Eneco Tour 2026 – Stage 5 [FULL STAGE]

October 18, 2026

2nd Eneco Tour 2026 🇳🇱 (2.1) ME – Stage 5 – Arnhem – Arnhem : 149,2 km

Eneco Tour ME is a UCI WorldTour multi-stage road race across the Netherlands and Belgium, combining flat agricultural roads, rolling countryside, cobbled sectors and short climbs. The route typically alternates between fast sprint stages and more selective days through the hilly regions of the Benelux, with an individual time trial sometimes adding a test of sustained power and aerodynamic efficiency. Most stages feature paved roads with limited elevation gain, while the hillier sections include short climbs with gradients of 5–10% and occasional steeper ramps. Narrow lanes, technical corners and exposed farmland make positioning important, while crosswinds can split the peloton into echelons. Racing often begins with early breakaways before sprint teams or general classification contenders control the pace. Repeated accelerations on climbs and cobbled sections can gradually reduce the field, while flatter roads allow groups to regroup. Stage finishes can produce bunch sprints, reduced-group battles or late attacks, depending on terrain and wind conditions.

Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) finished off the Eneco Tour with a commanding sprint into Arnhem to take his second stage win of the race and 14 of the 2026 season.

The Belgian’s team were prominent doing the work on the run-in of the 149.2km stage, which always looked set to conclude with a sprint finish. Unibet Rose Rockets countered in the final kilometre with a lead-out for Dylan Groenewegen which ended up looking rather ragged.

Behind them, Merlier was poised to strike, accelerating past his rival with ease and hitting the front with a large gap he’d keep to the line in a comfortable win.

Groenewegen ended the day a distant second place – a second runner-up spot behind Merlier this race – while Davide Donati (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) rounede out the podium.

The sprint finish was set up after solo attacker MichieL Mouris (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) was caught with 7.5km to go. The Dutchman had bridged across to the three-man breakaway of Marijn Maas (BEAT p/b Saxo), Rick Ottema (EEW-VDK Cyclingteam), and Mattanja Woets (VokerWessles) with 23km left to run before eventually going solo.

The charging peloton, invested in a sprint finish, dutifully marked out any further attacks on the front, leaving the likes of Soudal-QuickStep, Unibet Rose Rockets, and Visma-Lease a Bike to lead the way into the final kilometres and the inevitable sprint.

Meanwhile, Visma’s Victor Campenaerts could end the day, and the race, in celebratory fashion, the Belgian having clinched the overall victory – his first in a stage race – with a 15-second gap over Wessel Mouris (Unibet Rose Rockets) while Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) took third overall, 30 seconds back.

Results :

Final General Classification :