Breakaway outsmarts the favorites, Knight (Cofidis) takes stage win and overall lead in Tour de Wallonie

The first stage was a typical Walloon test, with difficult hills and a vicious finish. Corbin Strong (Israel - Premier Tech) was the best there, and the second stage also seemed to suit him perfectly. From Huy, the famous wall was not tackled, but there was rarely any flat terrain along the way. The finish was also uphill, albeit less difficult than on Saturday. So it would be more for the fast men than for those with ambitions in the GC.

Four riders colored the breakaway of the day. The most surprising name was Timo Kielich: the Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck would generally be well suited to a finish like this, but on Sunday, he opted for a day in the breakaway. He was joined by Filippo Magli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Cyriel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), and Olivier Godfroid (Baloise Glowi Lions).

After about 90 kilometers, the race entered a local circuit. The finish line was passed twice before the riders arrived in Sambreville for the third and final time. A sprint from a depleted peloton was expected, but the attackers knew they had a chance on the hilly course. With one lap to go, a dozen riders set off on an adventure and managed to catch up with the leaders.

Among them were Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ), Davide De Pretto (Jayco-Alula), Alessandro Borgo (Bahrain Victorious), Kristian Egholm (Lidl-Trek), and Liam Slock (Lotto). They made life very difficult for the peloton, especially after a nasty crash in the chase. This caused nervousness in the peloton, where Rasmus Tiller (second in stage 1) tried to close the gap himself. Meanwhile, Oliver Knight (Cofidis), Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), and Louis Rouland (Arkéa) had broken away at the front.

They persevered well: with 10 kilometers to go, the gap was about 30 seconds. They even managed to extend it, and the peloton—which had been significantly reduced—did not seem to be catching up. In the last 5 kilometers, it was mainly up to individuals to close the gap. In the final kilometer, they suddenly closed in, but the breakaway riders stayed just ahead of the pack: Knight was the fastest.