BinckBank Tour 2019
The BinckBank Tour 2019, formerly known as the Eneco Tour, is a UCI World Tour stage race taking place between Monday the 12th and Sunday the 18th August. The race includes stages in both the Netherlands and Belgium and the 2019 edition is the third instalment with its new name.
The BinckBank Tour is known for its undulating, hilly terrain - often featuring many of the climbs from the Amstel Gold Race, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Flanders. That makes the race well-suited to Classics riders and strong climbers.
The current champion is Matej Mohoric (Team Bahrain Merida), won the 2018 race ahead of Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) and Tim Wellens (Team Lotto Soudal) who rounded off the podium.
Previous winners also include Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) in 2017, Niki Terpstra (Team Total Direct Energie) in 2016, and Belgian rider Tim Wellens, who won consecutive years in 2014 and 2015. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Dimension Data) and Tony Martin (Team Jumbo-Visma) have also won the title in recent years, while the German sprinter André Greipel (Team Arkéa Samsic) holds the record of most stage victories with seven.
Iván Gutiérrez (retired), Edvald Boasson Hagen and Tim Wellens won the previously named Eneco Tour twice and share the record of most overall victories.
The 2019 race
The 2019 route is still yet to be confirmed but we know it will be seven stages. Last year, the race began in Heerenveen in the north of the Netherlands and finished at the Wall of Geraardsbergen in Belgium.
All the UCI World Tour teams will be on the start line as with all UCI World Tour races, along with a couple of wildcard places for UCI Professional Continental teams.
Wellens, Terpstra and Boasson Hagen will once more be favourites to challenge for the title, but will face a stiff challenge from the likes of Greg Van Avermaet (Team CCC), who came sixth last year, Soren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb), who came seventh last year, Jasper Stuyven (Team Trek - Segafredo), and Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma).