Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) sealed overall victory at the BinckBank Tour as Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) stormed to stage victory in Geraardsbergen. Stuyven's win is Trek-Segafredo’s second stage win of the race after Edward Theuns claimed victory on day two.
Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) led the chasing pack over the line just a second behind Stuyven. Dumoulin finished third on the stage to ensure that he stayed ahead of Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) in the overall classification. On top of his stage win, Stuyven jumped above Greg Van Avermaet in the overall classification to nab the final GC podium spot.
Stuyven is not afraid to go long and he jumped clear with just under three kilometres left to race. The many attacks before had failed to gain much ground before being reeled back in but his decision to go was vindicated when the riders behind couldn't rally together to form a chase. As often happens, many looked to Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) to bridge the gap but the world champion wasn't in the mood to play their game. In a case of cutting off your nose to spit your face, Sagan threw his arm up in resignation as if to say, you'll have to do it yourself.
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Quick-Step Floors did eventually create some cohesion, but it was too little too late and Stuyven had already got the gap that would hand him the win. He left it all out on the road and even though the stage finished in Geraardsbergen and avoided the toughest part of the climb, Stuyven was totally spent as he crossed the line. The Belgian lay on the ground, catching his breath as his teammates gave him a congratulatory pat on the side.
How it unfolded
After an Ardennes stage on Saturday, the BinckBank Tour moved over to Flanders for the final stage into Geraardsbergen. Dumoulin had a slim grasp on the lead of the general classification, sitting just four seconds above Wellens in the overall standings.
Initially, a group of seven riders got clear of the peloton. Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) was once again part of the escape group along with Elia Viviani (Team Sky), Jay Thomson (Dimension Data), Grega Bole (Bahrain-Merida), Kenny Dehaes (Wanty-Groupe gobert), Elmar Reinders (Roopot) and Tim Merlier (Veranda's Willems Crelan). Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise pairing Jonas Rickaert and Preben Van Hecke decided they wanted in on the party and bridged the gap.
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