Preview Renewi Tour 2025 | Van der Poel knows who can put pressure on him
CyclingWednesday, 20 August 2025 at 09:26
After the Ardennes, there is always a bit of a wait, but in August, we finally have another WorldTour race in the Netherlands and Belgium! The Renewi Tour is just around the corner. The five-day race through the Low Countries has an excellent route along familiar roads, attracting a host of top riders to the start, including Mathieu van der Poel. What will this fantastic race bring us? IDLProCycling.com provides you with a detailed preview!
The Renewi Tour was founded in 2005 as the Eneco Tour. The race continued under this name until 2016, when sponsor BinckBank took over for four years. After two years as the Benelux Tour, waste processor Renewi is now the main sponsor. This year will be extra special, as it will be the 20th edition of the race. That calls for a celebration, of course, and it will be celebrated with an excellent course and a fantastic starting list.
Van der Poel made an appearance before the race after suffering from pneumonia in the Tour de France. But he is not the only star in attendance: he will be starting alongside teammate Tibor Del Grosso for the first time. A strong pair, they will have to contend with names such as Thibau Nys, Paul Magnier, Tim Merlier, and Biniam Girmay. And how could we forget Tim Wellens? The Belgian is the defending champion and also holds the record with no fewer than four overall victories.
Latest winners Renewi Tour
2024 Tim Wellens
2023 Tim Wellens
2022 Canceled
2021 Sonny Colbrelli
2020 Mathieu van der Poel
2019 Laurens De Plus
2018 Matej Mohoric
2017 Tom Dumoulin
2016 Niki Terpstra
2015 Tim Wellens
2023 Tim Wellens
2020 Mathieu van der Poel
2019 Laurens De Plus
2018 Matej Mohoric
2017 Tom Dumoulin
2016 Niki Terpstra
2015 Tim Wellens
Course, favorites stage wins and times Renewi Tour 2025
Stage 1, Aug. 20, 2025: Terneuzen - Breskens (Sluis) (182.6 km)
It's a long ride, but there's not a hill in sight. We start in the Netherlands, in Terneuzen. The wind may play a role in the Zeeland landscape, but normally it will be a day for the sprinters, who will get their first chance in Breskens.
Favorites
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Times
Start: 1:11 PM local time (05:11 AM EDT)
Finish: 5 PM local time (11:00 AM EDT)
Start: 1:11 PM local time (05:11 AM EDT)
Finish: 5 PM local time (11:00 AM EDT)
Stage 2, Aug. 21, 2025: Blankenberge - Ardooie (172.7 km)
The elevation profile makes it look quite challenging, but make no mistake: on paper, the second stage is no more difficult than the first. We have crossed the Belgian border, and from Blankenberge we head to Ardooie. It is another stage for the fastest men: expect to see the same names as on Wednesday!
Favorites
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Milan Fretin (Cofidis)
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Milan Fretin (Cofidis)
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Times
Start: 1:25 PM local time (07:25 AM EDT)
Finish: 5 PM local time (11:00 AM EDT)
Start: 1:25 PM local time (07:25 AM EDT)
Finish: 5 PM local time (11:00 AM EDT)
Stage 3, Aug. 22, 2025: Aalter - Geraardsbergen (181.8 km)
After two easy stages, the riders are brought back down to earth with a bump. The third stage goes to Geraardsbergen, which means cobbles and climbing! It is a classic route, with the Taaienberg, Berg Ten Houte, Bosberg, and, of course, the Muur van Geraardsbergen, which is also where the finish line is located. The first battle for the GC can get underway here.
Favorites
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)
Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates - XRG)
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)
Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates - XRG)
Times
Start: 1:03 PM local time (07:03 AM EDT)
Finish: 5 PM local time (11:00 AM EDT)
Start: 1:03 PM local time (07:03 AM EDT)
Finish: 5 PM local time (11:00 AM EDT)
Stage 4, Aug. 23, 2025: Riemst - Bilzen-Hoezelt (198.5 km)
The longest stage of the race is a treacherous one. In 198 kilometers, some 1,500 meters of elevation gain will be conquered. That doesn't seem like much, but the race is constantly up and down. The final stage has some nasty climbs, and the finish is not flat either. It could be for the sprinters, but it could just as easily be that everything explodes.
Favorites
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Times
Start: 11:34 AM local time (05:34 AM EDT)
Finish: 4 PM local time (10:00 AM EDT)
Start: 11:34 AM local time (05:34 AM EDT)
Finish: 4 PM local time (10:00 AM EDT)
Stage 5, Aug. 24, 2025: Leuven - Leuven (184.7 km)
There is one more stage to go, but that is no walk in the park either. The Renewi Tour has set a challenging course, including the stage around Leuven. It is a well-known circuit: in 2021, the World Championships were held here, where Julian Alaphilippe won his second world title. Anyone who remembers it will know that it is constantly up and down, with lots of twists and turns. In short: a cross-country course!
Favorites
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)
Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious)
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)
Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious)
Times
Start: 11:41 AM local time (05:41 AM EDT)
Finish: 3:50 PM local time (09:50 AM EDT)
Start: 11:41 AM local time (05:41 AM EDT)
Finish: 3:50 PM local time (09:50 AM EDT)
Favorites final classification Renewi Tour 2025
To be completed as soon as the full start list is known!
Of course, we cannot ignore the presence of Mathieu van der Poel. The former world champion from Alpecin-Deceuninck will be at the start as a kind of bogeyman. He won the race in 2020, but it remains to be seen how good his form will be after his absence. With Tibor Del Grosso, the Belgian team has a strong plan B. The young Dutchman already showed his form in the Tour of Denmark.
But UAE Team Emirates - XRG is also coming to Zeeland with several strong riders. As mentioned earlier, defending champion Tim Wellens is normally there, although he has recently been ill. The Belgian will undoubtedly be aiming for his fifth (!) overall victory, which would be even more special in the national colors. It won't be easy, but with the strong Portuguese António Morgado and Florian Vermeersch at his side, he will certainly be in a stronger position.
Continue reading below the photo!
Lidl-Trek was one of the best teams on similar roads in the spring, and they are coming with a first-class team again this time. With Thibau Nys, Jasper Stuyven, Toms Skujins, and Mathias Vacek, the American team has no fewer than three contenders. Bahrain Victorious is counting on Fred Wright and Matej Mohoric, who already won the race in 2018. Meanwhile, Soudal Quick-Step has Paul Magnier, who is in good form, as evidenced by his third place in the ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg.
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) finished second there and also won the final stage of the Renewi Tour last year. He has a strong shadow leader in Jenno Berckmoes. Biniam Girmay will normally focus more on the sprints, but who knows how far he can go. And at Unibet Tietema Rockets, they are counting on Lukas Kubis. The Slovakian champion already showed how good he is this fall in the Tour of Denmark (fourth).
Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe (Maxim Van Gils), INEOS Grenadiers (Axel Laurance and Ben Turner), EF (Marijn van den Berg and Kasper Asgreen), Groupama-FDJ (Valentin Madouas), XDS-Astana (Alberto Bettiol and Mike Teunissen), and Decathlon AG2R (Oliver Naesen and Bastien Tronchon) are also bringing strong riders to the start.
Who are the favorites for the final classification of the Renewi Tour 2025, according to IDLProCycling.com?
Top favorites: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek)
Outsiders: Tim Wellens (UAE Emirates-XRG), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious)
Long shots: Florian Vermeersch, Antonio Morgado (UAE Emirates-XRG), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Axel Laurance, Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers), Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)
Outsiders: Tim Wellens (UAE Emirates-XRG), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious)
Long shots: Florian Vermeersch, Antonio Morgado (UAE Emirates-XRG), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Axel Laurance, Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers), Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek)
TV broadcast Renewi Tour 2025
Viewers can tune in to Eurosport 1 or VRT1. The race can also be followed on HBO Max, provided you have a subscription.
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Latest Comments
- In 5yrs, Pogi will be a top Twitch streamer living on baked goods while Urska is still racing.Veganpotter11-08-2025
- All they learned is that at the end of a 3 week race, Wout can beat him on a slightly bumpy stage. Obviously, this is very much thanks to Wout not racing for GC every day. This doesn't teach them a thing for Jonas beating Pogi. Not saying Jonas will never beat him again. But this absolutely won't have anything to do with it if he does beat him.Veganpotter28-07-2025
- Well, he eventually Pogacar pays the price for his insane spring campaign which was really crazyRosenkohl196125-07-2025
- Maybe I was a bit disrespectful to Heiden. What he did was unique and exceptional but he wasn't the only one who combined those distances, nowadays it is just not possible and nobody competes in both distances. The same is true for cycling with for example the combination of Roubaix and de Tour de France. In Merckx era there were more riders who managed a top10 in both races than currently.Joostmehrtens19-06-2025
- Two old men shouting at pigeons in the park…JonS16-06-2025
- Out of touch old men hankering after their youth through rose tinted spectacles, their arrogance almost outshines their irrelevance. Turn the volume down, this modern stuff just isn't music like we used to sing...johnny20whales16-06-2025
- In talking speed skating, the days when Heiden did that, nobody else did that. And Eddy couldn't do the equivalent of the bike. His 200 on the velodrome was good, but not world competitive for gold. Heiden was in his own world on the ice, moreso than Eddy if we pretend Eric didn't have a very short career on the ice.Veganpotter16-06-2025
- They wouldn't have dropped HIM so easily.... the GOAT. They would have dropped the rest from that era easily thoughVeganpotter16-06-2025
- Merckx was able to win in a break away on a flat (sprinters) stage, what do you mean they did not drop that easily in his time. Vlaeminck won in the mountains and the classics, but now you need to specialise. The days that a Eric Heiden could win the sprint and the 10k and everything in between are long gone and cycljng is no differentJoostmehrtens16-06-2025
- Carsapaz and Del torro were not capable of chasing Yates. They paused and looked at each other because they didn't have it in them. Yates had kept his powder dry waiting for this stage and demolished both of them. They lost Yates won. Your second guessing is utter nonsense., if either felt they could close Yates down they would have , just like they did countless times for other riders. They blew up , Yates excelled.Uphillbilly05-06-2025