Ben Oliver Pulls Off A Stunning Double In Aubel To Snatch The Tour de Wallonie From Arnaud De Lie
Ben Oliver produced the breakthrough result of his career on Friday, winning the closing stage of the 2026 Tour de Wallonie in Aubel and seizing the overall title in the same dramatic move. The 24-year-old New Zealander, racing for the American outfit Modern Adventure Pro Cycling, beat home favourite Arnaud De Lie in the final sprint to convert a slender deficit into the biggest win of his life.
It was a landmark moment for the debutant American team, who claimed their first general classification victory on European soil in only their opening season at the level. Oliver took the overall by a margin of just two seconds over Riley Sheehan, with De Lie completing the podium five seconds back after leading the race for much of the week through his stage 4 triumph.
The final day in the Ardennes was always likely to come down to a reduced bunch, and so it proved on the punchy run into Aubel. Oliver timed his effort to perfection, surviving the chaos of the closing kilometres — including a near-miss on the final bend — before launching past Killian Theot and De Lie to take the stage. The bonus seconds, combined with his placing, were enough to leapfrog Sheehan at the very last opportunity.
For De Lie, it was a bittersweet end to a strong week. The Lotto-Intermarche sprinter had delivered a thrilling come-from-behind win on the uphill finish in Eupen on stage 4, briefly looking like the man to beat, but he found Oliver simply too quick when the overall was on the line. Sheehan, who had defended the leader's jersey with his NSN Cycling Team, was left to rue the two seconds that separated him from the title.
The result is a powerful statement of intent from Modern Adventure, whose aggressive racing throughout the Tour de Wallonie marked them out as one of the stories of the early-summer calendar. Oliver, a versatile rider equally at home in a sprint or on a short climb, now emerges as one of the most exciting GC prospects from the Southern Hemisphere.
With the WorldTour peloton turning its attention to the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and the Tour de Suisse as the Tour de France build-up intensifies, Wallonie provided a reminder that the sport's emerging teams and riders are increasingly capable of upstaging the established order on the biggest days.