Eneco Tour 2016 – Stage 7 [FULL STAGE]

September 25, 2016

Eneco Tour 2016 – Stage 7– Bornem – Geraardsbergen – 197,8 km

The Eneco Tour of Benelux is a road bicycle racing stage-race. Its name refers to its main sponsor, the energy company Eneco Energie. It is part of both the UCI ProTour and the UCI World Ranking calendar.

Niki Terpstra (Etixx-QuickStep) emerged as the winner of the Eneco Tour after heavy rain and slippy roads turned the final stage into a Classic and leader Rohan Dennis (BMC) crashed and abandoned the race.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) won the stage on the lower slopes of the Geraardsbergen climb, beating Terpstra and Oliver Naesen (IAM Cycling) with a huge final effort.

Terpstra was fifth overall before the stage and used his form and ability in the rain and on the roads of Flanders to fight for overall victory. Naesen finished 31 behind the Dutchman in the overall classification, with Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) finishing third overall at 1:00 after finishing sixth on the stage in a chase group.

Rain in the final 60km of the race caused havoc with Dennis crashing hard after an apparent touch of wheels. He tried to chase but eventually abandoned the race. Taylor Phinney tried to save BMC’s chances but he finished two minutes behind. Greg Van Avermaet became BMC’s best finisher overall, taking fourth place at 1:02.

A planned attack

Terpstra cracked a huge smile when he realised he’d gained enough time to secure overall success. He secured the Etixx-QuickStep an 18th WorldTour win for the season.

“We planned to attack and all give it everything,” he said.

“With five riders within a minute in the standings, we were in an ideal situation. During the second passage on the Geraardsbergen, both BMC and Tinkoff seemed in difficulty in the rain, so we went on the attack. I didn’t take any risk by also trying to win the stage and so did everything I could to gain time and secure overall victory.”

Boasson Hagen needed time to recover from his huge finale but was happy to have won the final stage.

“It’s really nice to win today. I’s been a while since I won and to win on the Geraardsbergen is really nice too,” he said.

“I managed to be in a good position at the important moments of the race today and got away in the right group. I waited and followed the attacks in the finale and not waste too much energy. I knew the other guys were riding for the GC and so I could wait and give it everything on the final climb. We were lucky that they didn’t catch us from behind too.

“I’ve been feeling quite strong during the Eneco Tour but we didn’t get what we were hoping to get. I was hoping to win the GC but I’m far from that, so I’m happy to win the final stage.”

Sagan missed out on overall success after being stuck in the chase group but did not seem too disappointed. He took consolation in retaking the lead in the UCI WorldTour individual rankings. He seems certain to top the ranking at the end of the season after his closest rivals have announced they will not ride next Saturday’s Il Lombardia.

“It was a very hard race for the last day and the weather was bad with rain but I’m very happy I didn’t crash,” Sagan said.

“I came up to third place but against everyone, it is very hard to race. I wanted to come back in the front group but no one wanted to work with me. It’s like that, what can I do? It’s cycling, it’s unfair and I just do my best. Everyone was racing to not win, just to be beaten, and I don’t understanding. It’s a part of cycling.”

How it happened

The riders signed on for the stage in the sun but the weather worsened as the peloton headed south to the Flemish hills.

The early break of the day included nine riders and formed after a fast opening 65km of racing that tested BMC’s control of the race.

Winner of the last two editions of the Eneco Tour Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) was in the attack, along with Roy Curvers (Giant-Alpecin), Lars-Petter Nordhaug (Team Sky), Carlos Verona (Orica-Bike Exchange), Ruslan Tleubayev (Astana), Marc Sarreau (FDJ), Winner Anacona (Movistar), Brian Van Goethem (Roompot) and Simone Antonini (Wanty-Groupe Gobert).

They opened a lead of 2:00 and Anacona was only 1:07 off the lead and so BMC lead the chase. However Wellens took off on the passage of the Geraardsbergen, splitting the break and the peloton also broke up as the decisive action began and Tinkoff looked to position Sagan.

Dennis’ chances ended on flat section of road when he seemed to touch wheels. He went down hard and Las Boom (Astana) crashed too. Dennis got up but was in pain. With the peloton split and lined out, the BMC car struggled to get to their leader and the rest of the race disappeared up the road. The Australian chased for a while but eventually abandoned in pain.

The crashes, attacks and nasty weather conditions sparked several other attacks and split. Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) was in the front group with 35km to go and looked strong but he crashed alongside Boy Van Poppel (Team Sky).

A group of nine strong riders eventually emerged, with Sagan caught in the chase group and marked by Zdenek Stybar, who was defending Terpstra’s effort in the attack. Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) was there but lacked the strength to help Sagan close the gap.

On the next passage of the Geraardsbergen, with the Bosberg and other lesser climbs all hurting the rider’s legs, Terpstra split the attack up front and wet away with Boasson Hagen, Naesen and Germany’s Jasha Sütterlin (Movistar). They worked together to stay, with Terpstra sweeping up nine bonus seconds in the three Golden Kilometre sprints.

Sütterlin also had a chance of a place on the final podium but he cracked when Naesen and Terpstra put down several surges to ensure they stayed away. Boasson Hagen cleverly missed a few turns and saved his strength for one last final effort on the Geraardsbergen. He dug deep and hit the front, leading Naesen and Terpstra up to the finish. He celebrated a much-needed stage victory, while Terpstra and Naesen celebrated their places on the final podium.

Everyone else was just happy to have finished on of the most dramatic and toughest stages in the 12-year history of the Eneco Tour. The race shook out the WorldTour standings and showed who is on form for the rapidly approaching world road race championships in Qatar.

Stage Results :
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data 4:33:36
2 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:00:01
3 Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM Cycling
4 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:00:42
5 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 0:00:46
7 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
8 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:48
9 Jon Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team
10 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
11 Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
12 Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
13 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step
14 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-BikeExchange 0:00:58
15 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:04
16 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
17 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team
18 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team 0:01:10
19 Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx – Quick-Step
20 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:01:35
21 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:01:46
22 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
23 Arnaud Démare (Fra) FDJ 0:01:49
24 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:50
25 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-BikeExchange
26 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
27 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
28 Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step
29 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling
30 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky
31 Mario Jorge Faria da Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida
32 Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
33 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
34 Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
35 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
36 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:57
37 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:01:59
38 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
39 Marco Haller (Aut) Team Katusha 0:02:03
40 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team
41 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:05
42 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:02:08
43 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Lampre – Merida
44 Berden de Vries (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
45 Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:02:23
46 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
47 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky
48 Nils Politt (Ger) Team Katusha 0:03:45
49 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:03:56
50 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team 0:07:01
51 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
52 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
53 Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
54 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
55 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
56 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Giant-Alpecin
57 Alexander Porsev (Rus) Team Katusha
58 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre – Merida
59 Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
60 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
61 Nick van der Lijke (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
62 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
63 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre – Merida
64 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
65 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
66 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
67 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
68 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Team Katusha
69 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
70 Jürgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal
71 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:07:14
72 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:09:46
73 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:09:55
74 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
75 Mark McNally (GBr) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
76 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
77 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
78 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:10:11
79 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team
80 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:12:46
81 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
82 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
83 Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Etixx – Quick-Step
84 Simone Antonini (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Borut Bozic (Slo) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Stijn Steels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling
DNF Marc Sarreau (Fra) FDJ
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
DNF Winner Anacona Gomez (Col) Movistar Team
DNF Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
DNF Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
DNF Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Matthias Brändle (Aut) IAM Cycling
DNF Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJ
DNF Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
DNF Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ
DNF Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
DNF Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Astana Pro Team
DNF Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data
DNF Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data
DNF Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data
DNF Marko Kump (Slo) Lampre – Merida
DNF Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
DNF Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Team Katusha
DNF Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
DNF Andrew Fenn (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky
DNF Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Jack Bauer (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
DNF Michael Matthews (Aus)
DNF Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange
DNF Michael Hepburn (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange
DNF Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff Team
DNF Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Team
DNF Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team
DNF Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team
DNF Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Team
DNF Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff Team
DNF Erik Baska (Svk) Tinkoff Team
DNF Chad Haga (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
DNF Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team
DNF Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNF Tom Leezer (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Raymond Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Wesley Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Sjoerd van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Gaetan Bille (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNS Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step
DNS Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
DNS Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
DNS Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

Final General Classification
1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step 22:43:26
2 Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:00:31
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team 0:01:00
4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:01:02
5 Jos van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:01:03
6 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:01:11
7 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:01:15
8 Jon Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:19
9 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:01:22
10 Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:01:31
11 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team 0:01:36
12 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data 0:01:44
13 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:49
14 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:01:53
15 Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:02:01
16 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:02:12
17 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:02:17
18 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:02:25
19 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:02:32
20 Arnaud Démare (Fra) FDJ 0:02:39
21 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:02:40
22 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:02:41
23 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-BikeExchange 0:02:42
24 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 0:02:48
25 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:02:49
26 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky 0:02:52
27 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:02:54
28 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:03:00
29 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:03
30 Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ 0:03:09
31 Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:03:13
32 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:03:20
33 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:28
34 Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:03:34
35 Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton 0:03:37
36 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
37 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky 0:03:38
38 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:03:41
39 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:54
40 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:00
41 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:04:23
42 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Lampre – Merida 0:04:24
44 Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:04:53
45 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-BikeExchange 0:05:16
46 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:06:38
47 Marco Haller (Aut) Team Katusha 0:07:11
48 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:07:17
49 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:07:42
50 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:07:43
51 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac 0:08:16
52 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Team Katusha 0:08:21
53 Berden de Vries (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton 0:08:27
54 Jürgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:08:45
55 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:56
56 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:08:57
57 Mario Jorge Faria da Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida 0:09:12
58 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale 0:09:16
59 Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ 0:09:26
60 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:09:39
61 Nick van der Lijke (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton 0:09:51
62 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:10:20
63 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre – Merida 0:10:32
64 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre – Merida 0:10:35
65 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:12:01
66 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale 0:12:30
67 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:12:32
68 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:14:03
69 Alexander Porsev (Rus) Team Katusha 0:14:19
70 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:14:24
71 Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:16:41
72 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team 0:18:18
73 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:18:28
74 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:19:29
75 Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:20:48
76 Simone Antonini (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:21:54
77 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:22:33
78 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:22:47
79 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:23:28
80 Mark McNally (GBr) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:23:38
81 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton 0:24:41
82 Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:25:10
83 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:26:03
84 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:26:14