The GP Lucien Van Impe 2026 takes place on Thursday 20 August, with 140 kilometres of racing around Erpe-Mere and a field that looks well suited to another selective Belgian one-day race rather than a completely straightforward bunch sprint.
The clearest form line comes from the Egmont Cycling Race Women, held only two days earlier. Elisa Balsamo won in Zottegem, Hélène Hesters finished second, Katja Verkerk was fourth, Mia Gjertsen fifth, Megan Jastrab sixth, Alison Jackson seventh and Lonneke Uneken eighth. That is too relevant to ignore when assessing another race on comparable terrain only 48 hours later.
Balsamo therefore starts as the rider to beat, but the field is deep enough that Lidl-Trek cannot simply assume control. Charlotte Kool remains one of the fastest pure sprinters present, Hesters arrives in excellent form, and riders such as Jastrab, Jackson, Verkerk and Uneken all have recent evidence that they can survive hard Belgian racing and still finish near the front.
The GP Lucien Van Impe 2026 live viewing and start time guide has the Pickx streaming information, with coverage scheduled from 13:30 to 16:00 CEST.
Elisa Balsamo arrives as the clear favourite
Elisa Balsamo has the strongest combination of current form, finishing speed and durability in the field.
Her victory at the Egmont Cycling Race Women two days ago is the most important recent result on the start list. It came after Lidl-Trek helped make the race selective, with Lucinda Brand instrumental in creating the decisive late situation before Balsamo finished the job.
That is particularly relevant here because GP Lucien Van Impe should reward many of the same qualities. The race is not defined by one decisive climb, but by repeated accelerations, awkward Belgian roads and the gradual removal of riders who are less comfortable when the race becomes attritional.
Balsamo is difficult to eliminate in that environment.
She also does not need the largest possible group to reach the finish. A reduced sprint can suit her just as well, particularly if the harder racing removes some of the riders with greater outright top speed.
Recent results reinforce the picture. Her Egmont victory came after a strong summer and confirms that she arrives in Erpe-Mere with winning legs rather than relying on reputation.
Balsamo is the clear favourite because she can win from more scenarios than anyone else here.
Hélène Hesters deserves to be taken seriously after Egmont
Hélène Hesters produced one of the most important performances of the week when she finished second behind Balsamo at Egmont.
That result immediately makes her one of the strongest contenders here.
Hesters was only three seconds behind Balsamo in Zottegem and survived the same selective racing that removed much of the field. That matters far more than an older result on a less comparable course.
She also already has another strong one-day result this season, having finished third at the Midwest Cycling Classic in March behind Lonneke Uneken and Martina Alzini.
The key question is whether she can convert another excellent position into victory.
If the race again becomes hard enough to reduce the field but not hard enough to isolate the strongest climbers, Hesters has already shown she can be there.
Hesters is the strongest immediate challenger on current Belgian form.
Charlotte Kool remains the biggest pure sprint threat
Charlotte Kool still has to be considered one of the principal favourites because very few riders on this start list can match her acceleration in a conventional sprint.
Her 2026 season already includes several relevant victories.
She won Veenendaal-Veenendaal Women and then added another victory on Stage 2 of the Baloise Ladies Tour, after finishing second on the opening stage.
ProCyclingUK’s Veenendaal-Veenendaal Women report showed how difficult she is to beat when the race comes back together, while her Baloise Ladies Tour Stage 2 victory confirmed that the speed was still there during the summer.
The issue is not whether Kool is fast enough.
It is whether the race reaches Erpe-Mere in a shape that allows her to use that speed.
The harder the middle section becomes, the more the balance shifts towards Balsamo, Hesters and the stronger Classics-style riders.
If 40 or 50 riders reach the finale together, however, Kool may still be the fastest rider in that group.
Kool is the strongest conventional sprint threat, but she needs a more controlled race than Balsamo does.
Katja Verkerk arrives with one of the strongest immediate form lines
Katja Verkerk should be ranked much higher than her profile might ordinarily suggest after finishing fourth at Egmont.
She was part of the group that finished only three seconds behind Balsamo and showed she could remain at the front after an aggressive Belgian race.
That makes her directly relevant here.
Verkerk may not want to wait for a straight sprint against Balsamo and Kool, but a reduced race gives her several possible routes to a result.
If another small selection forms through the harder middle section, she has already demonstrated that she can stay with it.
Verkerk is one of the strongest form-based outsiders and a realistic podium contender.
Mia Gjertsen has earned her place among the contenders
Mia Gjertsen finished fifth at Egmont and deserves to be judged on that performance rather than on name recognition.
She was only three seconds behind Balsamo and ahead of several more established riders.
That makes GP Lucien Van Impe another genuine opportunity.
Gjertsen does not have the same pure sprint pedigree as Kool, but if the race becomes selective again she has already shown she can remain in the decisive group.
Her presence also gives Uno-X Mobility a different option from simply backing a conventional sprint.
Gjertsen is one of the strongest recent-form outsiders and should be treated as a genuine top-five threat.
Megan Jastrab is well suited to another selective Belgian race
Megan Jastrab finished sixth at Egmont and has a broader 2026 record that supports that result.
She has repeatedly shown that her best performances come when races demand more than pure sprint speed.
That makes this course a natural fit.
Jastrab is strong enough to survive repeated accelerations, tactically experienced enough to cope with a messy finale and fast enough to finish from a reduced group.
Her sixth place in Zottegem is therefore more than a single isolated result. It fits the type of rider she is.
Jastrab is one of the most convincing reduced-group options behind the headline favourites.
Alison Jackson is dangerous if the race becomes chaotic
Alison Jackson is another rider who came out of Egmont with a strong result, finishing seventh after spending much of the race involved in the decisive action.
Her route to victory is different from Kool’s.
Jackson does not want a completely controlled sprint.
She wants a race where the group is reduced, teams hesitate and the strongest Classics-style riders begin racing for themselves.
That is exactly the type of scenario GP Lucien Van Impe can create.
Jackson’s ability to attack and still sprint well from a small group makes her particularly dangerous if the race fractures before the local finishing circuits.
Jackson becomes more threatening the less controlled the final hour becomes.
Lonneke Uneken has been consistently strong in similar races
Lonneke Uneken finished eighth at Egmont and has one of the better season-long records among the riders outside the biggest teams.
She won the Midwest Cycling Classic in March, beating Martina Alzini and Hélène Hesters, and has continued to produce strong results in similar flat-to-rolling one-day races.
That consistency matters.
Uneken is not dependent on one perfect scenario. She can handle attritional racing and still finish quickly, which makes her particularly well suited to a reduced sprint.
She also arrives with the confidence of having finished in the front group at Egmont only two days ago.
Uneken is one of the most reliable top-10 candidates and has genuine podium upside.
Lucinda Brand is the major tactical threat
Lucinda Brand finished ninth at Egmont, but the result does not tell the full story.
She was one of the riders who helped create the decisive situation from which Balsamo eventually won.
That makes her especially dangerous again.
Lidl-Trek have no reason to ask Brand to ride passively.
She can attack because Balsamo is behind. If other teams chase, they help Balsamo. If they hesitate, Brand is strong enough to turn a move into a winning position herself.
That tactical imbalance is one of Lidl-Trek’s biggest advantages.
Brand does not need to be the fastest rider in the race to be one of its most important favourites.
Brand is the rider most likely to change the race before the sprint.
Martina Alzini remains dangerous despite missing the Egmont front group
Martina Alzini finished 13th at Egmont, 20 seconds behind Balsamo, so she does not have the same immediate form line as the riders who made the front group.
Her wider 2026 results still demand respect.
Alzini has already won Stage 1 of the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées and Dwars Door Wingene, while also finishing second at the Midwest Cycling Classic.
ProCyclingUK’s Tour Féminin des Pyrénées Stage 1 report and Dwars Door Wingene race report show how consistently she has converted sprint opportunities this season.
She is also the defending Egmont winner from 2025, so Belgian one-day racing clearly suits her.
The question is whether Thursday is less selective than Tuesday.
If it is, Alzini moves much closer to the favourites.
Alzini remains one of the strongest sprint outsiders if a larger group reaches Erpe-Mere.
Kathrin Schweinberger has quietly built a strong 2026 season
Kathrin Schweinberger finished 15th at Egmont but has a wider body of results that keeps her relevant.
Her season has included repeated high finishes in northern European one-day races, where positioning and resilience matter as much as outright speed.
She is unlikely to be the rider everyone watches from the start.
That can work in her favour.
If Human Powered Health place her into a reduced front group, Schweinberger has enough finishing speed to turn the opportunity into a strong result.
She is more of a secondary contender than a headline favourite, but the race profile suits her.
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Photo Credit: Patrick Boere
Who looks strongest?
The recent evidence creates a fairly clear hierarchy.
Balsamo is the rider to beat. She won the most relevant recent race, has the strongest all-round profile and can survive a harder race without sacrificing much sprint speed.
Hesters is the strongest form-based challenger after finishing second at Egmont.
Kool remains the biggest pure sprint threat, especially if the race stays more controlled than Tuesday’s Egmont Cycling Race.
Behind those three, Verkerk, Gjertsen, Jastrab, Jackson and Uneken all arrive with direct evidence that they can be competitive in exactly this type of Belgian one-day race.
Brand is the major tactical complication because she gives Lidl-Trek a route to victory before the sprint even develops.
Alzini sits slightly further back after missing the decisive Egmont group, but her season-long sprint form means she becomes much more dangerous if Thursday produces a larger finish.
The most likely outcome is another reduced sprint after an attritional race, but the start list is balanced enough that the final hour should remain difficult to control.
Balsamo has the widest range of winning scenarios. Kool has the greatest outright sprint threat. Hesters brings the strongest immediate challenge from Egmont.
That makes Elisa Balsamo the favourite, with Hélène Hesters and Charlotte Kool the clearest alternatives heading into Erpe-Mere.
