Lieke Nooijen wins 2026 Eneco Tour Women overall title

Lieke Nooijen has won the 2026 Eneco Tour Women, finishing the six-day race 32 seconds ahead of Femke Markus and 37 seconds clear of Letizia Borghesi.

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider built her overall victory around the two races against the clock. Nooijen won the opening 3.1km prologue in The Hague by more than eight seconds, then produced the decisive ride of the week in the 13.6km Tilburg time trial, where she took 20 seconds out of Nienke Vinke and substantially more from most of her other general classification rivals.

From there, the race became a test of defence. Markus took time back with a late solo win at Watersley, while Borghesi gained ground with victory on the Col du VAM, but neither could erase the margin Nooijen had created against the clock. She reached Sunday’s final stage in Arnhem with 38 seconds over Markus and finished safely in the main group to secure her first overall victory at WorldTour level.

Nooijen’s time trial advantage proved decisive

The opening prologue immediately established the shape of the race. Nooijen covered the short The Hague course in 3:51.72, beating Charlotte Kool by 8.21 seconds and Lonneke Uneken by 8.22. On such a short effort, the size of the gap was more important than the stage win itself.

Sandrine Tas briefly took over the race lead after winning Stage 1 in Ede, moving one second ahead of Nooijen through the finishing bonuses. That lasted only until Tilburg.

Nooijen regained control in the Stage 2 individual time trial, winning by 20 seconds from Vinke. ProCyclingUK’s Stage 2 report covered the ride that ultimately created the winning GC margin.

Photo Credit: Getty

The road stages then became progressively more difficult. Markus attacked with 17km remaining at Watersley on Stage 3 and held on to win by five seconds, cutting Nooijen’s advantage but not enough to change the overall hierarchy. Nooijen finished second, with Maud Rijnbeek third.

The VAMberg stage presented the biggest threat. Heavy rain and repeated climbs split the field, while Rijnbeek and Markus both tried to put pressure on the race leader. Borghesi eventually attacked on the final ascent to take the stage, but Nooijen limited her losses with third place and actually extended her advantage over Markus to 38 seconds.

Nooijen did not need to match Borghesi’s finishing acceleration. The important part was staying close enough through a stage where the classification could easily have split apart, preserving most of the advantage she had created earlier in the week.

Markus and Borghesi complete the podium

Markus finishes second overall at 32 seconds, having been the most persistent challenger once the race reached the hills. Her Stage 3 win at Watersley was the only day on which she made a substantial direct gain on Nooijen, and she continued to attack on the VAMberg and again during the final Arnhem stage.

Borghesi took third at 37 seconds after one of the best weeks of her season. Her Stage 4 victory on the Col du VAM moved her onto the overall podium, and she retained that position through the final day.

Maud Rijnbeek finished fourth at 43 seconds for VolkerWessels Cycling Team, ahead of Vinke at 52 seconds. Quinty Ton was sixth for Liv AlUla Jayco, with Pfeiffer Georgi seventh and Charlotte Kool eighth.

Silke Smulders and Florien Bolks completed the top 10. The final gaps show how heavily the classification was shaped by the time trials: five riders finished within a minute of Nooijen, but none got close enough on the road stages to undo the time already lost in The Hague and Tilburg.

Truyen wins the final stage in Arnhem

Sunday’s 70.1km finale around Arnhem was not a procession. SD Worx-Protime continued to attack through Julia Kopecký, Femke Gerritse, Vinke and Markus, while a large crash briefly disrupted the peloton with just over 50km remaining.

Nooijen avoided the incident and Team Visma | Lease a Bike kept the race under control whenever Markus tried to create separation. The winning move came from further down the classification, with Marthe Truyen, Scarlett Souren and Talia Appleton escaping inside the final 10km.

The trio held a narrow advantage into the final kilometre. Truyen beat Souren in the sprint, while Kool came past Appleton from the peloton to take third. Nooijen finished 13th on the same time as the stage winner, which was more than enough to secure the overall.

The complete Stage 5 report covers Truyen’s win and the final attacks in Arnhem.

Nooijen also takes the points classification

Nooijen leaves the Eneco Tour with more than the orange leader’s jersey. Her two stage wins and consistent placings across the hilly stages were enough to secure the blue points jersey as well.

The points jersey reflects how complete her week was. The time trials created the advantage, but she still finished second at Watersley, third on the VAMberg and stayed out of trouble in Arnhem to protect it.

This is Nooijen’s first overall victory at WorldTour level. She had previously won the 2024 Princess Anna Vasa Tour, but the Eneco Tour required her to defend a lead against a deeper field across time trials, punchy stages and a difficult VAMberg day.

Eneco Tour Women 2026 Final Classification