Berckmoes, aged 25, on the other hand – who now leads the general classification by six seconds over the previous leader, Philipsen – had been riding as part of a breakaway for some time. He benefited from a crash in the peloton which occurred a good 30 kilometres earlier, just as the peloton was about to begin its second gruelling climb up the Muur and thus enter the final lap of the 182-kilometre stage, which started in Celles.

After a crash at the front of the field, Berckmoes broke away with his compatriot Alec Segaert (Bahrain – Victorious). Their lead never reached one minute. Nevertheless, it was enough to see him through to the finish, at least. He dropped his companion at the start of the final climb – the peloton eventually caught up with him.

Berckmoes, on the other hand, is not. He is, however, also an expert on the Muur, having won the Muur Classic Geraardsbergen in 2024 and thus claiming two of his four professional victories on the legendary climb. This year, he finished third in the Muur Classic. The victory on the Muur as part of the Renewi Tour is nevertheless more significant – it is his first at WorldTour level. Whether his narrow lead over Philipsen – Kooij is third, twelve seconds behind – will be enough for the overall victory is by no means certain, given that two stages could well end in a bunch sprint.

Renewi Tour 2026 – Results of Stage 3

Here’s how the 3rd stage of the 2026 Renewi Tour went

The first few kilometres of the day, on relatively flat terrain, were marred by crashes and riders dropping out. The winner of the opening stage, Jonathan Milan (Lidl - Trek), who had been involved in a crash the previous day, was forced to dismount after just ten kilometres because he could no longer keep up with the pace of the peloton.

Shortly afterwards, Michiel Lambrecht (Team Flanders – Baloise), Frederik Frison (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Julius Johansen (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) broke away from the group. Further crashes marked this phase of the race before the riders entered the circuit around Geraardsbergen, which, with the Bosberg and the Muur, was strongly reminiscent of the old Tour of Flanders. A total of 16 riders were forced to abandon the stage, including Sam Welsford (Netcompany INEOS), Tiesj Benoot (Decathlon CMA CGM), and later Vlad Van Mecheln (Bahrain – Victorious) and Magnus Sheffield (Netcompany INEOS).

With 54 kilometres to go, a second trio comprising Niklas Behrens (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar Team) and Martin Svrcek (Soudal Quick-Step) set off in pursuit of the leaders and had closed the gap by a good ten kilometres. However, the lead group of six were still well clear of the peloton. Just as the race was about to enter the final lap, a mass crash occurred, which tore the peloton apart. Whilst the lead group was caught up at that moment, Berckmoes and Segaert broke away.

Pithie can’t close the hole

The duo rode for a long time with a lead of around 40 seconds over the first chasers. With 17 kilometres to go, Laurence Pithie (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) broke away from the main group. He quickly reduced the gap to the two leaders to twelve seconds. But the gap did not get any smaller. On the Denderoordberg, six kilometres from the finish, the New Zealander was then forced to give up. The chasing group caught him, 20 seconds behind the leaders. There were also strong indications that the race would be over for the leading duo as well.

But suddenly, there was no one left at the back willing to do the work. As the race headed towards Geraardsbergen and Muur, the two breakaway riders were still within sight, but unlike Segaert, Berckmoes still had enough in the tank to hold on until the finish.