Sam Welsford won the fourth stage of the 2023 Renewi Tour, finishing off an expected bunch sprint in the flat stage between Beringen and Peer. After the early breakaway was caught on the local circuit, Welsford beat Olav Kooij to the win while Tim Wellens remained in the overall lead.
Four Belgians, two apiece from Bingoal WB and Team Flanders – Baloise, set up the early breakaway in Beringen, eyeing the first Super 8 sprint. Ceriel Desal, Ludovic Robeet, Aaron Van Poucke and Kamiel Bonneu joined forces and stayed up front for the first two sprints, with Desal taking the first in Beringen and Van Poucke the second in Peer, the latter taking over the leader’s jersey in the Super 8 standings.
On the local circuit around Peer the peloton swiftly caught the breakaway, which invited Jasper Philipsen to try and force a split in the crosswinds. Rival sprint teams soon restored the order towards the Green Kilometre, with the likes of Mike Teunissen, Arnaud De Lie and Yves Lampaert taking bonification seconds 14 kilometres before the finish. Matteo Trentin made sure to take the maximum at the third and last sprint to protect his UAE Team Emirates leader Wellens.
A crash with 8km to go derailed the preparations for the inevitable bunch sprint in the centre of Peer. Arnaud De Lie was perfectly brought to the front by Jasper De Buyst, but it looked like Tim Merlier was set to take the victory. However, Merlier was overruled at the end by three riders, with a photo finish concluding Welsford crossed the line first. The Australian beat Kooij, followed by Philipsen, Merlier and De Lie.
Tim Wellens stays in the overall lead, heading into the final stage with a comfortable lead. Arnaud Demare crashed in the final corner, but crossed the line under his own power to the appreciation of the fans at the finish.
“I was so exhausted I didn’t know who won at the finish,” said Welsford. “It was so close between me and Olav and it was a very long sprint with some uphill and headwinds. Alpecin-Fenix had such a good lead-out that everybody wanted to surprise Jasper. That made it a very long sprint.
“We had to take up positions early on the local circuit, you could see the nerves grow lap after lap, but thankfully my team-mates took great care of me. They kept me out of the wind all day and put me in a good position.”
