Annemiek van Vleuten has started her season off with a dominant win at the Setmana Valenciana but within a completely different playing field in Belgium, she has taken an even more impressive win at the start of the cobbled classics campaign.
The 128 kilometer route matched the men's in it's crucial phase and in the penultimate hilly sequence in the race the attack of Hannah Henderson, Ellen van Dijk, Liane Lippert and Marlen Reusser put the peloton under pressure after getting a gap at the Leberg, but the main favourites waited until the Muur de Geraardsbergen to make the differences.
Annemiek van Vleuten launched an attack still far from the top and took Demi Vollering with her, with Lotte Kopecky just barely missing on the slipstream of the duo. The duo of Dutch women reached the front group before the Bosberg where Van Vleuten once again put in a dig with Vollering matching.
The duo never actually collaborated for the final 12 kilometers as Van Vleuten took up the whole workload, leading to a small discussion with just under two kilometers to go. Vollering briefly gave van Vleuten the wheel inside the final 500 meters and the veteran tried a surprise sprint with 350 meters to go, and without hesitating went onto the finish with what was seemingly a suicidal move but somehow she managed to hold off Vollering who could not get past.
As the peloton reunited behind, a sprint gave way to third place which was taken by Team DSM's Lorena Wiebes.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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🇳🇱@AvVleuten of 🇪🇸@Movistar_Team wins 🇧🇪@OmloopHNB Women #OHNwomen (📺@NOSsport)
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