In 2005, American Bobby Julich won the first edition of the Eneco Tour. In 2017, BinckBank took over as name giver of the competition. The list of victories sports big names like Tony Martin, Lars Boom, Zdenek Stybar, Tim Wellens, Niki Terpstra, Tom Dumoulin and Mathieu van der Poel, who won the 2020 edition.
From 2021 onwards, the stage race now features on the calendar as the Benelux Tour. The new name clearly identifies what the competition is about. This year, the Benelux Tour will admittedly only take place in the Netherlands and Belgium, but the ambition is to also race through the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg next year.
The opening stage of the Benelux Tour on Monday 30th August, will take place on Frisian territory and will go from Surhuisterveen to Dokkum, one of the famous Friesland eleven cities. One day later, there will be an individual time trial in Lelystad, capital of the province of Flevoland.
Stage 3, on Wednesday 1st September, will be a Belgian-Dutch stage from Essen in the province of Antwerp to Hoogerheide in the province of North Brabant. The fourth stage is a ‘sprint classic’ from Aalter in East Flanders to Ardooie in West Flanders. For practical reasons, the earlier planned start from Blankenberge has been moved to 2022. The coastal town has agreed with this request from the organisation and will be the starting location of a stage next year and welcome riders for a sixth time.
On Friday 3rd September, the Benelux Tour will move to Limburg for a fifth stage, where a tough ride from Riemst to Bilzen features on the menu. In the closing weekend, the peloton will start with a gruelling stage from Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve in Walloon Brabant to Houffalize in the province of Luxemburg. On Sunday 5th September, the final stage will start in Namur, capital of the eponymous province. The denouement of the Benelux Tour will take place on de Vesten in Geraardsbergen.
ROUTE BENELUX TOUR:
– Monday 30 August: Surhuisterveen ? Dokkum
– Tuesday 31 August: Lelystad (individual time trial)
– Wednesday 1 September: Essen ? Hoogerheide
– Thursday 2 September: Aalter ? Ardooie
– Friday 3 September: Riemst ? Bilzen
– Saturday 4 September: Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve ? Houffalize
– Sunday 5 September: Namur ? Geraardsbergen
