Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) defied all expectations, holding off the challenge from Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) with the victory on the final stage and the overall win as well of the 2025 Renewi Tour.
The Belgian survived numerous attacks on the hilly circuit in Leuven, waited patiently as a solo flyer from Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was caught in the dying metres, and then unleashed a vicious acceleration up the right side to out-sprint Van der Poel on the left. De Bondt held on for third on the day.
The demanding final stage around Leuven was tightly controlled as only seconds separated the top three heading into the stage.
Sean Flynn (Picnic-PostNL), Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar), Michiel Lambrecht (Wagner Bazin WB) and Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders Baloise) made up the first breakaway on the final stage of the Renewi Tour but they were reeled in after just 24 kilometres, sparking more attacks.
Another move went clear when Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) leapt clear and was joined by Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Deweirdt and Aivaras Mikutis (Tudor Pro Cycling).
Their lead went up to nearly three minutes but with time bonuses on tap in the final 25km and only one second separating Van der Poel from De Lie, the move was never going to stick.
Despite the power in the move, they were brought back with 50km to go. While several more surges came it was always going to be the ‘green…
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