The 47th Tour de Wallonie opened a day after the Giro d'Italia finished, with a punchy 180.7 km from Manage to Lobbes built around repeated ascents of the short, cobbled Thuin wall (0.3 km at 8.7%). The repeated efforts shredded the bunch, but the fast finishers who could climb survived to contest a reduced sprint into Lobbes. Jordi Meeus — a headline name in the transfer market, with reports linking him to Lidl-Trek for 2027 — coped smoothly with the cumulative wear and finished off Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's lead-out to take the win. Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla) and Kim Heiduk (Netcompany INEOS) completed the podium at three seconds, both clipped by the time gaps the climb opened up. Meeus took the first overall lead, extending a strong run after his recent win at the Four Days of Dunkirk.

Stage win plus time bonuses put Jordi Meeus into the overall lead on day one. With the Thuin wall splitting the field, the GC was already condensed to a handful of seconds at the front, setting up a bonus-second battle over the remaining four punchy stages.