The Eneco Tour peloton gets stretched out on stage 1.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
The Eneco Tour podium(Image credit: Elmar Krings)
The Muur van Geraardsbergen four months before Vlaanderens Mooiste in the middle of winter.(Image credit: Jered Gruber)
It may no longer feature in the parcours of the Tour of Flanders, but the iconic Muur van Geraardsbergen will still host its share of racing action in 2012. Already added to the route of the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen for this season, it was announced on Tuesday that the Muur will be the centrepiece of the final stage of the Eneco Tour for the next three seasons.
The town of Geraardsbergen has signed an agreement with the Eneco Tour to appear on the route for the next five years, with the final stage set to finish there in each of the next three seasons. In 2012, the race will finish with two laps of a circuit that includes the Muur.
“In this way, we’re guaranteed of having sporting suspense right until the end,” Eneco Tour organiser Rob Discart told sudpresse.be. “We also have the fortune of being able to have the final difficulty of the day close to the finish. Geraardsbergen has a number of trump cards – the Muur itself, but also the finish zone at the renovated town walls.”
The final stage of the 2012 Eneco Tour will be something of a mini Tour of Flanders, with the Kwaremont, Paterberg, Eikenberg and Kruisberg all slated to appear on the route, along with the Mont Saint-Laurent.
The 2012 Eneco Tour runs from August 6-12.
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