France’s Amandine Fouquenet ended the Superprestige season the way she has raced much of this winter – on the front, committing early, and forcing everyone else to respond on her terms. In Middelkerke, that approach brought her the day’s biggest prize, but the series itself still found a way to hinge on fine print and finishing positions, with Aniek van Alphen doing just enough to hold the overall on countback.
A few hours later, the men’s race delivered a different kind of closure. Michael Vanthourenhout, absent from Worlds, came back with a point to prove and rode to his first win since early December. Niels Vandeputte chased him home for second and, with it, wrapped up the overall Superprestige title.
Fouquenet turns the race into a long, hard test from the opening minutes
The first minutes looked like they might belong to others. Leonie Bentveld hit the front early and set the tone with a fast, purposeful start, exactly the sort of opening that can unbalance a field before it has even settled into rhythm. But Fouquenet was calm in the storm. She moved up, took over within minutes, and immediately raised the pressure on a circuit that punishes hesitation.
Once Fouquenet established her lead, the race stopped being a series of small skirmishes and became a sustained effort. Each lap was about maintaining flow through the slippery turns and keeping momentum through the heavy sections, with Fouquenet using the course like a metronome – never giving the chasers the kind of lull that allows a group to reorganise.
Behind, the order shifted quickly. Marie Schreiber and Marion Norbert Riberolle were among the early names in the chase, while Van Alphen – the series leader – hovered in and around the positions that mattered most to her bigger objective.
Alvarado takes up the chase and the day splits into two battles
In the second lap, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado brought the chase into sharper focus. She bridged across to the riders ahead of her and then took control of the pursuit herself, upping the pace and stripping the group down to those who could live with her intensity. It was not a slow squeeze – it was a deliberate attempt to turn the fight for the win into a head-to-head.
That created two storylines running side-by-side.
At the front, Fouquenet kept riding with the same tempo that had built her advantage, managing risk without riding defensively. Behind, Alvarado got close enough to make it feel dangerous, then drifted a few seconds back again, then reeled her in once more. The gap lived in that tense zone where a single mistake can flip the race.
Meanwhile, Van Alphen’s position became increasingly significant. At one stage she slipped back far enough that Fouquenet’s overall dream looked suddenly plausible. Then, as the race entered its decisive phase, she began to claw places back, using wheels where she could and riding with the clear purpose of getting inside the finish position she needed.
Fouquenet holds on for the win, Van Alphen does just enough for the overall
The final lap carried pressure on every front. Alvarado closed again and made Fouquenet feel the chase, but Fouquenet had measured the effort well and held her advantage through the closing minutes to take the win.
Alvarado crossed the line second, Schreiber took third, and only then did the focus fully swing to Van Alphen. She arrived eighth – the place that mattered – and that was enough to keep the overall title even though she and Fouquenet finished level on points. The tie-break went Van Alphen’s way on countback, a conclusion that suited a series defined by week-to-week consistency as much as it did by headline wins.
Superprestige Middelkerke 2026 women’s result
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Photo Credit: GettyNieuwenhuis lights the fuse, then Vanthourenhout makes the decisive move
The men’s race began with Joris Nieuwenhuis forcing the opening selection. He took command early and built the first meaningful gap, with Gerben Kuypers among the first to respond and bridge across. For a moment, it looked like a front pairing that could make the race awkward for the bigger names.
Vanthourenhout and Vandeputte started deeper and rode with the kind of mutual awareness you expect when a series is still on the line. Neither wanted to spend energy unnecessarily, neither wanted to give the other a free advantage, and that brief hesitation allowed the front to form without them.
The turning point came when Vandeputte headed into the pits and Vanthourenhout chose that exact moment to change the race. He attacked, closed the gap to Nieuwenhuis, and then continued through, because Kuypers had already pushed on. Once Vanthourenhout made the junction with his teammate, the race snapped into a new shape: Pauwels Sauzen – Altez Industriebouw with two riders at the front, and everyone else needing to solve it.
A late puncture breaks the front pairing and opens the door for the series leader
For several laps, Vanthourenhout and Kuypers held the race together at the front, keeping the pace high enough that the chase never felt comfortable. Vandeputte, methodical and patient, moved into third and kept the situation under control rather than forcing it.
Then, late on, the race’s defining incident arrived. Kuypers punctured in the penultimate lap.
Suddenly, Vanthourenhout was alone and riding for the win, while Kuypers had to salvage what he could. Vandeputte, sensing the shift instantly, pressed on and brought himself back into contention for second.
Vanthourenhout wins, Vandeputte takes second and seals the overall
Vanthourenhout held his advantage to the line for his first win since early December, a clean, assertive return after missing Worlds. Behind, Vandeputte caught Kuypers in the closing lap, moved into second, and left Kuypers to hang on for third.
Second place was enough to confirm Vandeputte as the overall Superprestige winner, finishing the series the way he has ridden it – consistently at the sharp end, and strong enough to take advantage when the race finally offered an opening.
Superprestige Middelkerke 2026 men’s result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
