BinckBank Tour 2020 – Stage 1 Preview

By David Hunter

Blankenberge – Ardooie 132km

We’re off to Ardooie, but it’s not the usual finish.

The organisers have decided to break my heart, they’ve only gone and changed the best sprint finish in cycling. We have a new finish; the famous corners are gone, and you can no longer sneak off the front of the bunch and take a solo win. This is a nailed-on sprint finish, but the late placement of the bonus sprint will cause some problems.

In a race like this, teams are usually happy for the break to hoover up all the bonus seconds. The final sprint comes with just 19 km to go, which means the break could well be caught by this point, opening the door to some of the GC riders, especially as sprinters won’t be wasting energy so close to the finish. If the peloton decide to allow the break to stay out, they’ll need to be careful that the gap isn’t too big, and they end up taking the stage win.

Weather

Monday was a horrible day in Ardooie, but the current forecast is for only a little bit of rain near the end of the stage. The wind isn’t going to be very strong, but the lap circuit has many wide open sections, it won’t take much wind to split things.

Finale

With 5km to go we have a big right turn, which leads onto a relatively narrow road. Sprint teams will want to be at the front for this one. The next important point comes inside the final 2km, when there is another right hander, which leads onto the finishing straight. This road is very narrow at certain points, if you have a bad position with 2km to go you won’t be winning.

Contenders

Tim Merlier – no longer the Belgian champion, but his form is good. He took a very impressive victory over in Tirreno, beating Gaviria and Ackermann in the process. Winning against some of the best sprinters in the world will have given him a huge confidence boost, something which is crucial in this sport. His lead out isn’t full of big names, apart from MVDP, but they nail the lead out more often than not. Riding on home soil will also give him a little extra motivation.

Pascal Ackermann – after a short lean period he bounced back in style in Tirreno, taking two stages and the points jersey. The German is a brilliant sprinter, there is no doubt he is amongst the very best in the world. Bora arrive with his usual sprint train, but it’s a little longer than in previous races, which is good to see. Ackermann will start the stage as the favourite, something he’s used to.

Jasper Philipsen – his recent results haven’t been too good, but he is a talented cyclist. The Belgian surprised a lot of people by agreeing to join Alpecin-Fenix next season. UAE have an okay sprint train, but it’s not good enough to dictate the closing kilometres.

Kaden Groves – the young Aussie is one of the new generation of quick men. He started the season well by winning two stages in the Herald Sun Tour, but he would have hoped to have won a stage in recent races. If he gets in a good position, he has the speed required to challenge for the podium.

Alberto Dainese – see above.

Mads Pedersen – back in normal kit, Pedersen will be hoping to benefit from Tour Legs. After winning a sprint in Poland, beating Ackermann amongst others, he really should be challenging in these sprints. Pedersen will have one eye on the overall title, taking bonus seconds would put him into a strong position with the TT to come.

Danny Van Poppel – took his first win for Wanty just a week ago. Van Poppel is a very fast sprinter, but he’s very frustrating. Given his natural ability, he should be doing much better in this sport.

Shane Archbold – I’m looking forward to seeing him ride with freedom. We’re used to seeing The Flying Mullet lead out Sam Bennett, but this is a chance for him to remind everyone just how fast he is. He picked up a second place over in Slovakia, any spot on the podium would be a great result for him.

Prediction Time

After performing very well in Tirreno, I think Pascal Ackermann will start the week with a bang.

David Hunter

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