Renewi Tour 2025 Stage 4

August 23, 2025 Race maps always look similar when they start near Maastricht as the organizers try to fit in as many hills as possible, twisting and turning the route around on itself. The start in Riemst is just across the border with the Netherlands and the city of Maastricht. It will be another wearing day of nearly 200KM, especially after the full-on racing we saw yesterday. There are a total of 15 categorized climbs along the route but none are as long or hard as we see in Amstel Gold each April but it could dull the legs of the sprinters and open up the race. Six riders made the break including Dries De Bondt of Decathlon AG2R, Colby Simmons of EF-Education EasyPost, Michel Ries of Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Ward Vanhoof of Flanders-Baloise, Lukáš Kubiš of Unibet-Tietema Rockets, and Leander Van Hautegem of Wagner-Bazin WB. They had 4 minutes 25 seconds with 72KM to go with Picnic-PostNL and Intermarché-Wanty chasing in the peloton. A few other teams came forward to chase and when the break rode through the Golden Kilometer with 57KM to go, the gap had come down to 3 minutes 30 seconds. De Bondt took the maximum 9 seconds. He was the only one with any interest in the GC and the time he gained moved him into provisional ninth place on GC. Kubiš led the break across the finish line for one final lap of 41.5KM, 2 minutes 35 seconds up on the peloton. The chase continued with at least six teams working but the break were rolling through and off very well. They dropped a man however as Ries pulled the plug with 32KM to go, just before crossing the Albert Canal on their way to the Slingerberg climb in Kanne. Over the top of the Slingerberg, Visma-Lease a Bike really pushed which shed riders out the back but the peloton managed to mostly stick together. The gap didn't come under 1 minute until 12KM to go and the peloton was looking frayed and nervous. Nearly every team not represented in the break had men pulling and with 5KM to go, the gap was 15 seconds. De Bondt attacked with Kubiš and tried to hold on as long as they could. The catch was finally made with 2KM to go and the pace only went up to get through the last corner, a tight left, with 800M to go. Jayco AlUla arrived at the front for Dylan Groenewegen but they got swamped after the turn. The lead outs were almost non-existent and when things get messy, Tim Merlier of Soudal Quickstep thrives. Olav Kooij of Visma-Lease a Bike started his sprint on the left side of the road, just outside of 200M to go. Behind him, the road was congested so Merlier found a gap to the right and hit it with his full strength. He powered to the win, comfortably in the end, to take his second of the week. Pavel Bittner of Picnic-PostNL followed Merlier and took second and Kooij was able to hang on for third place. There were no changes in the top four on GC as Arnaud De Lie holds just 1 seconds on Mathieu van der Poel and 21 seconds on Tim Wellens.