BinckBank Tour 2019 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

August 12, 2019

BinckBank Tour 2019 – Stage 1 – Beveren – Hulst : 167,2 km

Nothing comes easy at the BinckBank Tour, and a glance at the palmarès confirms as much. The most recent winners are Matej Mohoric, Tom Dumoulin, Niki Terpstra, Tim Wellens and Zdenek Stybar, and, on each occasion, the race was decided by mere seconds. A constant in the WorldTour since it succeeded the old Tour of the Netherlands in 2005, the BinckBank Tour – formerly the Eneco Tour – is something of a point of confluence in the cycling calendar. In mid-August, WorldTour riders tend to be in one of two camps: recovering from the Tour de France or still feeling their way back into action after missing out on the big show in July. As ever, the race offers a sample of spring Classics terrain, with a short, stiff leg in the Ardennes on stage 4 and then a demanding trek around the cobbles and hills of Flanders on the final day. In between, there is a short, flat time trial in The Hague, while the four flat stages rarely run quite as smoothly as the profile in the roadbook would indicate.

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) won the opening stage of the BinckBank Tour, taking the race lead in a wet sprint finish in Hulst. Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) took second, while Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) finished third.

Bahrain-Merida and Trek-Segafredo led the way in the closing kilometres, and in the closing metres Theuns looked set for victory after a strong lead-out. On the line, however, it was Bennett who jumped from behind a boxed-in Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma), hitting the wind at just the right time to speed past and take his ninth win of the season.

“I’m really happy,” said Bennett after the stage. “It’s my first win in this [national champion’s] jersey and I’m happy that it’s come sooner rather than later. I’m delighted.

“It was pretty dangerous. I was just trying to keep up front. The guys did a good job keeping me there and I kept in a good position in the last 2km and just tried to hold on to the bigger trains. I just tried to stay out of trouble really.

“To be honest, I was nervous with the rain, I had a few skids in the race. But it was good, I can’t complain.”

Bennett takes the green leader’s jersey into stage two, another flat stage from Blankenberge to Ardooie. Lukasz Wisniowski (CCC Team) and Lars Bak (Dimension Data) lie in second and third, two and three second down respectively, after taking bonus seconds at the ‘golden kilometre’ sector.

How it unfolded

Wet weather greeted the peloton on the first day of the race, a 167.2km race from Beveren in Belgium to Hulst, just across the border in the Netherlands. The riders would take the scenic route between the two towns, which are only around 20km away from each other, and would tackle six short cobbled sectors along the way.

Wisniowski and Bak were joined in the first break of the race by Baptiste Planckaert (Wallonie-Bruxelles) and Aaron Verwilst (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), with the four men getting away in the opening kilometre for what would be scant reward on a day certain to see a sprint finish.

Their advantage would peak at a handful of minutes before the inevitable catch late on, though Planckaert did come away with a consolation prize, winning both intermediate sprints to take the black combativity jersey.

Most of the riders passed the cobbled sectors without worry, though Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) was a notable name to hit the deck on the Zoentberm sector along with Larry Warbasse (AG2R La Mondiale).

Wisniowski was the final holdout from the break, holding on until the 3km mark as the peloton, led by Trek-Segafredo and Bahrain-Merida, charged onwards to the finish. Trek took over in the final kilometre, with Teunissen close behind working for Groenewegen.

Further back, Bennett was bumping shoulders as he battled for position, and eventually worked his way up to Groenewegen’s wheel. Theuns opened up the sprint first and looked all set for victory until Bennett came around the outside to sneak past in the dying metres.

Results :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:42:57
2 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
3 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
4 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates
5 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
6 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
7 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
8 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Ineos
9 Alvaro Hodeg (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
10 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
11 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
12 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
13 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
14 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
15 Aksel Nõmmela (Est) Wallonie Bruxelles
16 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
17 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb
18 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
19 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
20 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
21 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
22 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
23 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) CCC Team
24 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
25 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
26 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot-Charles
27 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
28 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First
29 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
30 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
31 Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
32 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
33 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
34 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
35 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
36 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
37 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
38 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
39 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
40 Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team Sunweb
41 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
42 Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
43 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
44 Jan Willem van Schip (Ned) Roompot-Charles
45 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb
46 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First
47 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team
48 Boris Vallee (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
49 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
50 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb
51 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
52 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale
53 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
54 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
55 Senne Leysen (Bel) Roompot-Charles
56 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
57 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team
58 Juan Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates
59 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
60 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal
61 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Ineos
62 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
63 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
64 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
65 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
66 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
67 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
68 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Ineos
69 Lars Bak (Den) Dimension Data
70 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin
71 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
72 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team
73 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
74 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
75 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education First
76 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
77 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
78 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education First
79 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
80 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First
81 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
82 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
83 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty-Gobert
84 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
85 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
86 Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ
87 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin
88 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
89 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
90 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
91 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
92 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
93 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep
94 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
95 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
96 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
97 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
98 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
99 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Team Ineos
100 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
101 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
102 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
103 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos
104 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
105 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
106 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
107 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ Continental
108 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
109 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
110 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
111 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Ineos
112 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
113 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
114 Rasmus Tiller (Nor) Dimension Data
115 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
116 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott
117 Bagdonas Gediminas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
118 Stijn Steels (Bel) Roompot-Charles
119 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
120 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Total Direct Energie
121 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
122 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
123 Meiyin Wang (Chn) Bahrain-Merida
124 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
125 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot-Charles
126 Angelo Tulik (Fra) Total Direct Energie
127 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
128 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
129 Moreno Hofland (Ned) EF Education First
130 Lukas Spengler (Swi) Wallonie Bruxelles
131 Lars Boom (Ned) Roompot-Charles
132 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:25
133 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:31
134 Alex Frame (NZl) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:57
135 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:09
136 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:12
137 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:16
138 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
139 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
140 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
141 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:46
142 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:01:53
143 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert 0:01:57
144 Carlos Verona (Spa) Movistar Team
145 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
146 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:00
147 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:06
148 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
149 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:27
150 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:33
151 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team
152 Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First 0:02:35
153 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:44
154 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:03:03
155 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:03:12
156 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:05:25
157 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
158 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Total Direct Energie
DNF Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
DNF Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:42:47
2 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team 0:00:02
3 Lars Bak (Den) Dimension Data 0:00:03
4 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:04
5 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
6 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:10
7 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
8 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
9 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
10 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Ineos
11 Alvaro Hodeg (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
12 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
13 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
14 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
15 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
16 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
17 Aksel Nõmmela (Est) Wallonie Bruxelles
18 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
19 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb
20 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
21 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
22 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
23 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
24 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
25 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) CCC Team
26 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
27 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
28 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot-Charles
29 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
30 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First
31 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
32 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
33 Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
34 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
35 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
36 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
37 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
38 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
39 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
40 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
41 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
42 Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team Sunweb
43 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
44 Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
45 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
46 Jan Willem van Schip (Ned) Roompot-Charles
47 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb
48 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First
49 Boris Vallee (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
50 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
51 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb
52 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
53 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale
54 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
55 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
56 Senne Leysen (Bel) Roompot-Charles
57 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
58 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team
59 Juan Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates
60 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
61 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal
62 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Ineos
63 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
64 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
65 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
66 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
67 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
68 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
69 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Ineos
70 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin
71 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
72 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team
73 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
74 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
75 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education First
76 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
77 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
78 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education First
79 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
80 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First
81 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
82 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
83 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty-Gobert
84 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
85 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
86 Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ
87 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin
88 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
89 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
90 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
91 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
92 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
93 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep
94 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
95 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
96 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
97 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
98 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
99 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Team Ineos
100 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
101 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
102 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
103 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos
104 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
105 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
106 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
107 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ Continental
108 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
109 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
110 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
111 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Ineos
112 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
113 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
114 Rasmus Tiller (Nor) Dimension Data
115 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
116 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott
117 Bagdonas Gediminas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
118 Stijn Steels (Bel) Roompot-Charles
119 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
120 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Total Direct Energie
121 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
122 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
123 Meiyin Wang (Chn) Bahrain-Merida
124 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
125 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot-Charles
126 Angelo Tulik (Fra) Total Direct Energie
127 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
128 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
129 Moreno Hofland (Ned) EF Education First
130 Lukas Spengler (Swi) Wallonie Bruxelles
131 Lars Boom (Ned) Roompot-Charles
132 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:35
133 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:41
134 Alex Frame (NZl) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:07
135 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:19
136 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:22
137 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:26
138 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:01:40
139 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:01:43
140 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
141 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:56
142 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:02:03
143 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert 0:02:07
144 Carlos Verona (Spa) Movistar Team
145 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
146 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:10
147 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:16
148 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
149 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:37
150 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:43
151 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team
152 Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First 0:02:45
153 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:54
154 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:03:13
155 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:03:22
156 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:05:35
157 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
158 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Total Direct Energie