This page contains the podium, decisive moments, tactical analysis, team verdicts, and per-rider performance reports. Read no further if you intend to watch this race unspoiled.
Through four of five stages, Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) leads the Baloise Belgium Tour after powering up the Muur van Durbuy to win the stage 3 queen stage and seize the jersey from the sprinters. The opening two flat days went to Biniam Girmay and Tim Merlier, who each briefly led on bonus seconds, and Olav Kooij won the stage 4 sprint in Aarschot. With the GC tight — Jasper Philipsen sits second at just two seconds after picking up sprint bonuses — only the final stage to Hoeilaart remains.
OPENINGThe first two stages belonged to the fast men. On the 188.3 km opening loop around Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Biniam Girmay edged a tight uphill-tinged sprint ahead of Tim Merlier and Max Kanter to take the win and the first leader's jersey on bonus seconds. The next day, a flat 197.6 km run to the coast at Knokke-Heist saw Merlier turn the tables, beating Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen and taking over the race lead — leaving the overall to be settled by bonus seconds among the sprinters until the climbs arrived.
UNFOLDSStage 3 was the queen stage, a 173 km circuit-fest around Durbuy finishing on the savage Muur van Durbuy. After the breakaway was controlled, the climb exploded the race: Lewis Askey opened the uphill sprint but Alex Aranburu came over the top of him in the final metres, with Carlos Canal third. Aranburu took the leader's jersey as Merlier and the pure sprinters were distanced and dropped out of GC contention.
DECIDEDThe Muur van Durbuy on stage 3 is where the overall was effectively decided — but the margins are tiny. Aranburu leads Philipsen and Berckmoes by just two seconds, so the flat final stage to Hoeilaart and its bonus sprints could still overturn the standings.
FINALENot yet raced. Stage 5 (Gingelom → Hoeilaart) takes place on 21 June 2026, after this update.
Cofidis have the race lead with one stage to go thanks to a perfectly judged ride from Alex Aranburu on the Durbuy queen stage. He timed his uphill sprint to come over the top of Lewis Askey on the Muur van Durbuy, winning the stage and taking the jersey from the sprinters. The challenge now is to defend a two-second margin on a flat final day made for the fast men.
Tim Merlier delivered the stage 2 sprint win in Knokke-Heist and briefly wore the leader's jersey, but as a pure sprinter he was always going to struggle on the Durbuy climbs, and he lost the lead and dropped out of GC contention on the queen stage. A second place behind Kooij in Aarschot on stage 4 underlined that the legs were there for the flat days but not the hills.
Olav Kooij banked the stage 4 sprint in Aarschot, launching late to beat Merlier and Philipsen after finishing second to Merlier on stage 2 — a tidy reward on a day the GC was always going to stay quiet at the top.
An aggressive, productive week for NSN: Biniam Girmay won the opening stage and the first leader's jersey in a bunch sprint, and Lewis Askey then went close on the queen stage, leading out the Muur van Durbuy sprint only to be passed by Aranburu in the final metres for second. Two different riders contending on two very different stage profiles.
Jasper Philipsen has quietly assembled the best GC position of the sprinters by surviving the Durbuy queen stage and scooping bonus seconds in the bunch finishes. His stage 4 third place in Aarschot lifted him to second overall, just two seconds off Aranburu — putting Alpecin in position to attack the lead on the bonus sprints of the flat final stage.
Girmay set the tone of the race by winning stage 1 and the first leader's jersey, then taking second on the road to Merlier across the flat days. The Durbuy climbs ended his GC bid, but he remained a factor in the sprints, taking fifth in Aarschot. A strong week of racing in his NSN colours.
Merlier was the strongest sprinter of the flat days, taking second on stage 1 and winning stage 2 in Knokke-Heist to grab the leader's jersey. The Durbuy queen stage dropped him out of GC contention, and on stage 4 he was beaten into second by Kooij's late kick. A win and a leader's jersey to show for the week, but no overall.
Philipsen has been the smartest sprinter on GC, taking a stage 2 third and a stage 4 third while surviving the Durbuy queen stage well enough to stay in overall range. The bonus seconds from his consistent finishes lifted him to second overall, two seconds behind Aranburu — the best-placed fast man heading into the final stage.
As of 20 June 2026, after four of five stages, Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) leads the Baloise Belgium Tour by two seconds over Jasper Philipsen and Jenno Berckmoes, with Quinten Hermans fourth at three seconds and Lewis Askey fifth at four. Aranburu's win on the Durbuy queen stage was the decisive act, distancing the sprinters who had traded the lead on the first two days. With the overall this tight, the flat final stage to Hoeilaart and its bonus sprints leave the door open for the fast men to overturn the standings.