
Trek - Segafredo have taken the win on the opening day, as Mads Pederen showed his strong form by winning the hard uphill finale of the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour and has became the first leader of the race.
The day saw a hilly finale into Maarkendal at the end of 169 kilometers, but the splits were made mostly in the end as the final hilltop saw the group reduced heavily. No-one managed to go up the road though, with a compact group heading into the final meters in for a small sprint.
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Quick-Step led out the sprint, with Jasper Philipsen launching the sprint early, however a bad strategy as he faded towards the end and on the slight uphill rise to the line Mads Pedersen powered into a dominant win, beating Tim Wellens and Philipsen at the line.
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- He lives in Monaco
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - It's also highly significant for Lorenzo Finn as he won there last year. Also Mateo Ramírez and Henrique Bravo if they go
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - This is a phenomenal course design. I do wish that they'd stretch these tours for the women to at least 2 weeks.RidesHills03-11-2026
- This is an amazing route, honestly. Let's hope that it attracts riders to make it a compelling and competitive race. Side bar amusement: going to Slovenia and passing pretty close to Pogačar's house. I wonder if they were tempting him to get all 3 jerseys at once after winning the Tour and Vuelta. After all, only a very few have ever had all three at the same time (Froome being the last).RidesHills03-11-2026
- He was a child two years ago
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughie
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - Let Torito have a shot at it
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - A great route, much more exciting than the Tour de France. Monte Livata is an interesting one, because they experimented with it at the 2026 Baby Giro, and it was fantastic. 4 km at 10%, then 10 km at 6.5% made for a great spectacle. The stage 16 is horrible. Montaner is also used in the U23s, in Giro del Belvedere
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - I remember when Mark went through that. He was really experiencing lows and thought about quiting many times. It took him a long time to recover. I, like many others were overjoyed when he came back. I hope Lafay has been tested. I wish him the best.Paggss03-11-2026
- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
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#BaloiseBelgiumTour What a team effort today! And @Mads__Pedersen rewards it perfectly! #WeAreATeam
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