez (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), and the group also had in the mix; Kevin Vermaerke (Team Picnic PostNL), Orluis Aular and Carlos Canal (both Movistar Team, Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto), Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech), Lander Loockx (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility) and Olivier Godfroid (Baloise Glowi Lions).
With 60km remaining, the three front groups merged back together to form a 21-rider breakaway 50 seconds ahead of a peloton led by Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Missing from the chasing group was runner-up in the overall classification, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), but with Swift up the road, the team appeared content to let their rival teams manage the time gap.
Aular made a late-race attack inside the last 35 kilometres. At the same time, the front group was reduced to 17 and continued to split apart over the final ascents, with Hayter struggling to stay in contact, and was reabsorbed into the reduced main field behind.
Up front, Baronchini, Berckmoes and Frigo joined Aular to form what would be the winning breakaway of four, stretching their lead out to 20 seconds ahead of the smaller chase group of seven; Artz, Swift, Alvarez, Vermaerke, Brunel, Loockx, and Holter.
The reduced peloton, which included Jasper Philipsen (Soudal-QuickStep) and Hayter, reconnected with the seven chasers inside 30km.
The quartet raced into the Golden Kilometre sprinting for the valuable time bonuses, with Aular taking the win in the first sprint, Baroncini winning the second, and Frigo winning the third before going on a solo attack and leaving his three companions behind with 8km to go.
Frigo's efforts were short-lived, and he was caught by Berckmoes, Aular, and Baroncini, the quartet holding a slim 10-second lead in the last three kilometres.
They reached the cobbled base of the final climb, with Baroncini taking the lead and setting a fast pace into the last 800 metres, the field led by Hayter just seconds behind, fighting to hold onto his overall leader's jersey.
Berckmoes was the one who launched his winning attack in the final 100 metres, crossing the line ahead of Frigo and Aular, with Baroncini holding off the field to take fourth on the day, but claiming the overall race lead.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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