After two frustrating sprints at the Renewi Tour, Paul Penhoët was finally able to unleash his legs this Saturday during the fourth stage. In Bilzen-Hoeselt, the young French rider took advantage of an uphill drag to the finish and a gap opening just 200 meters from the line to secure a strong fourth place—his fifteenth top-10 finish in 2025. Valentin Madouas sits in tenth place overall ahead of the final hilly stage around Leuven.
After the first showdown on the Flemish climbs, the Renewi Tour peloton was expected to find some calm on Saturday across the 200 kilometers from Riemst to Bilzen-Hoeselt, in the Limburg province. Despite a rolling course with about 1,500 meters of climbing, a bunch sprint on a slightly uphill road was anticipated. “The plan today was really to set up a sprint for Paul and keep him sheltered all day,” explained Thierry Bricaud. “It wasn’t planned to go in the breakaway. Plus, there wasn’t much wind, so no real danger. It was a fairly calm day, probably the least stressful since the start, even though the finale was tense because we couldn’t waste time chasing the break.” That move went clear after just fifteen kilometers with six riders and gave the sprinters’ teams a hard time after building up nearly a five-minute gap halfway through. “My legs felt heavy at the start after three hard days, but when the pace picked up with 80 kilometers to go, I started to feel good again,” said Paul Penhoët. “I was really focused and confident for the sprint, because I already did this finish last year and I knew it suited me.”
“It feels good to finally launch my sprint”
As the peloton entered the final 40-kilometer loop around Bilzen-Hoeselt, the break still held nearly three minutes, forcing a strong and relentless chase until the very last kilometers. “I think we rode a very solid final lap with Clément and Johan,” Paul continued. “We were always up front, and on small roads it always hurts more if you’re caught at the back. You never know when splits can happen. We managed it well.” Strung out in single file in the last hour of racing, the bunch had to work hard until two kilometers from the line to reel in the escapees and guarantee a bunch sprint. “With three kilometers to go, the bunch moved up fast, and I lost Johan and Clément’s wheel because it was very hectic, everyone fighting for position,” Paul explained. “I didn’t panic, even when I was a bit far back at the flamme rouge, because I knew the finish was tough and long. Luckily, a gap opened up on the right in the finishing straight, I managed to move up well, and then I could launch my sprint.” Carrying momentum, the Groupama-FDJ rider powered past a good part of the field on the left and carved his way to fourth place on the day, behind Tim Merlier, Olav Kooij, and Pavel Bittner.
“He knew he would find openings in the slipstream, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Thierry. “Fortunately, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to sprint. He committed fully, the door stayed open, and he delivered a very good sprint, showing pure speed. It’s really encouraging for what’s to come.” “It’s a bit of a shame because I had to put in a big effort from the flamme rouge down to 400 meters,” Paul added. “On the other hand, it’s reassuring and feels good to finally launch my sprint, unlike the first two days which were very frustrating. Yesterday too, I had to unclip after a crash in the finale. Now I know my form is good, I feel stronger in the sprint, but I need to work on positioning. On the first two days, and again today, I lacked a bit in that area, so I’ll need to improve it to go for the win in the next sprints.” The general classification barely changed this Saturday, with Valentin Madouas dropping from ninth to tenth, 58 seconds behind leader Arnaud De Lie. Everything will be decided tomorrow around Leuven. “It will be similar to yesterday, maybe a bit less hard,” Thierry concluded. “It could be messy, so we’ll need to be smart opportunists.”
