BinckBank Tour 2019 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

August 14, 2019

BinckBank Tour 2019 – Stage 3 – Aalter – Aalter : 166,9 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) took his third consecutive victory at the BinckBank Tour in Aalter, beating Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) by a tyre-width, with the photo finish needed to confirm the Irish national champion was the winner. Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) finished third.

A crash just before the final corner saw several riders go down or delayed, including Kristoffer Halvorsen (Team Ineos). That left just a handful of sprinters up front to fight for victory.

Philipsen started the sprint but acted as a lead-out for Bennett and Groenewegen, who went around him on the left and right of the road.

Bennett threw his bike at the line early and so lost some speed in the final metres, allowing Groenewegen to close the gap as he dived at the line. However, the Irishman again had the edge on his Dutch rival.

“I wasn’t sure at all [of having won],” Bennett said, revealing he sprinted with a damaged bike. “I think somebody touched my bike in the last corner and so the gears where jumping like mad. I couldn’t throw the bike around; I had to keep it solid. The gears were slipping and so I couldn’t get power down.

“I got a run at the UAE rider and if it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would have got it. I was really lucky today. But it was enough to get it, so I’m really happy.”

Bennett is the first rider to ever win three consecutive stages at the Binckbank Tour and so extended his lead in the overall classification thanks to the time bonuses. Philipsen is second overall at 20 seconds, with Groenewegen third, also at 20 seconds.

“It’s great (to win three). I heard I’d be the first to win three this morning. I’m glad to be doing my country proud in my national kit,” Bennett said.

How it happened

The 166.9km stage started and finished in Aalter between Ghent and Bruges, with the riders covering a large loop in the north, followed by three 33km circuits to the south of the town. The Lotto Soudal riders lined up on the front as a minute’s silence was held to remember Bjorg Lambrecht whose funeral was held on Tuesday in nearby Knesselare.

The race momentarily paid its respect to Lambrecht when it passed through Knesselare, with flowers presented to Lambrecht’s family in another emotional moment for the sport.

An early break of four riders was pulled back with 72km to go but another attack was allowed to hang out front. This time Harry Tanfield (Katusha-Alpecin), Stijn Steels (Roompot Charles) and local rider Guillaume Van Kerisbulck (CCC Team) got away in pursuit of glory.

Their lead reached a minute as a series of crashes and mechanical problems hit riders in the peloton and a spell of heavy rain made the Binckbank Tour suddenly feel like a spring Classic. Fortunately, the roads soon dried out and the speed was high as riders fought for position on the Belgian concrete roads, bike paths and cobbled section that featured on the 33km circuit. Xandro Meurisse (Wanty-Gobert) went down hard but everyone else raced on. Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) was a late puncture victim but took a wheel from a teammate and chased back on the long line of team cars.

Jumbo-Visma took over the chase with 12km to go, with EF Education First also up front before the series of Golden Kilometre sprints, allowing Van Kerisbulck, Tanfield and Steels to sweep up the bonus seconds as the peloton hesitated before the sprint.

The catch came with 3.5km to go on narrow country roads. Other attacks came, lining out the peloton in the cross winds but nobody could escape the grasp of the sprinters.

The Binckbank Tour heads to the Belgian Ardennes for Thursday’s 96.2km hilly fourth stage around Houffalize, where the overall contenders and climbers are expected to take over from the sprinters.

Results :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:44:04
2 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates
4 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
5 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
6 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
7 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
8 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) CCC Team
9 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
10 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
11 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
12 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First
13 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
14 Milan Menten (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
15 Moreno Hofland (Ned) EF Education First
16 Boris Vallee (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
17 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
18 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Total Direct Energie
19 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin
20 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
21 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
22 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
23 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
24 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
25 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot-Charles
26 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
27 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team
28 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
29 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
30 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
31 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
32 Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
33 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
34 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb
35 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
36 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
37 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
38 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
39 Senne Leysen (Bel) Roompot-Charles
40 Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team Sunweb
41 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb
42 Aksel Nõmmela (Est) Wallonie Bruxelles
43 Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ
44 Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
45 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
46 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
47 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos
48 Jan Willem van Schip (Ned) Roompot-Charles
49 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
50 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos
51 Stijn Steels (Bel) Roompot-Charles
52 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale
53 Lars Boom (Ned) Roompot-Charles
54 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
55 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
56 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
57 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
58 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
59 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin
60 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
61 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
62 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
63 Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team
64 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
65 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep
66 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
67 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
68 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
69 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
70 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
71 Lars Bak (Den) Dimension Data
72 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team
73 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Ineos
74 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
75 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
76 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty-Gobert
77 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
78 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
79 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
80 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
81 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
82 Alvaro Hodeg (Col) Deceuninck-QuickStep
83 Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Roompot-Charles
84 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
85 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
86 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team Sunweb
87 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education First
88 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
89 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
90 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
91 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First
92 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
93 Angelo Tulik (Fra) Total Direct Energie
94 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
95 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Ineos
96 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
97 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
98 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
99 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
100 Rui Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
101 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott
102 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
103 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
104 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
105 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
106 Alex Frame (NZl) Trek-Segafredo
107 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
108 Juan Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates
109 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
110 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
111 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:52
112 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Ineos
113 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
114 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:04
115 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:10
116 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Team Ineos
117 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert 0:01:24
118 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
119 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:01:26
120 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
121 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:32
122 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal
123 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
124 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education First 0:01:41
125 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:01:43
126 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
127 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
128 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:09
129 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:10
130 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:12
131 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
132 Aaron Verwilst (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
133 Lukas Spengler (Swi) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:14
134 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:02:15
135 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data 0:02:16
136 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
137 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:19
138 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:25
139 Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First 0:02:29
140 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ Continental 0:02:39
141 Carlos Verona (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:19
142 Meiyin Wang (Chn) Bahrain-Merida 0:03:21
143 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First
144 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:04:44
145 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
146 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:09:06
147 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
148 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) Movistar Team
149 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
150 Bagdonas Gediminas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
151 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
152 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
153 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Total Direct Energie
154 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First 3:32:09
2 João Almeida (Por) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:00:06
3 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Floyd’s Pro Cycling 0:00:12
4 Kyle Murphy (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:00:18
5 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:00:21
6 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First
7 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 0:00:22
8 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Floyd’s Pro Cycling 0:00:23
9 Travis McCabe (USA) Floyd’s Pro Cycling
10 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy 0:00:24
11 Alex Hoehn (USA) Aevolo
12 Robert Britton (Can) Rally UHC Cycling 0:00:25
13 James Piccoli (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:00:26
14 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
15 Griffin Easter (USA) 303 Project 0:00:27
16 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Education First
17 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:00:28
18 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First 0:00:29
19 Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas (Col) Israel Cycling Academy 0:00:30
20 Scott Bowden (Aus) Team Bridgelane
21 Brendan Rhim (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:00:33
22 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:35
23 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Israel Cycling Academy
24 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
25 Hayden Mccormick (NZl) Team Bridgelane 0:00:36
26 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:00:37
27 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:00:39
28 Dayer Quintana (Col) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:00:41
29 Edward Anderson (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:00:42
30 Gregory Daniel (USA) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:00:43
31 Eder Frayre Moctezuma (Mex) 0:00:47
32 Tyler Magner (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:00:50
33 Pablo Andrés Alarcon Cares (Chi) Canel’s-Specialized 0:00:51
34 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:00:52
35 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:53
36 Simone Velasco (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
37 Dominik Bauer (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:00:54
38 Cole Davis (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:00:56
39 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
40 Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Spa) Kometa Cycling Team 0:00:58
41 Michael Rice (Aus) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:00:59
42 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane
43 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:01:03
44 Nathan Earle (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy
45 Cade Bickmore (USA) Aevolo 0:01:11
46 Ayden Toovey (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:01:16
47 Andrew Vollmer (USA) Aevolo 0:02:15
48 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:02:20
49 Thomas Revard (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon 0:02:26
50 Eduardo Corte Cordero (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:02:32
51 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM 0:02:33
52 Alexander Cowan (Can) Floyd’s Pro Cycling 0:02:46
53 Gabriel Francisco Rojas Campos (CRc) Aevolo 0:02:49
54 Tyler Lindorff (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:02:53
55 Ulises Alfredo Castillo Soto (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:02:59
56 Matthew Zimmer (USA) 0:03:04
57 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:08
58 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:03:11
59 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy 0:03:12
60 Efren Santos Moreno (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:03:17
61 Conor Schunk (USA) 0:03:18
62 Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:03:29
63 Philipp Mamos (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:03:31
64 Francisco Lara Carbajal (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:03:32
65 Hamish Schreurs (NZl) Israel Cycling Academy 0:03:34
66 Oscar Eduardo Sanchez Guarin (Col) Canel’s-Specialized 0:03:35
67 Leonel Palma Dajui (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:03:48
68 Stephen Bassett (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:04:40
69 Oliver Flautt (USA) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:05:03
70 Jordan Cheyne (Can) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:05:08
71 Noah Granigan (USA) Floyd’s Pro Cycling 0:05:11
72 Andzs Flaksis (Lat) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC
73 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education First 0:05:12
74 Tony Baca (Mex) 303 Project
75 Evan Huffman (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:05:13
76 Sven Thurau (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:05:14
77 Filippo Zaccanti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizane 0:05:16
78 Taylor (T.J.) Eisenhart (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:05:19
79 Tanner Putt (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:05:22
80 Scott McGill (USA) 0:05:25
81 Nicolas Debeaumarche (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
82 Benjamin Wolfe (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC
83 Flavio Alejandro De Luna Davila (Mex) 303 Project 0:05:28
84 Jonathan Clarke (Aus) Floyd’s Pro Cycling 0:05:32
85 Bernat Font Mas (Spa) 303 Project 0:05:38
86 Christopher Heider (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:05:43
87 Miká Heming (Ger) Team Dauner-Akkon 0:05:58
88 Justin Alexander Oien (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:07:16
89 Samuel Bassetti (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:08:05
90 Eric Brunner (USA) Aevolo 0:08:08
91 George Simpson (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:08:09
92 Austin Stephens (USA) 303 Project 0:08:24
93 Isaiah Newkirk (USA) 303 Project 0:08:35
94 Marko Pavlič (Slo) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team
95 Kent Ross (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:08:47
96 Maxx Chance (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:08:50
97 Antoine Leplingard (Fra) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:08:59
98 Jose Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Mex) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:09:06
99 Nigel Ellsay (Can) Rally UHC Cycling 0:09:42
100 Emerson Oronte (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:09:53
101 Eric Young (USA) Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling 0:09:56
102 Travis Samuel (Can) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:10:47
103 Samuel Boardman (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:10:57
104 Cullen Easter (USA) 303 Project 0:11:01
105 Emile Jean (Can) Floyd’s Pro Cycling 0:11:09
106 Camden Vodicka (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:11:41
107 Miguel Bryon (USA) Arapahoe-Hincapie p/b BMC 0:11:43
108 Quinten Kirby (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:11:44
109 Jean-Denis Thibault (Can) DC Bank Pro Cycling Team 0:13:42
110 Joseph Cooper (NZl) Team Bridgelane 0:13:59
111 Chris Harper (Aus) Team Bridgelane 0:14:12
112 Ignacio Prado Juarez (Mex) Canel’s-Specialized 0:15:39
113 Finn Gullickson (USA) Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis 0:15:50