With a final stage finishing in Geraardsbergen on Sunday 1 September, this year’s Renewi Tour once again offers lots of opportunities for classics riders. World Champion Mathieu van der Poel can look forward to a five-day battle in the only UCI WorldTour stage race on Belgian-Dutch roads, but the large number of top sprinters and time trialists participating will also be bustling for their place. The Renewi Tour, the most sustainable race on the calendar, starts in Riemst on Wednesday. You can already attend the team presentation on Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday 27 August, the participating teams and riders will be presented to the public. The meeting point is Kanne suspension bridge on Grenadiersweg in Riemst between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. The first stage of the 19th edition of the Renewi Tour on Wednesday is a tough ride from Riemst to Bilzen. On their route, over Limburg and Liège roads, the riders will have to climb the Côte de Hallembaye, the Côte Sur les Coteaux and the Slingerberg several times.
A 15km individual time trial in Tessenderlo will thoroughly shake up the classification on Thursday 29 August. Two-time World Champion and Olympic silver medallist in the time trial Filippo Ganna starts as top favourite. Belgian time trial Champion Tim Wellens can lay the foundations for a fourth overall victory in the Renewi Tour in Tessenderlo. With three overall wins, the man from Limburg is already the record holder. Dutch time trial Champion Daan Hoole will also have his sights set on the race against the clock in Tessenderlo.
The third stage, on Friday 30 August, takes place in West Flanders and follows the flat roads from Blankenberge to Ardooie. The top sprinters will attend the Renewi Tour in large numbers: Biniam Girmay, Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, Dylan Groenewegen, Fabio Jakobsen, Arnaud De Lie, Jonathan Milan, Phil Bauhaus, Sam Bennett, Arnaud Démare, Olav Kooij, Marijn van den Berg, Gerben Thijssen, Elia Viviani, Sam Welsford, Fernando Gaviria, … It doesn’t get much better and faster than that!
In stage four, the peloton moves from Oostburg in the Netherlands to Aalter in East Flanders, another chance for the fast men. However, on the final day, Sunday 1 September, the classics riders will have the last word. After the start in Menen, the riders head for the Flemish Ardennes with climbs including the Kluisberg, Oude Kruisberg and Berg ten Houte. On the local circuit in Geraardsbergen, the Denderoodberg, the Muur, Bosberg and Onkerzele Berg await. The finish is traditionally on the Vesten.
For Mathieu van der Poel, this is the dream course to strike and take control of the Renewi Tour. But that doesn’t just go for the World Champion of course. Other strong classics riders who will undoubtedly want to have a shot at the stage and/or overall victory in Geraardsbergen are Jasper Stuyven, Tiesj Benoot, Matej Mohoric, Alberto Bettiol, Yves Lampaert, Florian Vermeersch, Matteo Trentin, Christophe Laporte, Valentin Madouas and, of course, Biniam Girmay.
Golazo, the organiser of the Renewi Tour, is already impressed with the field of participants. “This is the strongest field of participants since the inception of this tour in 2005. It is quite an honour for the Renewi Tour that the riders and teams recognise us for the quality we have delivered in recent years. It will be a Renewi Tour to eagerly look forward to,” said Christophe Impens of Golazo.
Medals made from recycled water bottles
Fun fact: the medals for the stage winners and final podium are made from recycled collected water bottles. Under the banner Re-CYCLE!, the Renewi Tour is launching a major collection campaign for old water bottles this year. You will find collection points for water bottles in all Belgian stage cities. If you share an original photo of your donation on social media and use the hashtags #recycle and #renewitour, you will be in with a chance of winning a VIP ticket or other fun prizes! Click here for full details and exact locations of collection points.
Along with the sporting nature of the race – a customised stage race for classics riders – the Renewi Tour stays true to its sustainability principle and slogan ‘Together we strive for the cleanest & most sustainable cycling event’. Last year, this included the introduction of waste zones for the teams‘ waste in the riders’ village, the maximum use of local suppliers and existing buildings, and the optimal use of digital communication. Renewi also ensured that as much waste as possible, in and around the race, was given a new life.
This year, in addition to the water bottle campaign, numerous new sustainability initiatives will be launched:
• Fleet organisation: fully electric. Last year, the organisers mainly used hybrid cars; now partner Volvo is only providing the organisers with fully electric cars.
• Focus on fixed and green power. In all stage cities, fixed power will be used as much as possible. If we do have to choose generators, these will run on biodiesel. Green power will also be used in a few stage cities.
• The partners’ inflatables will run on battery packs or fixed power and not on roaring generators.
• VIP: use of china and glass + vegetarian & healthy dishes. There will be no more use of disposable material in the VIP area.
• Drinking bottles and water taps for crew: reusable drinking bottles and water taps for crew will be used to reduce plastic waste.
• Maximum reuse of banners and boarding from last year. A lot of new material was made last year because we attracted a new title partner. When producing this material, the design and materials were chosen to be usable for multiple editions. Much of the banners, boarding, banners, fences, … can be reused this year and do not have to be made from scratch.
• Title partner Renewi will again be responsible for waste collection this year. Renewi supplies all stage cities with the necessary material (containers, wheelie bins, …) to organise a clean event. Renewi also collects and processes all the waste.
Inclusion
Besides sustainability, the Renewi Tour also values inclusion. For instance, prior to the time trial in Tessenderlo, on Thursday 29 August, Special Olympics riders will also be able to ride the course and ride their own time trial. They will have their own timing, classification, and podium. Children up to 12 years old will also be allowed to have fun on the time trial course in the Beobank Kids Ride.
PRACTICAL INFO RENEWI TOUR 2024:
Stage Schedule:
• Tuesday 27 August: Team presentation Riemst
• Wednesday 28 August: Riemst – Bilzen
• Thursday 29 August: Tessenderlo (time trial)
• Friday 30 August: Blankenberge – Ardooie
• Saturday 31 August: Oostburg (NL) – Aalter
• Sunday 1 September: Menen – Geraardsbergen
Live on TV:
The Renewi Tour 2024 will be live on Sporza, Tipik and Eurosport.
