BinckBank Tour 2017: Stage 2

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January 1 - August 13, Voorburg, Netherlands/Belgium, Road - WorldTour

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As we pick up the action, some 68 riders have rolled down the start ramp for this short and sharp stage 2 time trial on the BinckBank Tour. The best time belongs to Stefan Kung (BMC), whose 10:58 was four seconds quicker than Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe) and five faster than Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb). 

The last man down the start ramp will be Peter Sagan, who sprinted to victory on yesterday's opening stage. The general classification is as follows:

The final twenty riders down the start ramp this afternoon will set off at the following times:

Kung is the only rider so far to break 11 minutes for the 9-kilometre course. The Swiss youngster averaged 49.240kph as he hurtled around the parcours.

Kung is the only rider so far to break 11 minutes for the 9-kilometre course. The Swiss youngster averaged 49.240kph as he hurtled around the parcours.

It's been a less felicitous afternoon for another young talent. Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) finished more than two minutes down on Kung after he crashed midway through his effort.

Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), meanwhile, came home 28 seconds down on Kung in a time of 11:26.

Rain is falling steadily over Voorburg and Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) is among the riders to suffer the consequences. The German crashed during his ride, though he managed to limit his losses well all considered. Martin came home in 11:38, 40 seconds down on Kung.

Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step), a contender for overall victory, crosses the line in 11:23, three seconds quicker than Van Avermaet's earlier effort.

Peter Sagan's victory in Venray yesterday was the 98th of his career and on the evidence of his form in the Tour de Pologne last week, he may well have clocked up his 100th win by the time the BinckBank Tour is out. I'm going to keep going and fighting at the race. "Tomorrow is a big day for everyone with a 9km time trial – it'll be tough and we want to make the most of it for Bora-Hansgrohe. It's a good day for Maciej Bodnar, and I'll try not to lose time myself," Sagan said afterwards. You can read the full story here.

Dries Devenyns is currently out on the course for Quick-Step and the rain is falling ever more heavily over Voorburg. The parcours includes a number of narrow and urban sections, and few riders will be minded to take undue risks this afternoon. Kung, Bodnar, Dumoulin et al had the fortune to set out when conditions were slightly more amenable to a time trial effort.

Devenyns comes home in 11:30. A decent effort in the conditions, but indicative of how difficult it will be for the later starters to challenge the times currently at the top of the leaderboard.

Jens Keukeleire (Orica-Scott) also comes home in 11:30. Out on the parcours, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) is taking a very cautious line through the corners.

Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) is the next man to start. Earlier this week, the Belgian confirmed that he will stay with Quick-Step for the next two seasons and he will be expected to shine before the BinckBank Tour is out, but one imagines his priority will be staying upright this afternoon.

Stefan Kung, meanwhile, is making good use of his time in the hot seat. Rather than watch the late finishers on television, he is engrossed in reading German writer Juli Zeh's 2016 novel Unterleuten.

Ryan Mullen (Cannondale-Drapac) finished ahead of Kung to take silver in the under-23 time trial at the Ponferrada Worlds in 2014. The Irish champion is out on the course and it will be interesting to see what he can achieve here, even in these conditions.

Mullen has to ride gingerly through a rainsoaked cobbled chicane. The Irishman accelerates out of the corner and gets back up to speed as the road straightens out.

Mullen stops the lock in 11:23 for the 16th best time of the afternoon.

Gilbert, meanwhile, comes home in 11:24, a decent time for a man with designs on final overall victory. Owain Doull (Sky), meanwhile, crosses the finish in 11:33.

Elia Viviani (Sky), silver medallist in Sunday's European Championships, is next rider down the start ramp. Rain remains general over the southern Netherlands.

Elia Viviani comes perilously close to coming a cropper on the same left-hand corner where Tony Martin and Nils Politt hit the ground earlier in the afternoon. The Italian manages to correct himself and stay upright, but suffice to say the Italian will take no risks from here on in.

Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step) is the next man up. The German would have expected to be a late starter - or indeed the last starter - but he made no impression in yesterday's opening stage due, by his own admission, to poor positioning ahead of the bunch finish. Kittel finished the day in 34th place.

Viviani rode very carefully over the back end of the course, and he rolls across the line 1:15 down on Kung.

Away from the BinckBank Tour, it was confirmed today that Michal Kwiatkowski has signed a new three-year contract with Team Sky that will keep him at the squad until the end of the 2020 season. Stephen Farrand has the full story here.

Kittel reaches the finish in a time of 11:36. The German's hopes of wearing the leader's jersey before week's end have ended here.

Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac) will expect to shine once the race reaches Classics terrain later in the week, and he'll be eager to stay in the hunt for overall victory here.

Vanmarcke accelerates sharply out of each corner, eager to keep himself in the hunt for overall victory, even if he surely won't approach Kung's time this afternoon.

Vanmarcke crosses the finish line in 11:31, to keep him within 10 seconds of the marks set by men like Van Avermaet and Terpstra.

Jasha Sutterlin (Movistar) produces one of the best displays since the read began to fall in earnest. His 11:22 is good enough for 16th place for the time being.

We're into the final tranche of starters, who are setting out at two-minute intervals. Boy van Poppel rolls down the ramp and starts his effort. Seven more riders remain:

Arnaud Demare (FDJ) took no risks over the 9km course, and he stops the clock in a very sedate 12:49.

Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) cruises home in 12:01, happy to survive the day and take his chances in the sprint stages to come.

Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) is another man unwilling to take risks on this rain-soaked parcours. Despite the exhortations of the home crowds, he cuts a careful line through each corner.

Stefan Kung is now giving this time trial his undivided attention from the hotseat. The Swiss rider knows that he is minutes away from stage victory. Nobody has come close to his time since the early drizzle turned into a steady downpour.

Phil Bauhaus (Sunweb), second yesterday, is third overall, and he rolls down the start ramp for his effort. Only Laurens De Vreese (Astana) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) have yet to start.

Sagan begins his effort. He moves cautiously through the first chicane and then climbs out of the saddle to bring himself up to speed. He will have his work cut out to defend his jersey here, but he will try to lay the groundwork for final overall victory nonetheless.

Mark McNally (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), part of the break yesterday, took a conservative tack today, and comes home more than a minute down on Kung.

Sagan, meanwhile, looks to be taking more daring lines through the wet early corners than any of his fellow late starters. 

Elmar Reinders (Roompot) stops the clock in 11:51, 53 seconds down on Kung. Only Bauhaus, De Vreese or Sagan can deny Kung the stage win - and that seems most unlikely.

Bauhaus comes home in 11:48, good enough for 79th place on the stage. The German should be to the fore tomorrow in the event of a bunch sprint.

De Vreese reaches the finish in 12:05 for 119th on the stage. Only Sagan is left to finish...

Sagan crosses the line in 11:23, good enough for 17th on the stage. Along with Sutterlin, that's by some distance the best performance of the later starters, who had all had to contend with heavy rain.

Stefan Küng (BMC) wins stage 2 of the BinckBank Tour and moves into the overall lead.

Result:

Result:

General classification:

Stefan Kung breaks into a smile at the end of his long wait in the hot seat. "It was not really a hot seat: it’s not so warm here and I’ve been waiting two and a half hours," Kung jokes. "At first I did my cool down, and then I read a bit, I had my book with me. I couldn’t watch all the time because it makes you nervous, so I preferred to read.

Kung carries a 4-second over Bodnar lead into stage 3. Sagan lost the jersey but lingers with intent, just 15 seconds back in 8th overall.

Kung will aim to defend the jersey all the way to Geraardsbergen on Sunday. A year ago, his teammate Rohan Dennis led the race into the final stage, only for his challenge to be undone by a crash.

"The goal is to take the lead to the finish," Kung says. "It’s going to be hard because there are some difficult stages to come, in the Ardennes and to Geraardsbergen. But I'm coming off the Tour de France in good shape so I’ll fight for it."

Result:

Thanks for joining our live coverage of today's action from the BinckBank Tour. A full report, results and pictures will follow here and we'll be back with more live updates on Cyclingnews on Wednesday as the peloton tackles stage 3 from Blankenberge to Ardooie.

 

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