Description
June 17, 2026
95th Baloise Belgium Tour 2026 🇧🇪 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 1 – Scherpenheuvel-Zichem – Scherpenheuvel-Zichem : 188,3 km
Baloise Belgium Tour is a UCI 2.Pro classification stage race that unfolds across the flat to rolling landscapes of Flanders and Wallonia,
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June 17, 2026
95th Baloise Belgium Tour 2026 🇧🇪 (2.Pro) ME – Stage 1 – Scherpenheuvel-Zichem – Scherpenheuvel-Zichem : 188,3 km
Baloise Belgium Tour is a UCI 2.Pro classification stage race that unfolds across the flat to rolling landscapes of Flanders and Wallonia, where the roads are often narrow, wind-swept, and punctuated by short, sharp climbs or cobbled sectors that test a rider’s versatility. The terrain is predominantly flat but deceptively challenging, with crosswinds frequently disrupting the peloton’s rhythm and creating echelons that split the field. The climbs, though not towering, are steep and technical, with gradients of 6–10% on roads that twist through Flemish farmland or the Ardennes foothills, demanding repeated accelerations and precise bike handling. The race dynamics are defined by their unpredictability, with attacks launching on the short climbs, in the crosswinds, or during the technical cobbled sections, where gaps can open in an instant. The peloton remains tightly packed for much of the race, but the constant changes in pace and terrain ensure that only the most adaptable riders thrive. The sprint finishes are fast and tactical, often contested on wide, straight roads or slightly uphill drags that reward raw power and perfect positioning. The Baloise Belgium Tour embodies the essence of Belgian racing—relentless, tactical, and unforgiving—where every stage presents a new challenge and the outcome is rarely decided until the final meters.
Biniam Girmay (NSN) powered to victory on the first stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, narrowly holding off Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) in the bunch sprint.
Max Kanter (XDS Astana) was third.
“First of all I want to thank my teammates, they did a super incredible job,” Girmay said. “Already in the season we did quite a nice lead-out but we missed some big races. But today we did super incredible job. We were really calm and just focussed on our job, and we stayed humble, keeping organised the last 3k.
“I’m super happy to win here in Belgium. It’s always super nice to win here in Belgium, and I’ve also trained here quite a few times on these roads, so I know a little bit the finish. It suits me really well, slightly uphill. I’m just happy to finish off my team’s work.”
His team had to fight hard to catch solo attacker Rune Herregodts (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), only sweeping past with 150 metres to the line.
“He was super strong, we thought he would come back earlier, but he kept pushing in the last couple hundred metres,” Girmay said. “We were just lucky we caught him before the last 100 metres. This guy is always a good time trialist and can keep the speed.”
Girmay moves into the race lead after taking his first victory since the Clasica Almeria in February.
Because of the time bonuses the breakaway claimed during the Golden Kilometre sprints, the Eritrean has a two-second advantage over Bart Kortleve (Metec- Solarwatt p/b Mantel) and three on Robbe Mellaerts (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions), with Merlier fourth at six seconds.
There were numerous attempts to foil the sprinters on the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, a 188.3-kilometre circuit around Scherpenheuvel-Zichem.
While the stage was fairly flat, repeated cobbled ascents on Kerkstraat (500 meters of cobblestones at 5.3%), Heuvelstraat (500 meters of cobblestones at 3.4%), Wingerstraat (500 meters at 5.1%), and Dongelstraat (600 meters at 5.2%) made for a tough circuit.
Roy Hoogendoorn (Metec – SOLARWAT Mantel) attacked after taking the first intermediate sprint, and, joined by Olivier Godfroid (Baloise Verzekeringen – Het Poetsbureau Lions), the pair made the first breakaway after 20 kilometres of racing.
However, the peloton never let them get much more than two minutes, and the pair were caught with 72km to go. There was an immediate counter-attack, and a group of five contested the Golden Kilometre sprints before being reeled in.
More aggression followed across the next 50 kilometres, with the peloton splitting and reforming numerous times before Rune Herregodts (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took off with 20km to go.
Alpecin-Premier Tech headed up the chase, keeping the Belgian within 30 seconds. Herregodts crested the final climb with a handful of seconds over the bunch, and held on through the kilometre to go banner, but was caught with just 150 metres to go.
Results :
 ME - Stage 1 </strong> - Scherpenheuvel-Zichem - Scherpenheuvel-Zichem : 188,3 km
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Baloise Belgium Tour is a UCI 2.Pro classification stage race that unfolds across the flat to rolling landscapes of Flanders and Wallonia, where the roads are often narrow, wind-swept, and punctuated by short, sharp climbs or cobbled sectors that test a rider’s versatility. The terrain is predominantly flat but deceptively challenging, with crosswinds frequently disrupting the peloton’s rhythm and creating echelons that split the field. The climbs, though not towering, are steep and technical, with gradients of 6–10% on roads that twist through Flemish farmland or the Ardennes foothills, demanding repeated accelerations and precise bike handling. The race dynamics are defined by their unpredictability, with attacks launching on the short climbs, in the crosswinds, or during the technical cobbled sections, where gaps can open in an instant. The peloton remains tightly packed for much of the race, but the constant changes in pace and terrain ensure that only the most adaptable riders thrive. The sprint finishes are fast and tactical, often contested on wide, straight roads or slightly uphill drags that reward raw power and perfect positioning. The Baloise Belgium Tour embodies the essence of Belgian racing—relentless, tactical, and unforgiving—where every stage presents a new challenge and the outcome is rarely decided until the final meters.
Biniam Girmay (NSN) powered to victory on the first stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, narrowly holding off Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) in the bunch sprint.
Max Kanter (XDS Astana) was third.
"First of all I want to thank my teammates, they did a super incredible job," Girmay said. "Already in the season we did quite a nice lead-out but we missed some big races. But today we did super incredible job. We were really calm and just focussed on our job, and we stayed humble, keeping organised the last 3k.
"I'm super happy to win here in Belgium. It's always super nice to win here in Belgium, and I've also trained here quite a few times on these roads, so I know a little bit the finish. It suits me really well, slightly uphill. I'm just happy to finish off my team's work."
His team had to fight hard to catch solo attacker Rune Herregodts (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), only sweeping past with 150 metres to the line.
"He was super strong, we thought he would come back earlier, but he kept pushing in the last couple hundred metres," Girmay said. "We were just lucky we caught him before the last 100 metres. This guy is always a good time trialist and can keep the speed."
Girmay moves into the race lead after taking his first victory since the Clasica Almeria in February.
Because of the time bonuses the breakaway claimed during the Golden Kilometre sprints, the Eritrean has a two-second advantage over Bart Kortleve (Metec- Solarwatt p/b Mantel) and three on Robbe Mellaerts (Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions), with Merlier fourth at six seconds.
There were numerous attempts to foil the sprinters on the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, a 188.3-kilometre circuit around Scherpenheuvel-Zichem.
While the stage was fairly flat, repeated cobbled ascents on Kerkstraat (500 meters of cobblestones at 5.3%), Heuvelstraat (500 meters of cobblestones at 3.4%), Wingerstraat (500 meters at 5.1%), and Dongelstraat (600 meters at 5.2%) made for a tough circuit.
Roy Hoogendoorn (Metec - SOLARWAT Mantel) attacked after taking the first intermediate sprint, and, joined by Olivier Godfroid (Baloise Verzekeringen - Het Poetsbureau Lions), the pair made the first breakaway after 20 kilometres of racing.
However, the peloton never let them get much more than two minutes, and the pair were caught with 72km to go. There was an immediate counter-attack, and a group of five contested the Golden Kilometre sprints before being reeled in.
More aggression followed across the next 50 kilometres, with the peloton splitting and reforming numerous times before Rune Herregodts (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took off with 20km to go.
Alpecin-Premier Tech headed up the chase, keeping the Belgian within 30 seconds. Herregodts crested the final climb with a handful of seconds over the bunch, and held on through the kilometre to go banner, but was caught with just 150 metres to go.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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