Herregodts Outfoxes the Favourites to Spring the Biggest Upset of His Career and Win the Belgian Road Title
Rune Herregodts has claimed the biggest victory of his career, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider out-thinking a host of bigger names to win the 2026 Belgian elite men's road race title on the flat run between Antwerp and Brasschaat. In a championship that everyone expected to end in a bunch sprint, it was the breakaway riders who turned the form book upside down.
The race was thrown wide open by a series of high-profile absences. With Tim Wellens, Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel all missing, the path to the jersey was unusually clear, even if the flat parcours still pointed towards the fast men. That assumption was shattered inside the first hour, when a vast move of around sixty riders forced its way clear and the remnants of the peloton drifted four minutes adrift.
Crucially for the sprinters, that group never came back. Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier were left stranded in the bunch, their championship effectively over before the decisive racing had even begun. Up front, Herregodts read the situation perfectly, biding his time before testing his rivals in the final five kilometres and then delivering the strongest finish to take the title.
Jonas Rickaert of Alpecin-Premier Tech finished second, with Fabio Van Den Bossche of Soudal Quick-Step rounding out the podium. For Rickaert in particular it was a near-miss in the very week he had also chased a national time trial medal, but neither could deny Herregodts on a day when the early aggression paid off handsomely.
"I felt ambitious, but avoiding a sprint seemed impossible," a stunned Herregodts admitted afterwards. "When I missed the main group, I thought it was over." Instead, the move he found himself in proved to be the winning one, and the 28-year-old will spend the next twelve months racing in the black, yellow and red of Belgian champion — a jersey that carries enormous prestige in the heartland of the sport.
For UAE Team Emirates-XRG it is another national title to add to a deep collection, and a timely reminder of the strength in depth the team carries even when its biggest stars sit out. With the Tour de France now days away, Herregodts has given himself the perfect springboard and a jersey that will make him instantly recognisable in the Barcelona peloton.