2026 Renewi Tour preview: Defending champion and elite sprinters collide

The Renewi Tour is one of the most distinctive WorldTour stage races due to its association with the adored spring classics. In the past, the Renewi Tour in its various iterations has featured across Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, though the race is now predominantly Belgian-based.

Formed in 2005 to replace the faltering Tour of the Netherlands, the event was previously known as the Eneco Tour, Binckbank Tour, and Benelux Tour as title sponsors shifted. The race was cancelled in 2022 due to conflicts with the racing calendar, though it swiftly returned in 2023 under a new guise, the Renewi Tour.

Across the previous 20 editions, there have been 15 different winners, including the inaugural winner Bobby Julich, with Arnaud De Lie the most recent. Meanwhile, Tim Wellens has won four editions of the race, a record, with his first victory coming in the colours of Lotto Belisol in 2014, and his most recent coming in 2024 with UAE.

In the past, the Renewi Tour in its various iterations has taken place across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, though the race is now predominantly Belgian-based. The 2026 edition will take place across five road stages from Diest on the edge of the Flemish Brabant province to Leuven in the heart of Flanders. 

Stage 1 starts and finishes in Diest and features plenty of short, sharp climbs, a theme of the entire race, across its 191km. The riders will take three loops of the final circuit around Diest, which features the Grasbos climb (0.4km at 5.5%), with the last time it’s tackled coming just over 10km from the finish. The sprinters will have their eyes on this stage and the first leader’s jersey, but will have to be vigilant in the finale. 

This is followed by the flattest stage of the race, a 173.9km trek from Blankenberge to Ardooie, featuring 470m of elevation gain. The riders will enter the final circuit in Ardooie around halfway through the race and will tackle five laps. Although the route is pan-flat, it is unlikely to be a straightforward finale as the tension and fight for position ramps up with a golden opportunity awaiting the sprinters. 

Next up is a crucial stage 3, one that looks set to define the 2026 edition. Featuring just under 2,000m of elevation gain, the 184.6km stage from Celles to Geraardsbergen features some of the most recognised climbs in all of Belgium, with the road very rarely flat throughout. In the first half of the stage, the likes of the Trieu-Knokteberg, Paterberg, Hotond, Oude Kruisberg and Berg Ten Houte are all well associated with the spring classics. 

The final circuit, which will be tackled twice, features one of the most iconic climbs in all of cycling, the Kapelmuur, aka the wall of Geraardsbergen. If the fatigue hasn’t already built from the accumulation of climbs earlier in the stage, the legs will certainly be burning as the strongest riders in the race make the difference on gradients that nearly reach 20%. 

Just a few kilometres over the climb’s crest, the riders will tackle another famous ascent in the Bosberg. The climbing isn’t finished there, however, as the circuit also features the Onkerzele Berg and the Denderoordberg, before a final uphill cobbled sprint into Geraardsbergen that the riders will be familiar with. 

With the queen stage now logged, stage 4 takes the riders 187.3km from Riemst to Bilzen-Hoeselt, covering 1,457m of elevation gain. The Sur les Coteaux, Gousbeemdstraat, Letenberg and Slingerberg will be tackled multiple times throughout the stage, with the final ascent of the Letenberg coming inside the final 10km. The road rises to the finish at Grote-Spouwen (Hoeselt-Bilzen), which should favour those with a strong punch.

A blockbuster finale in Leuven awaits the peloton on stage 5, one which strikes a reminiscent tone to the fifth and final stage in 2025, with 1,821m of elevation gain packed across 184km.

Designed for dynamic racing, the final city circuit features three key ascents: Wijnpers, Leopold Decouxlaan and the Keizersberg. Expect plenty of attacks on these climbs, though also anticipate that the differences can be made elsewhere on this technical circuit. 

Defending champion Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) returns after a difficult Tour de France where he was forced to abandon on stage 3 due to illness. 

Last year we saw De Lie at his very best as he was locked in a scintillating contest with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and held off the Dutchman by claiming victory in the leader’s jersey on the final stage to seal the overall. 

While the 2020 winner Van der Poel will not take to the start line, there will be plenty of strong riders who will be looking to dethrone De Lie this week.

Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who also completed the Tour, is a former runner-up and gives the Emirati team options to play in the GC in the absence of Wellens.

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) is the third former winner on the start list, and also has a full Tour in the legs. The Slovenian finished sixth on the final stage to Paris, which is arguably the stage most reminiscent of what to expect at the Renewi Tour.

There are plenty of classics specialists who could feature in the GC, and some of the former top 10 finishers include:

Tiesj Benoot and Oliver Naesen (Decathlon CMA CGM), Søren Kragh Andersen and Toms Skujiņš (Lidl-Trek), Per Strand Hagenes and Dylan van Baarle (Visma | Lease a Bike), Alberto Bettiol, and Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana), Ben Turner (Netcompany-Ineos), Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) and Fred Wright (Pinarello-Q36.5).

The 2026 edition has also attracted a world-class pool of sprinters, as is usually the case. 

Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) arrive after claiming stage wins at the Tour de France in July. Meanwhile, Italian champion Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) will be raring to go after claiming three stage victories at the Tour de Pologne at the start of August. 

In addition, the likes of Biniam Girmay (NSN), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Max Kanter (XDS Astana), and Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), who also won a stage at the Tour, give serious depth to the sprint field.