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Giro finale
Photo ©: Bettini

Tour of Belgium - 2.1

Belgium, May 24-28, 2006

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Stage 5 - May 28: Hoei-Putte, 182.7 km

De Jongh errs, Steegmans profits, Tjallingii excels again

By Jeff Jones

Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto)
Photo ©: AFP
(Click for larger image)

A small lead out error by Quick.Step's Steven de Jongh prevented Tom Boonen from taking his third stage win in this year's Tour of Belgium. Instead it was Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto) who rode a great sprint to anticipate everyone and hold off Max van Heeswijk (Discovery Channel) and Tom Boonen for the victory in the final stage.

Steegmans explained the sprint afterwards, which he had to start from a long way back. "Leif Hoste was on the wheel of Van Heeswijk and left a gap," he said. "I went when I saw Steven de Jongh had boxed in Boonen. I think De Jongh made a small error for Tom and I could profit."

Meanwhile, race leader Maarten Tjallingii and his Skil-Shimano team defended the leaders jersey well in the final stage, with a little help from Rabobank Continental. No dangerous break was allowed to get away and Tjallingii showed his strength to finish eighth at the end. "This is really fantastic," he grinned. "I have only dreamed of this since my win in the first stage. Now it's there."

No more "Maarten who?"
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Beating ProTour riders is no mean feat, and Tjallingii can probably expect some nice offers in the future. But he said that he had "no idea" of what the future will bring. "I'll think about it tomorrow. I'd like to ride for a ProTour team but my manager Luuc Eisenga is concerned with that. But I feel good with Skil-Shimano. The team is fantastic and there will be lots more nice races with them this year.

How it unfolded

The final stage over started in Huy at 11:30, with 104 riders enjoying the dry conditions. The stage was relatively flat and finished with four laps of a 15 km circuit in Putte. Dmitriy Muravyev (Jartazi-7Mobile) was the first attacker of the day after 5 km, but was not allowed to go. Then it was attack and counter attack with the westerly wind making life difficult. Three echelons formed after 10 km, with Quick.Step well to the fore, along with race leader Maarten Tjallingii and a few of his Skil-Shimano teammates. Eventually after 30 km, the bunch regrouped.

In Brustem after 33 km, Luis Pasamontes (Unibet) attacked, and was joined by Roger Hammond (Discovery Channel), Frederik Veuchelen (Chocolade Jacques), Nico Sijmens (Landbouwkrediet) and Lars Boom (Rabobank Continental). But that moved wasn't allowed more than five kilometres of freedom, as the bunch averaged 45 km/h in the first hour.

Another group of 15, including Hammond again along with Tosatto (Quick.Step) and Leukemans (Davitamon) tried to get clear, but again it lasted no more than five kilometres. Unfortunately for Leukemans, he crashed after 80 km when he was riding next to the team car. He was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured shoulder blade. But before his crash, Jurgen Van Goolen (Discovery Channel) had managed to attack, and was joined by Nick Nuyens (Quick.Step) and Nico Sijmens (Landbouwkrediet). Tjallingii was also active in front of the peloton.

The three gained a minute after 72 km. Davitamon-Lotto chased and it came back to 15 seconds, so that Leon van Bon could get across. Then they sat up and the now four man break gained more time until Chocolade Jacques started to work, later joined by Unibet. After two hours, the average speed was 43 km/h.

The jersey winners
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Tom Boonen punctured after 100 km, but he was able to chase back onto the bunch with the help of Tosatto and Van Impe. 10 km later, the four leaders were finally caught by the peloton, just in time for Kevin Neirynck (Landbouwkrediet - Colnago) to counter. It was an excellent move, and he quickly gained a minute as Skil-Shimano rode tempo with some friendly help from Rabobank Continental.

Neirynck passed the finish line in Putte for the first time with around a minute's lead, but he still had four laps to travel. He took the first Rush sprint a few km later, with Max van Heeswijk and Roger Hammond combining well to take second and third, and a few handy bonus seconds for Max. At three laps to go, the leader was just half a minute ahead of the well controlled peloton. He took the second rush on the second lap ahead of a speedy Niko Eeckhout (Chocolade Jacques) and Hammond.

At 40 km to, a counter move split off from the bunch with the active Hammond going with Jarno van Mingeroet (Jartazi), Jorgen Vercammen and Kenny Van Braeckel (both Profel). The quartet quickly caught Neirynck and edged out to 30 seconds with two laps to go. By this time, the chase had been strengthened by Bodysol.

In the final sprint, it was Hammond ahead of Neirynck and Vercammen with the bunch now at 38 seconds. That was as big as the gap got because Quick.Step and Unibet.com combined forces with one Davitamon-Lotto to chase the leaders at a solid tempo. At one lap to go, the gap was 25 seconds, and despite a bridge across to the leaders by Marlon Perez (Tenax), everyone was back in the bunch with 5 km left.

The GC podium
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Quick.Step, Discovery Channel and Davitamon-Lotto got their sprint trains on the rails, and it was lights, camera, action for a bunch sprint. But the winner was a surprise: Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto). There were three left ahead of Boonen at 1 km to go, with De Jongh as last man, then Van Heeswijk, Cooke and Hoste on the train. Hoste let a gap go, forcing Steegmans to come around him from behind. Then the big Belgian thought he may as well keep going, and when De Jongh finally gave Boonen enough room to sprint in, it was too late. Steegmans won the stage, with Van Heeswijk second and Boonen third.

Eighth place, showing his excellent consistency, was Maarten Tjallingii, who had no problems defending his lead at the Tour of Belgium from start to finish.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by AFP Photo

  • Gert Steegmans (Davitamon-Lotto) takes the final stage from Max Van Heeswijk (Discovery Channel) and Tom Boonen (Quickstep-Innergetic)
  • The jersey winners - Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Tenax Salmilano, sprints), Maarten Tjallingii (Skil-Shimano, overall), Tom Boonen (Quickstep-Innergetic, points)
  • The GC podium - Sébastien Rosseler (Quickstep-Innergetic, 2nd), Maarten Tjallingii (Skil-Shimano, 1st) and Max Van Heeswijk (Discovery Channel, 3rd)
  • No more "Maarten who?" - the Skil-Shimano rider put himself on the map with a strong defence of the leader jersey he took on the first stage.

Results

1 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                       4.15.36 (42.89 km/h)
2 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                         
3 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                             
4 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quickstep-Innergetic                                        
5 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com                                                      
6 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team LPR                                              0.03
7 Jurgen Van Loocke (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                   
8 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                             
9 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                     0.04
10 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                  
11 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                     
12 Gert Vanderaerden (Bel) Yawadoo-Colba-ABM                                    0.07
13 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Jartazi-7Mobile                                           
14 Thomas Ongena (Bel) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                              
15 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank (Continental)                                            
16 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                     
17 Honorio Machado Perez (Ven) Team Tenax Salmilano                             0.09
18 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                    
19 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                   
20 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                                
21 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quickstep-Innergetic                                        
22 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                                     
23 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                              
24 Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                    
25 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                       
26 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                    
27 Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Unibet.com                                       
28 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Rabobank (Continental)                                 
29 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Unibet.com                                                     
30 Yuri Mitlushenko (Ukr) Team L.P.R.                                               
31 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                          
32 Frederik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                     
33 Matti Helminen (Fin) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                             
34 Maarten Neyens (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                       
35 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                           
36 Alessandro Maserati (Ita) Team LPR                                               
37 Steven De Neef (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                       
38 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                    
39 Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                        
40 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                          
41 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                   
42 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                                
43 Marc Streel (Bel) Pôle Continental Wallon Davitamon-Euro Millions                
44 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                          
45 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile                                        
46 David McPartland (Aus) Team Tenax Salmilano                                      
47 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank (Continental)                                      
48 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                     
49 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                    
50 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                    
51 Kenny Van Braeckel (Bel) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                         
52 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile                                      0.20
53 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                                           
54 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano                            
55 Alessandro Bertuola (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano                                   
56 Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                      
57 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                                               
58 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com                                                 0.31
59 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                             0.33
60 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                                       
61 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                               
62 Andreas Dietziker (Swi) Team LPR                                                 
63 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                               0.47
64 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                       
65 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                    0.54
66 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                 1.11
67 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.com                                             1.22
68 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                       1.24
69 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quickstep-Innergetic                                        
70 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                                 
71 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                          4.27
72 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                                  
73 Jorgen Vercammen (Ned) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                       5.19
 
Final general classification
 
1 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                     20.18.15
2 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                 0.32
3 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                     0.44
4 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                         0.51
5 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                          1.25
6 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team LPR                                              1.27
7 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                     1.36
8 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank (Continental)                                         1.43
9 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quickstep-Innergetic                                    2.09
10 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                              2.11
11 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com                                                 2.26
12 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                3.01
13 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Unibet.com                                                 3.33
14 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                                 4.10
15 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quickstep-Innergetic                                    5.43
16 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto                                           8.12
17 Jurgen Van Loocke (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                              9.59
18 Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                   10.09
19 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com                                                10.18
20 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team              11.10
21 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                      13.01
22 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                     13.24
23 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank (Continental)                                 14.07
24 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                   15.23
25 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                     15.52
26 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                      16.17
27 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile                                   16.35
28 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                  16.36
29 Alessandro Maserati (Ita) Team LPR                                          16.53
30 Yuri Mitlushenko (Ukr) Team L.P.R.                                          17.07
31 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                17.09
32 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quickstep-Innergetic                                   17.11
33 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen              17.21
34 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                                  17.34
35 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                           17.48
36 Steven De Neef (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                  18.00
37 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
38 Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                 18.44
39 Andreas Dietziker (Swi) Team LPR                                            18.47
40 Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                               19.00
41 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen               19.08
42 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                            19.24
43 Thomas Ongena (Bel) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                         19.37
44 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                19.48
45 Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Pôle Continental Wallon Davitamon-Euro Millions    21.01
46 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                                      21.31
47 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano                       22.02
48 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                22.06
49 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                           22.24
50 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                  22.28
51 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                         22.45
52 David McPartland (Aus) Team Tenax Salmilano                                 22.57
53 Kenny Van Braeckel (Bel) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                    23.33
54 Matti Helminen (Fin) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                        24.08
55 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                          24.38
56 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.com                                            25.07
57 Honorio Machado Perez (Ven) Team Tenax Salmilano                            25.19
58 Sven Vanthourenhout (Bel) Rabobank (Continental)                            25.29
59 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) Rabobank (Continental)                            25.34
60 Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Unibet.com                                  25.36
61 Frederik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                25.37
62 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Jartazi-7Mobile                                      25.42
63 Maarten Neyens (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                  26.00
64 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                     26.26
65 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                26.52
66 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen               27.58
67 Marc Streel (Bel) Pôle Continental Wallon Davitamon-Euro Millions           28.06
68 Gert Vanderaerden (Bel) Yawadoo-Colba-ABM                                   28.56
69 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                         31.17
70 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                             32.02
71 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile                                     32.48
72 Jorgen Vercammen (Ned) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                      34.29
73 Alessandro Bertuola (Ita) Team Tenax Salmilano                              39.42
 
Points classification
 
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                          107 pts
2 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                      102
3 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                           77
4 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com                                                    77
5 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                            71
6 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano                           62
7 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                       61
8 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quickstep-Innergetic                                      56
9 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team LPR                                                47
10 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                30
11 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                     25
12 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                   24
13 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                         22
14 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                 17
15 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Bodysol- Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                   17
16 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                      15
17 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                  13
18 Jurgen Van Loocke (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                13
19 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank (Continental)                                          12
20 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                   8
21 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                                5
22 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile                                       3
23 Jorgen Vercammen (Ned) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                          3
 
Sprints classification
 
1 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano                           43 pts
2 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                    24
3 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.com                                                19
4 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                          14
5 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                   13
6 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                           11
7 David McPartland (Aus) Team Tenax Salmilano                                     10
8 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                             8
9 Honorio Machado Perez (Ven) Team Tenax Salmilano                                 8
10 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                   8
11 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                                5
12 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                       5
13 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                       3
14 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile                                       3
15 Jorgen Vercammen (Ned) Profel Ziegler Continental Team                          3
 
Mountains classification
 
1 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team                  37 pts
2 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Team Tenax Salmilano                           31
3 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Jartazi-7Mobile                                       12
4 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.com                                                12
5 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quickstep-Innergetic                                          12
6 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Ubbink-Syntec Cycling Team                                  10
7 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank (Continental)                                     10
8 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                                           10
9 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Team LPR                                                      7
10 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                    2
 
Teams classification
 
1 Quickstep-Innergetic                                                      48.03.52
2 Rabobank Cont                                                                 6.29
3 Unibet.com                                                                    8.39
4 Davitamon-Lotto                                                              19.39
5 Skil-Shimano                                                                 20.33
6 Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                                                      22.51
7 Discovery Channel                                                            26.18
8 Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen                                        36.49
9 Team LPR                                                                     38.59
10 Jartazi-7 Mobile                                                            43.35
11 Bodysol-Win for Life-Jong Vlaanderen                                        55.02
12 Tenax-Salmilano                                                             58.45
13 Profel-Ziegler CT                                                           59.19

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