Jasper Philipsen, Jordi Meeus, Tim Merlier, Arnaud De Lie, Olav Kooij and Dylan Groenewegen. There is no shortage of top sprinters in the Renewi Tour, the only UCI WorldTour stage race in the Benelux, which will be contested from 23 to 27 August. ‘Classic’ riders such as Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert, Jasper Stuyven, Tim Wellens and Matej Mohoric will also be there. Another very interesting name to look out for is Joshua Tarling, the surprising bronze medallist of the World Time Trial Championships.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had already been announced as one of the eye-catchers of the Renewi Tour. However, this year’s Tour de France winner of four stages and the green jersey will not get any (sprint) victories handed to him on a silver platter next week. The home-grown competition alone is already fierce, as there is a dearth of Belgian sprint talent these days. For a start, there is Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe), the winner of the final stage of the Tour de France: the prestigious ‘sprinters’ World Cup’ on the Champs-Elysées. And ex-Belgian Champion Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick Step) and super-talent Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) also know what it feels like to win a bunch sprint.
With Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco Alula), Cees Bol (Astana) and Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) – who’s still only 21 like De Lie – the Netherlands also has some great contenders for stage success when it comes to sprinting. Other names to keep an eye on are Italians Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) and Australian Sam Welsford (DSM).
But of course, the Renewi Tour is much more than just sprinting. The day after the flat opening stage between Blankenberge and Ardooie in West Flanders, a 13.6 km time trial awaits the riders just across the Dutch border in the province of Zeeland, featuring Sluis as the start and finish. Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) can show here that his third place at the World Time Trial Championships in Scotland last week was no fluke. It would also allow the barely 19-year-old Brit to lay the foundations for a nice final classification. Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma), the 2022 World Time Trial Champion, will also compete.
Time trialists who also feel comfortable on the hills and cobbles of the Flemish Ardennes – such as Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick Step) and Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick Step) – will get their money’s worth in the third stage, which ends on the Vesten in Geraardsbergen. Former World Hour Record Holder and winner of the super-combativity award in the past Tour de France, Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny), will also have that Friday stage circled in thick marker pen. The same undoubtedly goes for other ‘classic’ specialists such as Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Easypost), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Matteo Trentin (UAE Emirates), John Degenkolb (DSM), Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Dstny), good old Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën) and young Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek),
The overall victory will be decided on the final weekend in Limburg, with a stage from Beringen to Peer on Saturday 26 August and a hilly stage from Riemst to Bilzen on Sunday 27 August. The Renewi Tour’s list of participants finally also features two former overall winners in Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) and Tim Wellens (UAE Emirates), whose spring season went down the drain after suffering a quadruple collarbone fracture.
Stage schedule Renewi Tour:
• 22/8: Team presentation Knokke-Heist
• 23/8: Blankenberge – Ardooie
• 24/8: Sluis (Netherlands): Individual time trial
• 25/8: Aalter – Geraardsbergen
• 26/8: Beringen – Peer
• 27/8: Riemst – Bilzen
The finale of all stages can be followed live on:
• VRT Sporza
• RTBF/Tipik (on RTBF Auvio on 27/8)
• Eurosport/GCN
