Merlier shines in sprint showdown as Campenaerts seals GC on Eneco Tour stage 5

Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) sprinted to victory on stage 5 of the Eneco Tour in Arnhem as Victor Campenaerts (Visma | Lease a Bike) was crowned the winner of the general classification.

The stage finished with five laps of a local circuit around the streets of Arnhem where a sprint finish was a likely outcome and Merlier was the outright favourite.

Michiel Mouris (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) jumped across to the breakaway before going solo. However, the Dutchman was caught by the peloton on the final lap with 7.5km to go as Soudal Quick-Step and Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the tempo for the stage win and GC respectively. 

There were a couple more attacks in the closing kilometres, but they were neutralised by Quick-Step. 

Unibet Rose Rockets seized control at the front of the race in the final 2km with three riders in front of Dylan Groenewegen. 

Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) threatened to sneak away after opening a gap on one of the final corners, but Merlier was alert to the danger and launched a long-range sprint that nobody could respond to. 

In the end, Merlier finished bike lengths ahead of Groenewegen in second and Davide Donati (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in third.

It marks the Belgian’s second victory of the 2026 edition and a milestone 80th professional victory on the road.

Meanwhile, Campenaerts finished safely inside the peloton to seal the GC title by 15 seconds ahead of Wessel Mouris (Unibet Rose Rockets) and by 30 seconds over Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in third. 

It’s the thirteenth victory of Campenaerts' career, but notably his first GC triumph.

The three-man breakaway consisted of Marijn Maas (Beat CC p/b Saxo), Mattanja Woets (VolkerWessels), and Rick Ottema (EEW-VDK), with the latter featuring in his fourth breakaway of this year’s race. 

On the first lap of the finishing circuit, the breakaway started to splinter, as Woets was distanced by his companions with 33km remaining as the peloton lurked within 20 seconds of the race leaders.

Michiel Mouris (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) managed to jump across to the leading duo with 24km remaining at the start of the third lap, and a short while after, Ottema was distanced. 

Mouris went solo with 12km remaining, but with the peloton breathing down his neck, the Dutchman would not be able to deny the field, and he was caught with 7.5km to go.