"To win twice so early is beyond my wildest dreams": Tom Crabbe emerges as Belgium's newest sprint talent

The start of the 2026 cycling season has highlighted several exciting young riders, and 20-year-old Belgian Tom Crabbe is one of them. Riding for Team Flanders - Baloise, Crabbe has already secured two impressive sprint victories in France and Spain, bringing a wave of much-needed optimism to his squad.

While riders like Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas have dominated the headlines, Crabbe has quietly established himself as a rider to watch. He started his 2026 campaign perfectly by winning the opening stage of the Etoile de Bessèges, beating Lukas Kubis in an uphill sprint to the finish line.

That victory was the first for Team Flanders-Baloise in two years, and the impact was immediate. "You notice that a victory like that brings a lot of euphoria and motivation to the team," Crabbe said in an interview to Sporza.

He then proved his versatility by taking a second victory in a flat bunch sprint during stage 4 of the Vuelta a Andalucia. These results did not come out of nowhere; he already showed his potential last year by finishing in the top 10 on all four sprint stages at the Tour of Britain, which included a second-place finish behind Olav Kooij.

Still, the rapid success surprised even him. The victory in Spain was particularly meaningful as it proved he could win on flat terrain as well. "Now it's for real, I thought," Crabbe said. "It was nice to get confirmation that I'm also fast in bunch sprints. But sometimes it's still unreal that it's happening so quickly."

It was not always obvious that Crabbe would reach this level. During his years in the youth categories, he often struggled to keep up with the peloton. He admits that he did not take the sport very seriously back then. "I might have done it too much for my own pleasure and I didn't actually train enough," he admitted.

A few years later, things are very different. In his second year as a professional with Team Flanders-Baloise, the racing is dead serious, and his focused approach is paying off. "During training camp, jokes were made about it: 'Are you going to win a race?' But I did have a clear plan with my coach," he explained. "The fact that it has already resulted in two wins so early in the year is beyond my wildest dreams."

This rapid success has left Crabbe with a unique "luxury problem." He had set a personal goal of winning two races this entire season. "I achieved it a bit faster than expected," he stated. "So I have to think carefully and see what else is possible, without putting too much pressure on myself."

Looking further into the future, Crabbe's ambitions are set much higher. As a child, he watched the Tour de France every summer, completely fascinated by the battle for the green jersey. "I have always been a big fan of Peter Sagan," he revealed. "That is still a very distant dream. But if I am allowed to dream, I hope that I can one day fight to stand on the podium there with the green jersey."

For now, he is staying focused on the immediate future. "I think I mainly want to take it step by step right now. Map out the plans for the next three years."

Whether those plans will unfold at Team Flanders-Baloise remains to be seen. His recent results have naturally drawn attention from larger teams. "Last year there was already slight interest, I think it is a bit more concrete now. But right now I want to focus on my performances and get as much pleasure out of it as possible," he concluded.