Gullegem arrived at the sharp end of the festive block with that familiar Belgian mix of frozen ground, changing grip, and races decided by small errors. On Saturday 3 January 2026, both elite events followed the same script: not a slow burn, but a steady tightening of the elastic until one move finally stuck.
In the women’s race, Amandine Fouquenet underlined how far her winter has come, riding clear late for her second Superprestige win in a fortnight. In the men’s event, the spotlight fell on the series battle as Niels Vandeputte outmanoeuvred Michael Vanthourenhout in the finale to win on the day and stretch his overall advantage with one round remaining.
Women’s race: Fouquenet turns pressure into a late solo
With several headline names absent, Fouquenet started as the rider everyone marked – and she raced like it from the first lap, moving to the front early and setting the pace rather than waiting for the shape of the race to form around her.
A small lead group quickly established itself behind her, with riders such as Zoe Bäckstedt and Aniek van Alphen in the mix, while Marion Norbert Riberolle initially missed the front split before forcing her way back into contention by the second lap. That moment mattered, because once Norbert Riberolle was back, the race had a clear opponent for Fouquenet: not a pack, but a rider capable of making the pace uncomfortable and turning it into a head-to-head contest.
Fouquenet’s first real attempt to create separation came when errors began to creep in behind her. Van Alphen made a mistake, the gap opened, and suddenly Fouquenet had daylight. For a time, it looked like she might simply ride away there and then, building an advantage that hovered around the 10-second mark as the chasers tried to organise.
But Gullegem rarely allows the race to stay that simple. The chase reshaped, and the riders most able to close – Norbert Riberolle and Van Alphen – eventually made contact at the front. From that point, the racing became more tactical: short surges, brief hesitations, and constant line choices as the course demanded repeated accelerations out of corners.
The decisive phase arrived in the later laps. Norbert Riberolle made her own move on lap four, accelerating at the front in a bid to turn the race into a Belgian-style war of attrition. Fouquenet matched it without panic, and the pair emerged as the clear protagonists. Then, on the penultimate lap of six, Fouquenet produced the acceleration Norbert Riberolle could not answer. It was not a dramatic long-range attack, but a clean, committed surge that created separation instantly – the kind that is hardest to close because it comes after you have already spent your best effort just staying in contact.
From there, Fouquenet held her form and her focus to the line for a controlled solo victory. Norbert Riberolle finished nine seconds back in second, and 18-year-old Canadian Rafaelle Carrier completed the podium at 11 seconds down after a notably mature ride in the chase and late-race sorting.
Superprestige Gullegem 2026 Women result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Men’s race: Vandeputte edges the thriller and strengthens his series grip
The men’s race carried an extra layer of tension because it was never just about Gullegem. With the series nearing its conclusion, every point mattered, and the head-to-head between Niels Vandeputte and Michael Vanthourenhout was obvious from the opening exchanges.
Joris Nieuwenhuis took the hole shot after the start, but the key names were immediately in position – Vandeputte and Vanthourenhout close by, with Joran Wyseure, Witse Meeussen, Kevin Kuhn, Jente Michels, Felipe Orts Lloret, and others forming the early front group.
The middle of the race introduced the day’s wildcard. Gerben Kuypers went to the front on lap three of eight and committed to a proper move, forcing the favourites to decide whether to burn energy immediately or manage the gap and back themselves later. As snow began to fall more heavily from lap four, the conditions shifted again: visibility dropped, the lines blurred, and the course started demanding more from everyone’s concentration.
Kuypers held on impressively through that change, but the chase eventually reeled him in on lap five. Once that happened, the race reset into what it had threatened to become all along: a tight, selective contest between the riders who had the legs to attack and the technical clarity to keep it clean.
Vanthourenhout then applied pressure with around two and a half laps remaining, creating a small gap that briefly looked dangerous, particularly with the series lead on the line. Wyseure helped close it, and the leaders regrouped, but the race was already at the point where one bobble could become the difference between winning and chasing.
The closing sequence was messy in the way Gullegem often is: bike changes, sand pit surges, and riders forced into awkward decisions at exactly the wrong moments. Vandeputte and Nieuwenhuis changed bikes on the penultimate lap; Vanthourenhout and Wyseure pushed on, opening a gap through the sand. A slip for Nieuwenhuis in a technical section disrupted the rhythm again, and by the start of the final lap Vanthourenhout looked to have the upper hand with a small advantage.
But Vandeputte did not let the situation settle. The leaders came back together, and then the winning move came from opportunism and commitment rather than raw force. Vandeputte took an unexpected chance to run a technical uphill cleaner than his rival, moved around Vanthourenhout, and carried that momentum onto the next fast section. That single decision created the space he needed – and crucially, it arrived late enough that Vanthourenhout had no time to reset the pursuit.
Vandeputte won by three seconds, with Vanthourenhout second, Nieuwenhuis third and Wyseure fourth. Just as importantly, the victory pushed Vandeputte to 91 points overall, with Vanthourenhout on 88, setting up the final round in Middelkerke as a three-point decider.
Superprestige Gullegem 2026 Men result
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