30/05/2026
HGT 700🏅LUTZ WELLENSIEK
🇬🇧 On Friday the 22nd at 8 AM, 40 adventurers rolled out from Saint-Hubert in search of the Ardennes Grail.
Very quickly, two men took control: Guillaume de Spoelberch and Pieter Snoeck flew far ahead while behind them, the pack was already breaking apart. Mother Nature had started her work, collecting riders one spoonful at a time.
On the long climb towards the High Fens, Guillaume drove the point home. Steady. Strong. The kind of presence that slowly starts making others doubt themselves.
The first twist came at CP1 in Stavelot: Pieter Snoeck, who had been putting Guillaume under pressure, was forced to scratch. He already knew the Hardennes. Maybe a little too well.
Then came the first night. And with it, the first demons.
Behind, the chasers gradually closed in on the race leader, who would eventually put a foot down too.
The Ardennes have their own rules. You don’t negotiate with 700 kilometers.
A second act then opened around an unlikely trio: Lutz Wellensiek, Raf Frans, and Bram Sins.
The three exchanged the lead all the way to CP2, putting on a magnificent battle.
Eventually, Lutz was the first to leave. And nobody saw him again. He closed the loop in 44h09.
Behind him, Raf and Bram arrived hand in hand, sharing second place after 46h45 of effort.
Then, little by little, everyone wrote their own story. Some marked the territory with a finish. Others with a battle lost.
Those who never came back did not lack courage.
Sometimes, the forest simply keeps what it takes.
The Hardennes GT imposes a long and brutal negotiation between every soul and the territory itself.
And here, Mother Nature always has the final word.
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