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"[caption id="attachment_1222792" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The early breakaway - photo: Cor Vos[/caption]Arnaud De Lie miraculously claimed the Renewi Tour victory. Due to the bonus seconds play, Mathieu van der Poel seemed to take the overall lead in the final stage, but in the sprint finish, De Lie was too quick for the Dutchman, allowing the Bull of Lescheret to win both the stage and the general classification.
One second — that was the difference between leader Arnaud De Lie and closest challenger Mathieu van der Poel before the final stage of the Renewi Tour. The finale took place on a city circuit in Leuven. In the five laps to be completed, there were three climbs that were also part of the 2021 World Championships final. First the Keizersberg (300 meters at 5.6%), then the Decouxlaan (1.1 km at 3.4%), and finally the Wijnpers (300 meters at 8.3%). After the last Wijnpers, there were still 5.5 kilometers to the finish on Bondgenotenlaan.
Many riders wanted to be part of the day’s breakaway. As a result, it took a while before the definitive lead group escaped, but with about thirty kilometers to go, it finally happened. Edoardo Affini attacked, and the Italian from Visma | Lease a Bike was joined by three others: Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders-Baloise), and Aivaras Mikutis (Tudor). A strong break, but precisely for that reason, the quartet got little leeway. Moreover, their maximum advantage of three minutes was quickly reduced.
XDS Astana turned up the pressure
The gap then started shrinking rapidly when XDS Astana ramped up the pace with 55 kilometers remaining. Mike Teunissen accelerated on the Keizersberg and then kept pushing alongside several teammates. This caused some splits in the peloton, but many riders rejoined before the Wijnpers. On that climb, XDS Astana launched a new attack. This time they led out Alberto Bettiol, who managed to create a small gap at the summit.
Stan Dewulf, Fred Wright, and Mathias Vacek joined the Italian, but soon the rest of the peloton came back together. The next to try—on the next climb of the Keizersberg—was Axel Huens from Unibet Tietema Rockets. He was accompanied by Davide Ballerini. The two built up a lead of twenty seconds, but by the top of the Wijnpers, very little of it remained. Mathieu van der Poel had launched an attack on the short climb.
Van der Poel’s first acceleration
The Dutchman powered up, but with 35 kilometers to go, he did not manage to escape alone. However, his acceleration split off a group of about twenty riders, which did not include Tim Wellens. The Belgian, third overall, had suffered a flat tire just before the Wijnpers. Fortunately for Wellens, the group came back together. UAE Emirates XRG immediately took the lead in the peloton and closed the gap on Ballerini. Huens had already dropped back when he saw Van der Poel and his group approaching.
With the peloton stretched into a long line, they headed for the Green Kilometer. Van der Poel won the first intermediate sprint, grabbing three bonus seconds, while De Lie, finishing third there, picked up only one second. In the subsequent sprints, neither rider gained further bonuses. As a result, the Dutchman moved past the Belgian in the virtual overall standings by one second. A good position for MVDP, especially since he was now in a small leading group including Wright, Wellens, Skujins, and Bettiol.
Van der Poel and co. reeled back
The five riders made their way to the Wijnpers climb. Bettiol clearly felt comfortable here and accelerated again. The Italian crossed the top with another small gap, but Van der Poel, Skujins, and Wellens quickly closed it down. Wright dropped off for good. The remaining four leaders entered the last fifteen-kilometer lap with no certainty. The difference with the peloton—where Lotto, Soudal Quick-Step, and especially Frank van den Broek were doing a lot of work—was only a handful of seconds.
That wasn’t enough to hold off the peloton. With sprinters like Kooij and Tim Merlier also present, the peloton returned to the Keizersberg for the final time. No one managed to make a difference on that climb, but as they approached the Wijnpers, Lorenzo Milesi, Paul Magnier, and Jasper Stuyven managed to open a gap. Just before the climb, Thibau Nys, Valentin Madouas, and Stan Dewulf joined them, but the peloton was still close behind. Everything was still possible.
De Lie wins the stage and overall
At the top, Magnier and Nys maintained a small gap, but they were soon caught. Then Wellens launched another attack. With help from Tibor Del Grosso, Van der Poel managed to stabilize the situation. New accelerations followed immediately, but a sprint seemed inevitable. That was until Dries De Bondt came into play. The Belgian from Decathlon AG2R launched an acceleration at just the right moment in the final kilometer. Could he hold on?
Almost. In the final stretch, the sprinters surged past. On the right was De Lie, on the left Van der Poel. It was the Bull of Lescheret who crossed the line first. This way, De Lie took not only the stage victory but also the overall win. He gained ten bonus seconds while Van der Poel only earned six. The final difference between the two was three seconds in De Lie’s favor.
Renewi Tour| Rank | Rider | Time |
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The early breakaway - photo: Cor Vos
Van der Poel’s first acceleration on the Wijnpers - photo: Cor Vos
Renewi Tour| Rank | Rider | Time |
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| 1 | 03:59:38 | |
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| 3 | " | |
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| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
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| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
