Stage 1: Pittem – Pittem

111,2 km
Saturday 19 September 2026

The 43rd edition of the Keizer der Juniores got underway on Saturday with the opening stage in Pittem. Covering 111.2 kilometres, 148 riders faced a demanding and varied course. The stage was completed in 2:26:02, at an average speed of 45.69 km/h.

After the opening stage, Kyano Cottignies leads the overall classification. Victor Devos and Monty Manion follow on the same time. Jannes Opstaele is fourth at 20 seconds, while Cedric Van Gijsel, Matthew Fletcher, Sune De Valck, Stan Vernaillen, Jinze Joris and Koen Sonnemans complete the top 10.

In the youth classification, Victor Devos is also in the lead, ahead of Monty Manion and Jannes Opstaele.

The mountain classification is led by Victor Devos with 15 points. Tijs Witte follows with 14 points. Jinze Joris and Xibe Bral both have 5 points, followed by Loek Hovers with 4 points. Koen Sonnemans collected 2 points from the climbs.

The team classification is also extremely close. Van Moer Logistics Cycling Team, Amicale Cycliste Bisontinne U19 and Soudal Quick-Step U19 all have a combined time of 7:19:00 after the opening stage. UNO X – NTG U19 follows 27 seconds behind.

After the opening stage, the gaps in the overall classification remain very small. With several classifications and jerseys still at stake, the 43rd edition of the Keizer der Juniores remains wide open. After Pittem, the blue jersey represents the leader of the overall classification, the red jersey the mountain classification leader and the white jersey the youth classification leader.