Results Omloop van het Houtland 2026 - Tim Merlier goes back-to-back in Lichtervelde to continue red-hot September form
Cycling
Tim Merlier continued his winning September with victory at the 2026 Omloop van het Houtland, successfully defending his title in Lichtervelde after the sprinters' teams shut down the final attacks of the day.
The Soudal - Quick-Step leader arrived only five days after beating Dylan Groenewegen at the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen and again delivered when the race came down to the expected bunch finish.
Anders Foldager and Joseph Brookes had provided the final major obstacle to that scenario. The Team Jayco AlUla and Cofidis riders initially escaped alongside Rokas Adomaitis before continuing as a pair after the Lithuanian was dropped.
Their advantage had reached 53 seconds with around 49 kilometres remaining, prompting Tudor Pro Cycling, Alpecin-Premier Tech, Soudal - Quick-Step and Unibet Rose Rockets to contribute to the pursuit.
Tim Merlier during the 2026 Tour de France
Merlier finishes off Soudal's work
Foldager and Brookes still held 12 seconds with 15 kilometres remaining, but the chase finally brought them back at the 10km mark. From there, the sprint teams took control. Tudor moved four riders towards the front with just over five kilometres remaining before Unibet Rose Rockets assembled six riders of their own as the peloton bunched together.
Wessel Mouris worked on the front for Unibet inside two kilometres, while Soudal placed Bert Van Lerberghe at the head of the peloton as Merlier's lead-out began to take shape.
Jonas Rickaert then led Gerben Thijssen towards the final straight for Alpecin-Premier Tech before Arvid de Kleijn launched his sprint with around 700 metres remaining.
Merlier ultimately emerged with the victory, taking his 12th win of the 2026 season and becoming the first rider since Max Walscheid to win multiple editions of Omloop van het Houtland.
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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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- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026
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