Gladys Verhulst-Wild won the 2026 Trofee Maarten Wynants, taking her first victory in three years after a bunch sprint at the end of 116.6km of flat racing around Houthalen-Helchteren. Her AG Insurance-Soudal team-mate Marith Vanhove made it a one-two for the Belgian team, while Scarlett Souren took third after another strong ride in a fast finish.
Anna Vanderaerden finished fourth, just missing the podium, while Julie Stockman placed eighth in a result that underlined how large the front group still was by the finish. Despite several attempts to force a break, the race never truly split and the day ended with a mass sprint from a front group of 92 riders.
Early attacks fail to reshape the race
For a long stretch, the race resisted any real attempt to break it open. It took around 30km before the first meaningful move went clear, with Alicja Matula launching an attack and quickly building a lead of around 30 seconds.
That prompted some reaction behind. A group of nine riders tried to bridge across, but the move was quickly brought back by the peloton. Even so, that brief chase effort had an effect. Matula’s advantage began to fall, and by around 40km the race was back together.
The first hour, then, set the pattern for the rest of the day. Riders were willing to attack, but no team was prepared to let anything dangerous develop. Each move either lacked the firepower to stay away or was shut down before it had time to become a serious threat.
A compact peloton carries speed into the finale
After the regrouping, the race remained active without ever becoming decisive. Various riders tried to launch new attacks, but none managed to establish a lasting advantage. The constant efforts did, however, keep the pace high enough to ensure the bunch was under pressure, with the elastic at the back of the group repeatedly snapping.
Even so, the race never blew apart. A compact peloton entered the final lap, and once that happened the chances of a solo winner or a small break staying clear dropped sharply. The final 10km confirmed that feeling. Riders continued to test the group, but no one could create enough separation to avoid the inevitable sprint.
That left the result to be decided by team organisation, lead-out quality and pure finishing speed.
AG Insurance-Soudal play the sprint perfectly
AG Insurance-Soudal got that balance right. They arrived at the finish with two strong cards and then executed the sprint far better than anyone else. Verhulst-Wild was the rider who took the victory, but Vanhove’s second place made it clear how well the team had handled the closing kilometres.
Rather than chasing every move too early or wasting riders before the finish, they judged the race well and kept enough strength in hand for the decisive moment. When the sprint opened, Verhulst-Wild and Vanhove were simply faster than the rest.
Souren rounded out the podium with another strong result for VolkerWessels, while Vanderaerden was close behind in fourth. It was the kind of finish where the margins were tight, but AG Insurance-Soudal still managed to make it look relatively clear.
A long-awaited win for Verhulst-Wild
This result carried extra weight for Verhulst-Wild because of how long she had waited for another victory. Her last win came at La Picto-Charentaise in August 2023, so this was not just another sprint success. It was a return.
She made that clear afterwards, describing it as a victory over herself after a difficult period.
“I’m so happy to win here. It feels like a victory over myself because I’ve come a long way after last season and then my Classics campaign, which didn’t go as I had hoped.
“So tonight, I’m really happy to finally raise my arms again. The girls did an amazing job today, and it’s really special to finish it off together like this.”
That quote gives the result a little more depth. This was not only a case of the fastest rider winning a sprint. It was a rider coming through a difficult spell, trusting her team and finally getting a reward again.
Another notable name on the winners list
Verhulst-Wild also joins a strong list of winners at Trofee Maarten Wynants. Riders such as Lotte Kopecky, Marianne Vos and Elisa Balsamo have all won this race in the past, which gives it more weight than its flat profile might suggest at first glance.
The event remains an important Belgian one-day race and carries its own identity, named in honour of former professional rider Maarten Wynants, now a sports director at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. In that sense, Verhulst-Wild was not just winning a sprint in Limburg. She was adding her name to a race with a good recent history of notable winners.
For AG Insurance-Soudal, it was also their third win of the season, and one earned through collective control as much as individual speed. They did not dominate by blowing the race apart, but by reading it properly, staying calm and delivering when it mattered.
Photo Credit: Cor VosTrofee Maarten Wynants 2026 result
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