BINCKBANK TOUR 2019 – STAGE 5 PREVIEW
What a fine piece of racing we saw today! Racing from the go with Jumbo Visma leading the pace as de Plus was appearantly feeling really well. Eventually a favorites group with almost all our blog picks got away from the bunch, but was reeled in by some hard labor of AG2R and Trek domestiques.
After the the group was reeled in Wellens launched another attack, only to be followed by some of our outsiders: the youngsters de Plus & Hirschi and later on the climbing sprinter Garcia Cortina. The other three managed to drop Garcia Cortina on the final climb, which resulted in a sprint a trois. Hirschi was seemingly the fastest of the three, but was a bit overconfident launching his sprint too early. This allowed Tim Wellens to take his third consecutive win in Houffalize! Our blog pick Dylan van Baarle made a no-showing today, which is unfortunate given the favourable odds at which we were able to back him.
Tomorrow another type of rider will probably be victorious as it is -on paper- one for the sprinters!
The Route:
Panflat stage with the golden kilometer 10 km’s from the finish line, might see some GC guys sprint for boni’s here. Interesting fact is that the finish is at Mike Teunissen’s home-soil.
The final 4 km will ensure a fast finish! No overly difficult corners except for a 90 degrees bend at 2km. From there on it will be a drag race to the finish line at the Stationsweg.
The finish will take place on nice, fairly wide roads, ensuring plenty of space for the main lead-out trains!
The Race:
A sprint!
Weather:
The weather tomorrow is dry, with mild temperatures and a gentle breeze from the south-west, which should not influence the sprint too much.
The Favorites:
Dylan Groenewegen
Was close to beating Sam Bennett in stage 3, is seemingly riding himself back into some kind of form. Loves these kind of drag race finishes and should be put into pole position by Mike Teunissen who knows every in and out of the roads in this area.
Sam Bennett
Hard to work for it on stage 3, but became the first rider to win three consecutive stages at the BinckBank Tour. Will be loaded with confidence to add a 4th victory to his streak.
Arnaud Demare
Should do well in this stage if he feels okay, don’t see him challenging Bennett/Groenewegen for the win.
Edward Theuns
Stated that he will be the main sprinting card for his team for the remainder of this Tour. Tomorrow’s stage is not perfect for him
Jasper Philipsen
Finished best of all the sprinters today, however: can only win at this type of finish if all the stars allign for him tomorrow.
Alvaro Hodeg
Will like the stage, and given that Quickstep underperformed today they might dedicate their entire train to him tomorrow which will be very adventageous at this finish. If he wants to win a stage it is now or never.
Outsiders: Halvorsen, Bauhaus, Mareczko, Dupont
The Winner:
A perfect final 5 km for him at the home-soil of his final lead-out rider in rather easy conditions. Jumbo Visma will be bound for a stage-win in this race and Dylan Groenewegen will finally give it to them tomorrow by breaking Sam Bennett’s sprinting hegemony!
