The margins are tight as the BinckBank Tour reaches its decisive concluding stages, but it remains to be seen whether Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) can be divested of the green leader's jersey as the race winds its way through Limburg and the Flemish Ardennes this weekend.
Mohoric moved into the overall lead after he was part of the winning break that surprisingly remained clear on the finishing circuit in Antwerp on stage 3, and the Slovenian has avoided all pitfalls since to maintain a lead of three seconds over Sean De Bie (Veranda’s Willems Crelan) and 22 over Stefan Küng (BMC Racing Team).
The Sunweb pairing of Michael Matthews (fifth at 30 seconds) and Søren Kragh Andersen (eighth at 37 seconds) remain an obvious threat, while a number of lofty names – including Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), Niki Terpstra, Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) – are all still within a minute of Mohoric and just about in contention.
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The opening phase of the BinckBank Tour was about producing a solid time trial on stage 2 and then staying out of trouble in the days that followed – a formula neatly summarised by Matthews: "It's been a hectic week so far. Not very much has happened but there's been a lot of stress in the peloton."
Saturday and Sunday, by contrast, should inspire greater aggression among the overall contenders, although it is not clear if stage 6, through the hills of Limburg, will be difficult enough to provoke real differences at the top end of the standings. Wellens has been among the riders to decry the absence of a stage in the Ardennes of the kind he won in Houffalize in 2015 and 2017.
While stage 6 to Sittard-Geleen has been advertised as an Amstel Gold Race-style stage, BMC directeur sportif Valerio Piva – a resident of the start town of Riemst – suspects that its billing has been a little exaggerated. Although there are some 20 climbs on the parcours, the race shies away from the toughest ascents of Amstel Gold.
Flemish finale
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via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-touch-of-the-classics-for-binckbank-tour-finale-preview
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