A breakaway, almost caught up, but then still made it to the finishing straight, overtaken - and strongly countered, that's the summary of the last kilometres by Reusser and Vollering, who worked together for a long time and led the race for the last 20 kilometres or so. When the escape was almost over ten kilometres before the finish on the Nokereberg, the duo saved a mini lead over the climb, which they were able to extend to 25 seconds in the final kilometre.

Then the poker games began. And as the race rounded the final bend with a good 300 metres to go, Nooijen suddenly flew past the duo. The Dutchwoman had broken away from the chasing group shortly before and almost looked like the winner with 200 metres to go, as she had already opened up a gap on Reusser and Vollering. However, both the Swiss and the Dutchwoman had saved enough energy for a powerful sprint, with which they were able to counter Nooijen once again. After 129 kilometres around Waregem, Reusser was ahead by a tyre's width.

For the 34-year-old, it was the 35th victory of her career, including the second Belgian classic after Gent-Wevelgem in 2023. In 2026, it was her first success. "That's just great. To be honest, I'm a bit surprised," she said in the winner's interview. "I didn't expect to win in this way. I really struggled at the start of the race. I had problems with positioning. But I didn't lose confidence."

Vollering, meanwhile, was a fair second. "It was very close. And then you always ask yourself where you could have done something differently. I have mixed feelings. Of course I would have liked to win, but I'm also happy with my form. Nevertheless, Marlen was the strongest today."

Dwars door Vlaanderen Women 2026 - Results

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How Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026 went

A leading group of seven women, including the most prominent name Mia Griffin (Team Picnic PostNL), had already set off after ten kilometres. They made it to the Eikenberg, a good 40 kilometres before the finish.

There, after an attack by Vollering, a new quartet formed with Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Fleur Moors (Lidl - Trek) and Letizia Borghesi (AG Insurance - Soudal), but they were caught again over the next few kilometres. On the double cobbled section Huisepontweg and Wannegemdorp around 25 kilometres before the finish, Reusser then went into attack mode. Only Vollering was able to jump on her rear wheel and follow. The team held a few seconds advantage over the group behind them.

Twelve kilometres before the finish, Vollering and Reusser had a 20-second lead over the 30-strong chasing group. But when they went over the Nokereberg for the second time, ten kilometres before the finish, the gap was almost closed. But only almost. The duo saved seven seconds from an even smaller group. And then the gap grew again. Over the Herlegemstraat, the last cobbled section, the gap opened up again to more than 20 seconds five kilometres before the finish.