Results Baloise Belgium Tour 2026 stage 4 | Olav Kooij edges Merlier and Philipsen in blanket sprint after breakaway caught in final kilometre
Cycling
Olav Kooij won stage 4 of the 2026 Baloise Belgium Tour in Aarschot after the sprinters finally brought a stubborn breakaway back in the closing kilometre.
The Decathlon CMA CGM Team sprinter came out on top in a close finish after a long, hot day in the Hageland that stayed under control for most of the afternoon, but still forced the sprint teams to chase deep into the finale.
The 183.5 kilometre stage from Betekom to Aarschot always looked more suited to the fast men than the previous day’s queen stage in Durbuy, where Alex Aranburu had taken both victory and the overall race lead. Short climbs and local circuits gave the route some bite, but not enough to properly pull the race away from the sprinters.
A six-man break formed quickly after the start, with Killy, Jarno Bellens, Coppens, Michiel van Vliet, Maxence Place and Michael Vanthourenhout moving clear. The peloton kept the gap below three minutes for much of the day, holding the escape close without immediately shutting it down.
Breakaway keeps sprint teams working
Alpecin - Premier Tech and Soudal - Quick-Step were prominent on the front for Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier, while the heat added another layer of difficulty. Temperatures in the sun reached around 35C, with riders using water and ice to cool themselves through the local laps.
The break began to weaken before the final phase. Van Vliet crashed after making contact with Vanthourenhout and had to let the move go, before Vanthourenhout himself slipped back with shifting problems on the Schoonhovendreef and was later caught by the peloton.
Place managed to return to the front group after briefly being distanced, but the advantage continued to shrink as the bunch moved into the last lap. Tibor del Grosso lifted the pace in the peloton, while NSN Cycling Team and Uno-X Mobility also helped drive the chase on the final passage of the Houwaartberg.
The Golden Kilometre passed without a major move from the general classification riders. The peloton failed to reach the break in time for the bonus seconds, leaving them up the road, although the leaders were already more focused on survival than contesting the sprints.
Inside the final 15 kilometres, the gap was still narrow enough to keep the break hoping but small enough to leave a bunch sprint looking likely. Rasmus Pedersen helped stretch the peloton through Baal, and the leaders were still around 20 seconds clear as the race charged towards Aarschot.
They were finally caught just before the sprint trains spread across the wide road in the final kilometre. Jake Stewart worked in the lead-out for Biniam Girmay, while Soren Waerenskjold launched the sprint, but Kooij timed his effort best and took the victory after a close call at the line.
After being forced to wait through the opening three stages, Kooij finally claimed the sprint win he needed in Aarschot.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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