Results Baloise Belgium Tour 2026 Stage 3 - Alex Aranburu wins chaotic Durbuy finale ahead of Brit Lewis Askey

Alex Aranburu won stage 3 of the 2026 Baloise Belgium Tour after a chaotic finale in Durbuy finally delivered the queen-stage fight that had been missing for much of the afternoon.

The Cofidis rider came through at the end of a restless closing phase in which the race repeatedly split, regrouped and attacked again on the final lap. Lewis Askey launched the sprint for NSN Cycling Team, but Aranburu had the final answer and crossed the line first, with Askey taking second place.

It was a stage that took time to ignite. The 173 kilometre route around Durbuy featured 2661 metres of climbing and repeated passages over the Mur de Durbuy, but the first half of the day was controlled more by the sprint teams than by the general classification contenders. Tim Merlier started the day in the race lead after his stage 2 victory in Knokke-Heist, and the pace stayed low enough for the fast men to remain in the game far deeper than expected.

That changed on the final lap, when Jenno Berckmoes and Quinten Hermans finally broke the race open on the Petite Somme. Berckmoes, last year’s winner in Durbuy, forced the move on the climb, with Hermans joining him as the sprinters began to lose contact.

The pair also used the Golden Kilometre to collect bonus seconds, adding direct general classification value to their attack. Aime De Gendt and Hector Alvarez later bridged across, creating a dangerous four-man move before the chasing group brought them back.

The catch did not calm the race. Jasper Stuyven, Davide Toneatti and Rick Pluimers were among the next riders to attack, before the finale became a rolling sequence of accelerations. Florian Vermeersch tried to move from behind after missing one of the key splits, while Dylan van Baarle, Jasper Philipsen and Hermans also helped force another selection.

A front group then formed with Berckmoes, Girmay, Hermans, Philipsen, Pluimers, Meris, Van Baarle and Mike Teunissen, briefly looking capable of deciding both the stage and the race lead between them. Pluimers decided the group was too large and attacked alone, opening a small gap as hesitation hit behind.

Teunissen countered in the descent as the race entered its final kilometres, before Toon Aerts also launched an attack in the closing phase. The finale never settled into a controlled sprint train, leaving Aranburu and Askey to emerge from a fractured, attack-heavy run-in.

The early break had formed almost immediately after the start through Gianni Marchand, Stijn Appel, Michiel Hillen, Roy Hoogendoorn and Victor Hannes. Their lead reached almost four minutes, but the peloton kept them close enough to prevent the move becoming decisive. Rui Oliveira later bridged across for UAE Team Emirates - XRG, giving Florian Vermeersch a possible card before the race returned together ahead of the final circuit.

Several riders abandoned before the decisive phase, including Maikel Zijlaard, Sam Bennett, Ivan Garcia Cortina and Jules Hesters. Bennett’s exit followed two difficult opening stages and ended his Baloise Belgium Tour before the Ardennes finale had properly begun.

After a quiet opening half, Durbuy eventually produced the selection the route had promised. Berckmoes and Hermans started the real fight, Pluimers and Teunissen kept it unstable, and Aranburu finished it off with victory on the queen stage.