With another winning sprint by Ben Oliver in the fifth stage, the curtain falls on the 2026 edition of the Tour de Wallonie. The New Zealand rider from Modern Adventure Pro Cycling claimed his second stage victory at the conclusion of the 176-kilometer Bassenge / Aubel route, beating French rider Killian Théot (Van Rysel Roubaix) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto). In the chaotic final moments, there was also a crash apparently triggered by contact between Oliver and a Netcompany rider: after some deliberation, the Race Commissaires awarded the victory to the Modern Adventure Pro Cycling cyclist, who thus also secured the overall classification of the race ahead of Sheehan (NSN Cycling Team) and De Lie (Lotto Intermarchè).

Italian cyclists also had reasons to celebrate with Francesco Parravano (Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente), ninth today, and Davide De Pretto (Team Jayco AlUla), eighth overall.

THE STAGE - The opening phase of the stage featured four breakaway riders: British rider George Wood (Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente), Canadian Noah Ramsay (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Belgians Arthur Van den Boer (Baloise Verzekeringen) and Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto – Isorex), who were caught 78 kilometers from the finish. Subsequently, the main group remained compact for a long time, until the Intermediate Sprint won by Laurence Pithie (Red Bull - BORA – hansgrohe), which ideally set the stage for new attempts: in the final thirty-five kilometers, Eritrean riders Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar Team) and Even Yemane (BIKE AID) attacked with little success.

More conviction and better fortune came from the attempts of Dutch rider Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Verzekeringen) and Spanish rider Alvaro Sagrado (Team Storck) who, having escaped from the group approximately twenty-five kilometers from the finish, courageously led the race until the 8-kilometer mark, when the Netcompany INEOS riders regrouped the main peloton in preparation for the final climb of the day.

On the climb, it was once again Tesfatsion who attempted to surprise his rivals, but Netcompany and Red Bull neutralized his attempt before launching the sprint.

ORDINE D’ARRIVO
1 Ben Oliver Modern Adventure Pro Cycling 4h08'44"
2 Killian Théot Van Rysel-Roubaix 0"
3 Arnaud De Lie Lotto-Intermarché 0"
4 Anders Foldager Team Jayco AlUla 0"
5 Daan Depuydt Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions 0"
6 Yorben Lauryssen Tarteletto-Isorex 0"
7 Michiel Lambrecht Team Flanders-Baloise 0"
8 Pelayo Sanchez Mayo Movistar Team 0"
9 Francesco Parravano Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente 0"
10 Olivier Godfroid Baloise Verzekeringen-Het Poetsbureau Lions 0"

CLASSIFICA FINALE

1 Ben Oliver Modern Adventure Pro Cycling 21h15'51"
2 Riley Sheehan NSN Cycling Team 2"
3 Arnaud De Lie Lotto-Intermarché 5"
4 Laurence Pithie Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe 12"
5 Anders Foldager Team Jayco AlUla 20"
6 Kim Alexander Heiduk Netcompany INEOS 22"
7 Adrien Boichis Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe 26"
8 Carlos Canal Blanco Movistar Team 27"
9 Lennert Teugels Tarteletto-Isorex 35"
10 Henri Vandenabeele Team Flanders-Baloise 35"