BinckBank Tour 2018
The BinckBank Tour, which was formerly known as the Eneco Tour, is a UCI World Tour stage race, including stages in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The 2018 edition will begin on August 13 and conclude a week later on August 19th.
Known for its undulating terrain, tough hilly sections and cobbled streets (which are synonymous with Belgian bike racing), the BinckBank Tour has the feel of the Spring Classics. In fact, the race route includes many of the hills that also feature in the Amstel Gold Race, the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Flanders, making it perfect for the Classics favourites and hilly specialists alike.
The 2017 edition of the race was won by Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), who finished 17 seconds ahead of Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) and 46 seconds ahead of Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) in third.
Previous winners include Niki Terpstra (Etixx-QuickStep) who won the 2016 race and Belgian rider Tim Wellens (Team Lotto-Soudal), who won consecutive years in 2014 and 2015. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Dimension Data) and Tony Martin (Team Katusha–Alpecin) have also won the title in recent years, while the German sprinter André Greipel (Team Omega Pharma-Lotto) holds the record of most stage victories with seven.
The 2018 race
The 2018 edition begins in Heerenveen in the north of the Netherlands and finishes at the Wall of Geraardsbergen in Belgium. The first two days are in the Netherlands before the last five stages take place in Belgium. The route also features an individual time trial (ITT) on the second day.
Here are the BinckBank Tour 2018 stages:
Stage 1: Heerenveen – Bolsward. 177.3 km - flat
Stage 2: Venray – Venray. 12.7 km - ITT
Stage 3: Aalter – Antwerp. 166.0 km - flat
Stage 4: Blankenberge – Ardooie. 165.5 km - flat
Stage 5: Sint-Pieters-Leeuw – Lanaken. 209.2 km - flat
Stage 6: Riemst – Sittard/Geleen. 182.2 km - hills
Stage 7: Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure – Geraardsbergen. 209.5 km - hills
All the UCI World Tour teams are invited as the race is part of the UCI World Tour, along with a couple of wildcard places for UCI Professional Continental teams. Tim Wellens is a hot favourite to challenge for the title once more, but will face a stiff challenge from Edvald Boasson Hagen and Dylan Groenewegen (Team Team LottoNL-Jumbo).