The fourth stage covered 187 kilometres between Riemst and Bilzen-Hoeselt. It was by no means clear for a long time that the race would be decided by a bunch sprint. Sören Kragh-Andersen (Lidl – Trek) had made it as far as the 400-metre mark with a late attack, before the peloton overtook him on the uphill approach to the finish. Behind Philipsen and Kooij, Alessandro Borgo (Bahrain - Victorious) finished third. Fourth place went to Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets). Things didn’t go to plan again for Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step). He finished eleventh.

For Philipsen, his second victory saw him return to the top of the general classification. Thanks to bonus seconds, he pushed Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto Intermarché) back down to second place and now leads his compatriot by four seconds. Kooij is third, ten seconds behind.

“It was a very close race with Olav. I think my sprint at the finish secured the win for me. It was well-timed,” said Philipsen at the finish line. “I’m feeling better this week than I’d expected,” the 28-year-old continued. “I’m still in the form I was in during the Tour de France, and the freshness I’ve built up in the weeks since is doing me good now.” Both should now help him defend his overall lead on the challenging final day.

As well as leading the general classification, Philipsen also tops the points classification. No mountains jersey is awarded at the Renewi Tour.

Renewi Tour 2026 – Results of Stage 4

Here’s how the 4th stage of the 2026 Renewi Tour went

After a trio comprising Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto Intermarché), Aivaras Mikutis (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and Johan Jacobs (Groupama – FDJ United) had broken away from the peloton, the group gradually grew after a good 50 kilometres to include Toms Skujiņš (Lidl – Trek), Kamil Malecki (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Jacobs’ team-mate Axel Huens.

For a short while, a 16-man chase group broke away from the peloton on undulating terrain. But some teams in the peloton had had enough of that – they quickly caught up with the group again, even though the gap had grown rapidly to half a minute.

After that, tempers calmed down and the race continued as normal. With 21 kilometres to go, the last remaining breakaway riders, Mikutis and Malecki, were caught. With a bunch sprint now on the cards, Lidl–Trek looked for alternatives, as sprinter Jonathan Milan had withdrawn the day before with injuries sustained in a crash. With 17 kilometres to go, Kragh Andersen launched an attack, but the peloton – in which Arnaud De Lie was working for Berckmoes – seemed to have it well under control. The Dane was caught a good seven kilometres from the finish, but he wasn’t willing to leave it at that and tried again when the pace subsequently dropped.

Because it took a while to organise the chase – which, in the end, wasn’t really carried out consistently anyway – Kragh Andersen managed, on his second attempt, to stay in contention right up to the final kilometre, before his legs finally gave out and the sprinters settled the race amongst themselves in a photo finish.