Video | Wellens and Quick-Step get physical in Belgium Golden Kilometer, disqualifications and final GC disputed
Cycling
The Baloise Belgium Tour saw a battle for the overall classification that came down to every last second. Mauro Schmid won the overall classification over Tim Wellens with the same time, however it was not without drama involved.
Throughout the whole race bonus seconds were present and made the difference. The two riders ended the race with the same time, with Wellens taking two extra bonus seconds (21) and two on the time-trial over Schmid (who took 19), however the four seconds Schmid won on the road on the queen stage saw the scale balanced, towards the Swiss' side.
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The Golden Kilometer in the final stage saw three intermediate sprints inside the final 10 kilometers which had a fierce battle for every second. Tim Wellens took the first three seconds and took over the provisional lead. In the second sprint Schmid took two whilst Wellens didn't, and in the last Schmid took another two whilst Wellens took one, eventually balancing the math once again.
However to much discussion. In the second and third intermediate sprints chaos was complete, with Florian Sénéchal in front taking the maximum seconds, and behind Wellens saw himself blocked twice by Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team riders. Yves Lampaert namely, who was brought up as the main rider having done an illegal move. The three sprints saw a lot of drama however with Schmid coming out on top.
Yves Lampaert was disqualified as a result of this situation, however Schmid was given the win in the overall classification in the end.
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- 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
- Good Point, I wonder if he's been testedmhfrvz03-11-2026
- A busy boy!Lozza03-11-2026
- I hope 2027 is his year.mij03-11-2026
- why does he have to? many GT riders from Froome to Contador to Indurain didn't do them.mij03-11-2026
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#BaloiseBelgiumTour 🇧🇪 - Golden Kilometer This Golden Kilometer was dirty. Quick-Step not playing the game fair and blocking Wellens twice so he can't properly compete. Yes Wellens could play it different, but still a dirty play.
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