Stefan Küng (BMC) took advantage of an early start and worsening weather conditions to win the twisting city-centre 9km time trial on stage 2 of the BinckBank Tour.
The Swiss national time trial champion finished near the back of the peloton on Monday’s opening stage to ensure he started early in the time trial around Voorburg near The Hague. He avoided the worst of the weather conditions, setting a time of 10:58 on damp roads, with his rivals struggling to match his time as the rain became heavier and the numerous corners sparked high-speed crashes.
Fellow early starter Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished four seconds slower, with Dutch national time trial champion Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) third at five seconds.
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Many riders crashed on the slippery and often tight city-centre corners, including world time trial champion Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin). Gijs van Hoecke (LottoNL-Jumbo) went down on the same corner, with even his mechanic slipping as he ran to get a new bike for his rider. Fortunately no one was seriously injured but the crashes sparked an angry reaction about rider safety and the course design.
Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac) and Jasha Sütterlin (Movistar) tried to take on Küng and limit their time losses despite the terrible conditions, while most other riders, including Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors), rode cautiously, happy to avoid crashing. Vanmarcke set a time of 11:31, with Sütterlin nine seconds faster in 11:22.
Race leader Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) started last and used his renowned bike skills and took a few risks to try to limit his losses. He set a time of 11:23 and so remains eighth overall, only 15 second down on new leader Küng.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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