Focus turns to the Low Countries as the WorldTour circus rolls on to the Eneco Tour.
Preview of the ninth edition
The WorldTour roadshow continues into the Benelux as some of the best rouleurs in the peloton line up for the Eneco Tour.
The cross-border event is one of the most challenging mid-season races on the calendar, with the organisers routinely seeking out the most testing bergs in the region in a bid to test out the world’s elite.
Run in equal parts across Holland and Belgium, the race has often rewarded the strong men in the bunch, and with precious WorldTour points up for grabs there will be no quarter given once again.
Team Sky have tasted victory once before in the Low Countries and will be going all out to duplicate that success with a strong team led by Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Stages
Monday 12 August– Stage one: Koksijde to Ardooie, 175.3km
The race kicks off in Belgium in 2013 ahead of just over one thousand kilometres of racing with a brief circuit around Koksijde. The only way is inland as the peloton leave the coast behind, dropping south to skirt around Poperinge before the day’s only categorised climb – the Rodeberg (75.6km). The stage looks set to end in a bunch sprint after two laps of a finishing circuit around Ardooie.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport between 1400-1540 with highlights at 2330.
Tuesday 13 August – Stage two: Ardooie to Vorst, 176.9km
A much tougher proposition, day two sees the climbs arrive and with it the chance to force selections in the pack. Six categorised peaks en route to the Belgian capital make for a demanding day, with the one-two punch of the Cote de Trieu (45.8km) and Kruisberg (53.3km) kicking things off. The final pair of climbs could prove crucial on the run for home with the Bruine Put ramp coming 14km from the finish. A steep uphill drag to the line should shake up the GC significantly in the Brussels municipality.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport between 1315-1500 with highlights at 2100 (Eurosport 2).
Wednesday 14 August – Stage three: Oosterhout to Brouwersdam, 187.3km
The race arrives back on Dutch soil for stage three and returns towards the coast for another chance of a bunch kick. The riders wind their way out of Oosterhout to kick off the day before winding its way through the Dutch waterways. The riders will battle it out on three finishing circuits on the coast at Browersdam and a home straight surrounded by the North Sea. Again the sprinters will have a chance to take up the baton.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport between 1400-1545 with highlights at 2045 (BE2).
Thursday 15 August – Stage four: Essen to Vlijmen, 169.6km
The event heads north-east on day four for a cross-border jaunt bookended by circuits. The race takes a tour of Essen before straddling the Dutch border, through Chaam and around Tilburg ahead of a technical finish. A breakaway will no doubt be reeled in on a loop around Vlijmen but the sprint trains will have to be especially dialled on the run-in. Tight corners punctuate the final few kilometres meaning everyone will need to keep upright to be in with a chance of victory.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport between 1345-1530 with highlights at 1800 and 2100 (BE2).
Friday 16 August – Stage five: Sittard-Geleen (individual time trial), 13.2km
A key day in the GC fight, the time trial will see the specialists able to pull out some seconds on a relatively short out-and-back course. The course isn’t the pan-flat affair of recent years with a gradual rise off the ramp before a steeper kick at Windraak. At the route’s most southerly point the riders also tackle the Beukenberg before a largely straight and downhill run back to the finish.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport between 1400-1545 with highlights at 2300 (BE2).
Saturday 17 August – Stage six: Riemst to La Redoute (Aywaille), 150km
A good ride in the time trial could count for nothing if the overall contenders cannot stand the pace on a brutal penultimate stage in the Ardennes. That means climbs and there are no less than seven significant tests, yet many are tackled multiple times during a relentless second half of the stage. A pair of early climbs should allow a break to go clear leaving Riemst but the race really kicks off when it arrives at the first of three ascents of the Cote da la Redoute. The Liege-Bastogne-Liege mainstay marks the beginning of a tough circuit, also featuring the Cote de Chambralles and de Naister. The peloton will likely whittle down until the strongest battle it out third time up La Redoute.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport 2 between 1345-1545 with highlights at 2200.
Sunday 18 August – Stage seven: Tienen to Geraardsbergen, 208km
From a mini Ardennes classic to a Flandrian equivalent – the final stage of the race places the action in the cycling heartland for a grandstand finale. It’s a day of two halves with a lengthy run west out of Tienen before the action hots up amongst the bergs. The race makes a popular return to the famous Muur, dropped from the Flanders route but added to the Eneco show in 2012. Three times up the climb – including the final drag to the line – should ensure an entertaining battle. Not only that, the route also takes in famous ascents of the Bosberg, Tenbosse and Eikenmolen along the way to produce a worthy race winner.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport 2 between 1330-1530 with highlights at 1715 (BE1).
Team Sky history
Edvald Boasson Hagen is a two-time winner of the event, both in 2009 and 2011. Greg Henderson won a stage of the 2010 edition into Roermond in the team’s first outing. Sports Director Servais Knaven (2000 in a previous iteration) has also placed third on the podium.
