Favorites stage 5 Renewi Tour 2025 | Everything will be decided on the legendary and notorious World Championship course

If the name Leuven rings a bell but you’re not sure why, let us help. The 2021 UCI Road World Championships were held here. Julian Alaphilippe claimed his second world title on Belgian soil, and despite initial criticism of the route, the race proved just how brutal the course really was. From the very start of stage 5, the peloton will get a taste of it with the Wijnpers and Leopold Decouxlaan, two of the course’s key climbs.

The race will then head east and take on a large counterclockwise loop. Along the way, riders will face several tough climbs, including the Heidebergstraat, Houwaartseberg, Chartreuzenberg, and Kratenberg. Via the Keizersberg, they’ll return to the city center, where an intermediate sprint awaits, right at the top of the Leopold Decouxlaan.

The same large loop will be tackled again, followed by a number of short laps in Leuven. These closely resemble those of the World Championships four years ago: the Wijnpers, Leopold Decouxlaan (which also includes a golden kilometer), and Keizersberg are all part of the circuit, which will be completed three times. The only climb missing is the Sint Antoniusberg, where Alaphilippe launched his decisive attack.

Times
Start: 11:41 AM
Finish: 3:50 PM

A fine day of racing in Limburg. It was also nice on Friday, and now it will not be much different: about 20 degrees, with a soft south-easterly wind. It probably won't make any difference.

Back in 2021, the Leuven course was called a "cyclo-cross course," so, what do you know, our eyes are on the cyclo-cross specialists at the start. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will be the top favorite. The general classification battle is extremely tight, can he make it his today? He’ll likely receive support from fellow cyclo-crosser Tibor Del Grosso.

Thibau Nys should also be well-suited to a course like this, and he actually raced the 2021 Worlds here as a junior. But the Lidl-Trek rider was nowhere to be seen in Geraardsbergen. Is his form off, or was that just a bad day? We’ll soon find out. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are both decent on this kind of terrain too, but they’re expected to play a different role in this stage.

Arnaud De Lie showed just how strong his legs were in Stage 3: he barely let Van der Poel out of his sight. Can he hold onto his slim lead? The Dutchman isn’t the only one who’ll be putting him under pressure. Just look at riders like Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), Alberto Bettiol (XDS-Astana), Fred Wright, and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious).

Then there’s a whole group of riders who missed the battle on Friday but are eager for redemption on the tough course in Leuven. Think of Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Jasper Stuyven, Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL), and Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), for example. And can Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) spring a surprise? The Dutchman has been climbing impressively in the Renewi Tour...

Top favorite: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Outsiders: Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS-Astana)
Long shots: Fred Wright, Matej Mohoric (both Bahrain Victorious), Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Thibau Nys, Jasper Stuyven, Mathias Vacek (all Lidl-Trek), Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL) and Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike)