Sofie van Rooijen won the 2026 Konvert Koerse Kortrijk, beating Charlotte Kool in a rain-soaked sprint to take her first victory of the season.
The UAE Team L’IMAD rider came through a wet and technical finale in Kortrijk to defeat Kool, who had won the GP Lucien Van Impe the previous day, while Kathrin Schweinberger completed the podium for Human Powered Health. Belgian champion Shari Bossuyt finished fourth in her first race since the Tour de France Femmes.
It was Van Rooijen’s second victory in the race after her 2024 win, with the 2025 edition not held. After a difficult first season at UAE and a long wait for a 2026 win, this was a badly needed result for the Dutch sprinter.
A wet Belgian finale made for alert sprinters
Konvert Koerse Kortrijk is not a race built around decisive climbs, but the 2026 edition still became much more than a straightforward flat sprint.
The race covered 127.6 kilometres, starting and finishing in Kortrijk. The route used two larger loops south of the city before closing with six local laps of 9 kilometres, with two early ascents of the cobbled Beerbosstraat adding some texture before the race returned to the city circuits.
With only around 842 metres of climbing, the route always looked favourable for the sprinters. The difficulty came from somewhere else: heavy rain, wet corners, cobbles, constant turning and repeated accelerations through the city.
Van Rooijen later said the conditions made the race hard, with the riders needing to stay constantly alert in the corners and repeatedly accelerate back up to speed through the twisting inner-city roads. That became one of the defining features of the finale.
Six WorldTeams strengthen the field
Despite the race clashing with the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women, Kortrijk still drew a strong field. Human Powered Health, SD Worx-Protime, Lidl-Trek, Uno-X Mobility, Fenix-Premier Tech and Liv AlUla Jayco were all present, giving the race a proper top-level shape.
That depth mattered. The race was not simply a lower-tier sprint with one obvious favourite. Kool arrived fresh from winning GP Lucien Van Impe, Lidl-Trek had Lucinda Brand and Elisa Balsamo on the start line, Human Powered Health had Schweinberger and Bossuyt brought a strong local Belgian story as she started in her own city.
For Van Rooijen, that made the win more valuable. She did not beat a thin field. She beat one of the quickest sprinters in the peloton one day after Kool had already shown winning form in Belgium.
Van Rooijen returns to familiar ground
Van Rooijen’s victory carried extra weight because of her history with the race. She had already won Konvert Koerse in 2024, then racing for VolkerWessels, when she beat Chiara Consonni and Daria Pikulik in the sprint.
Two years later, now in UAE Team L’IMAD colours, she returned to Kortrijk as a rider still searching for her first win of the year.
Her 2024 breakthrough had earned her a move to UAE, but the run of victories had not immediately followed at her new team. She had to wait until late 2025 in China for her first win after the transfer, and in 2026 her first success did not arrive until August.
That context made Kortrijk feel like more than just another sprint win. Van Rooijen had won here before, but this one carried a different weight because of the season she had endured.
Adegeest and Markus threaten late
The day’s main late move came from Loes Adegeest of Lidl-Trek and Femke Markus of SD Worx-Protime, who attacked on the local laps and built a lead of around 30 seconds.
It was exactly the kind of move that can make a flat Belgian race awkward. Both riders had enough strength to stay away if the bunch hesitated, and their teams had other options behind if the move came back.
The flat terrain and the strength of the sprinters’ teams eventually worked against them. The peloton kept the gap under control and brought the pair back before the finish, but their move forced the sprint teams to keep working deep into the finale.
Several other riders also tried to avoid the expected bunch sprint, but none managed to create the decisive gap. The rain and technical city laps made the race harder, yet the fast finishers still got their chance.
Van Rooijen handles the rain best
The final sprint came on wet roads after a race that had been shaped by repeated corners and constant restarts through the city.
That made positioning essential. A rider who arrived too far back would have little chance to recover, especially with the bunch stretched by the rain and the twisting approach. It was not just about raw speed. It was about holding nerve, staying upright and launching at the right moment.
Van Rooijen did that best. She was able to open her sprint and hold off Kool, taking a narrow but clear victory ahead of the Fenix-Premier Tech rider.
Kool’s second place still confirmed her strong Belgian block after winning GP Lucien Van Impe, but this time Van Rooijen had the sharper finish. Schweinberger’s third place was also significant after she had abandoned the previous day following a crash. In Kortrijk, she responded with a podium in difficult conditions.
Bossuyt fourth on home roads
Shari Bossuyt’s fourth place added a strong Belgian angle to the result.
The Belgian champion started in her own city and had spoken before the race about how special it felt to race on roads she uses in training. It was also her first race after the Tour de France Femmes, so there was some uncertainty over how her body would respond after a break from racing.
Fourth place showed that she had come back strongly. She missed the podium, but in a sprint featuring Van Rooijen, Kool and Schweinberger, it was still a very good return.
For the organisers and the home crowd, Bossuyt’s presence gave the race a clear local focal point, even if the win went to the Netherlands.
A first win of the season for Van Rooijen
Van Rooijen was clear afterwards that the victory meant a lot after a difficult season.
“I haven’t had a good season, so this victory feels really good,” she said. “I also won here two years ago, but I would rank this victory a bit higher. The heavy rain made it a difficult race. You always had to pay attention in the corners. You also lost a lot of energy with all the turning in the city centre, because you had to keep accelerating again to get back up to speed.”
That explanation matched the race. The profile may have been flat, but the conditions made it selective in a different way. The strongest sprinter was not simply the rider with the highest top speed. It was the rider who still had power left after a day of rain, corners and repeated accelerations.
Van Rooijen had that power.
One step closer to the Gouden Stuur
Van Rooijen’s second Kortrijk victory also moved her closer to the Gouden Stuur, the local prize awarded to riders who can build repeated success in the race.
Because she won the last edition in 2024 and now the 2026 edition after the 2025 sabbatical year, she is now one victory away from the coveted prize, worth €40,000.
That adds a useful longer-term thread to the result. Van Rooijen is not only a two-time winner of Konvert Koerse, but now a rider with a specific reason to return and chase another success.
Kortrijk clearly suits her. The flat roads, technical finish and sprint structure have twice brought out her best.
A race that suited her strengths
Van Rooijen’s second victory in Kortrijk underlines the consistency of her skill set.
She is not a pure climber, and this was not a race that asked her to be one. It asked her to handle a fast, flat Belgian one-day race, survive the pressure, stay sharp through the wet technical sections, trust the team and then deliver the sprint.
That is exactly where she has repeatedly been at her best.
Her 2024 win came during a breakout season that also included success at Drentse Acht van Westerveld, Grote Prijs Beerens and EPZ Omloop van Borsele. The 2026 victory shows that the same qualities remain intact at WorldTeam level, even after a season where wins had been harder to find.
For UAE Team L’IMAD, that matters. Their squad has obvious strength in stage races and hillier one-day races, but wins like this broaden the team’s threat. Van Rooijen gives them a rider who can convert flat one-day opportunities when the race comes back together.
Kortrijk adds another sprint chapter
Konvert Koerse Kortrijk is still a relatively young women’s race, but its recent winners already show its character. Daria Pikulik won in 2023, Van Rooijen followed in 2024, and after a year away from the calendar, the 2026 edition again rewarded a fast finisher.
That does not mean the race is easy. Flat Belgian races create their difficulty through tension rather than altitude. The strongest sprinter still needs a team, positioning, concentration and the ability to handle a finale where everyone believes they have a chance.
Van Rooijen had won here before. This time, in the rain, against Kool and after months without a victory, she came back and did it again.
Konvert Koerse Kortrijk 2026 result
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
