Baloise Belgium Tour: Mark Cavendish wins final sprint as Remco Evenepoel secures overall title

Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep) sealed overall victory at the Baloise Belgium Tour, as teammate Mark Cavendish emotionally won the final sprint stage in Beringen. 

Evenepoel won the 11km time trial stage on the second day of racing and then Deceuninck-QuickStep carefully defended his blue leader’s jersey. Teammate Yves Lampaert finished second overall at 46 seconds, with Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto-Isorex) third at 56 seconds. New Zealand's 19-year-old Finn Fisher-Black of the Jumbo-Visma development team continued to impress, finishing fourth overall at 1:04. 

 Cavendish was given another superb lead-out by his teammates and especially by last man Michael Morkov. He then stayed along the barriers as the other sprinters fanned across the road but had the speed to win with a bike throw. 

Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) was second, with Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) third, Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) and Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic) fifth. 

Cavendish screamed at the motorbike television camera and then hugged his teammates in celebration. It was his 151 career victory. 

“I’m just incredibly happy,” Cavendish said emotionally.  “Honestly, I don’t remember drag-stripping someone where the lead changed so much in the final 200 metres. Tim Merlier is arguably the best sprinter at the moment and to match him, and then the lead changed and changed, and then I started going ahead, and to win makes me over the moon. 

“It’s my first Tour of Belgium, we’re a Belgium team, and I’ve won with this field and this incredible Deceuninck-QuickStep team.” 

Evenepoel endured a difficult Giro d’Italia but seems to have his season and career back on track with victory on home roads in Belgium. He will now target the Belgian national time trial and road race championships and then prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. 

“For me, this means a real lot. After my comeback and my long, long rehabilitation, hard training and a lot of setbacks as well, it feels amazing,” Evenepoel said. 

“It’s a big relief to win the TT and the GC, too. It shows I’m on the right track to return to my top level. This is a big thank you to everyone who supported me and who helped me in this hard period. Of course, it’s also nice to have this win in the pocket while considering the future.”   

How it unfolded

The 178km stage always seemed destined to end in a sprint but Jordi Bouts e Piotr Havik (BEAT Cycling), Ryan Kamp (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), Cyril Lemoine (B&B Hotels KTM) e Corné Van Kessel (Intermarché Wanty Gobert Matériaux) formed the day’s break after a fast start.

Deceuninck-QuickStep lead the chase because Lemoine was only 2:05 down in the overall classification but when the three finishing circuits around Beringen began, the break was under control at 1:10.

Lotto-Soudal, Bora-Hansgrohe and Alpecin-Fenix also helped with the chase, closing down attacks from Beat Cycling riders.

Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) moved up to fifth overall thanks to taking bonus seconds at the Golden kilometre, where Evenepole also picked up three seconds.  

Deceuninck-QuickStep matched Lotto Soudal going into the final kilometre and then Markov protected and guided Cavendish as their rivals fought for position. Merlier went early but Cavendish matched him in a drag match on opposite sides of the road. Merlier edged clear but Cavendish finished strong to win.

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Results
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mark Cavendish (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep 3:50:31
2Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
3Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
4Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
5Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
6Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
7Sasha Weemaes (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
8Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Total Direct Energie
9Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal
10Danny van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
11Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM
12Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
13Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
14Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
15Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
16Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
17Boy van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
18Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
19Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix
20Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
21Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
22Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB
23Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
24Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
25Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
26Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
27Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
28Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
29Arne Marit (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
30Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
31Milan Menten (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB
32Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
33Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie
34Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
35Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
36Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
37Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB
38Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
39Jules Hesters (Bel) Beat Cycling
40Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
41Umberto Marengo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
42Yoeri Havik (Ned) Beat Cycling
43Fabio Van Den Bossche (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
44Gianni Marchand (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
45Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) Jumbo-Visma
46Lars van der Haar (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions
47Thibau Nys (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions
48Toon Aerts (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions
49Cyril Lemoine (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
50Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos
51Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
52Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
53Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
54Roberto González (Pan) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM
55Kamil Gradek (Pol) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:00:13
56Casper van Uden (Ned) Team DSM
57Eli Iserbyt (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
58Christopher Lawless (GBr) Total Direct Energie
59Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
60Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:00:18
61Emil Vinjebo (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:00:20
62Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
63Toon Vandebosch (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
64Witse Meeussen (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
65Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Team DSM
66Lennert Teugels (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
67Arjen Livyns (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB
68Bram Welten (Ned) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:00:24
69Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB
70Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
71Martijn Budding (Ned) Beat Cycling
72Alfdan De Decker (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
73Laurenz Rex (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB
74Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
75Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
76Casper Pedersen (Den) Team DSM
77Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team DSM 0:00:31
78Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:33
79Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
80Amaury Capiot (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
81Declan Irvine (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk 0:00:35
82Luuc Bugter (Ned) Beat Cycling 0:00:37
83Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:00:39
84Anton Ferdinande (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
85Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
86Laurens Sweeck (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
87Pim Ronhaar (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions
88Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
89Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
90Brent Van De Kerkhove (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex
91Marco Frapporti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM
92Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
93Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
94Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team DSM
95Mick van Dijke (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
96Charlie Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo
97Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
98Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
99Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
100Simone Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM
101Péter Kusztor (Hun) Team Novo Nordisk
102Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
103Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos
104Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
105Robbe Ghys (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
106Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
107Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:00:47
108Mattia Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM
109Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:00:51
110Harry Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:00:52
111Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:01:00
112Jakob Egholm (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:13
113Sam Brand (GBr) Team Novo Nordisk 0:01:35
114Daan Merien (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions
115Jonas Koch (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
116Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
117Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Team DSM
118Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
119Ryan Kamp (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal
120Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
121Jordy Bouts (Bel) Beat Cycling 0:01:41
122Piotr Havik (Ned) Beat Cycling
123Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
124Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
125Andreas Goeman (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:02:36
126Corne van Kessel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
127Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
128David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:03:01
129Logan Lakota Phippen (USA) Team Novo Nordisk 0:03:06
130Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:03:17
131Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:03:26
132Jonathan Hivert (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:03:34
133Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:03:51
134Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
135Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
136Thijs Aerts (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions 0:04:39
137Oliver Behringer (Swi) Team Novo Nordisk 0:08:59
DNFKevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
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Final general classification after stage 5
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 15:41:59
2Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:46
3Gianni Marchand (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:00:56
4Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:01:04
5Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:08
6Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
7Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:01:12
8Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix 0:01:13
9Toon Aerts (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions
10Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:18
11Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:28
12Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:01:30
13Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:01:31
14Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:01:38
15Fabio Van Den Bossche (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:01:40
16Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Total Direct Energie 0:01:51
17Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:01:59
18Eli Iserbyt (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:02:06
19Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:02:07
20Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:08
21Cyril Lemoine (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
22Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:02:09
23Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:02:15
24Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix 0:02:29
25Boy van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:02:41
26Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB 0:02:43
27Laurens Sweeck (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:02:48
28Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team DSM 0:02:54
29Jonas Koch (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:03:25
30Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:03:40
31Michael Vanthourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:03:46
32Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:05:01
33Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:06:18
34Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:06:22
35Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:06:29
36Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:06:57
37Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:07:32
38Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:07:34
39Lars van der Haar (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions 0:07:40
40Milan Menten (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB 0:07:46
41Thibau Nys (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions 0:07:50
42Casper Pedersen (Den) Team DSM 0:08:21
43Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:08:32
44Robbe Ghys (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:08:51
45Toon Vandebosch (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:09:14
46Emil Vinjebo (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:09:16
47Harry Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:09:17
48Arjen Livyns (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB 0:09:22
49Umberto Marengo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:09:27
50Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie 0:09:34
51Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Total Direct Energie 0:09:56
52Laurenz Rex (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB 0:09:58
53Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:10:13
54Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
55Lennert Teugels (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:10:27
56Roberto González (Pan) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:10:30
57Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:10:52
58Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:11:07
59Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:11:49
60Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Team DSM 0:12:15
61Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:12:28
62Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:12:31
63Casper van Uden (Ned) Team DSM 0:12:51
64Kamil Gradek (Pol) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:12:53
65Mick van Dijke (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:13:00
66Andreas Goeman (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:13:13
67Luuc Bugter (Ned) Beat Cycling 0:13:14
68Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:13:26
69Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:13:49
70Danny van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:13:50
71Bram Welten (Ned) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:13:53
72Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:14:04
73Péter Kusztor (Hun) Team Novo Nordisk 0:14:06
74Jordy Bouts (Bel) Beat Cycling 0:14:33
75Witse Meeussen (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:14:34
76Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:14:46
77Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:14:59
78Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:15:13
79Martijn Budding (Ned) Beat Cycling 0:15:19
80Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team DSM 0:15:36
81Piotr Havik (Ned) Beat Cycling 0:15:39
82Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:16:18
83Pim Ronhaar (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions 0:17:17
84Corne van Kessel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:17:28
85Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:17:35
86Amaury Capiot (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:17:57
87Cedric Beullens (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:18:05
88Mattia Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:18:14
89Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 0:18:39
90Mark Cavendish (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:18:59
91Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:19:04
92Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:19:12
93Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:19:13
94Arne Marit (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:19:34
95Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos
96Yoeri Havik (Ned) Beat Cycling 0:19:45
97Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:19:50
98Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:20:00
99Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB 0:20:13
100Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB 0:20:16
101Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:20:25
102Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:20:33
103Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:20:34
104Ryan Kamp (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:20:47
105Charlie Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo 0:21:36
106Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:21:55
107David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:21:56
108Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:22:31
109Marco Frapporti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:22:32
110Alfdan De Decker (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:22:55
111Sasha Weemaes (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:23:24
112Sam Brand (GBr) Team Novo Nordisk 0:23:25
113Declan Irvine (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk 0:24:38
114Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:24:51
115Anton Ferdinande (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal 0:25:03
116Brent Van De Kerkhove (Bel) Tarteletto-Isorex 0:25:09
117Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:25:17
118Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:25:23
119Simone Bevilacqua (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM 0:25:25
120Enzo Leijnse (Ned) Team DSM 0:25:41
121Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:26:08
122Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:26:36
123Jonathan Hivert (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:26:48
124Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:27:37
125Thijs Aerts (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions
126Jules Hesters (Bel) Beat Cycling 0:27:44
127Christopher Lawless (GBr) Total Direct Energie 0:28:51
128Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM 0:29:30
129Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:30:31
130Jakob Egholm (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:32:16
131Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:32:28
132Edward Planckaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:32:53
133Daan Merien (Bel) Baloise-Trek Lions 0:34:09
134Damien Gaudin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:34:31
135Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk 0:37:57
136Logan Lakota Phippen (USA) Team Novo Nordisk 0:40:19
137Oliver Behringer (Swi) Team Novo Nordisk 0:40:39

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