BinckBank Tour: Theuns wins the sprint in Lanaken

Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) won stage 4 of the BinckBank Tour in a bunch sprint in Lanaken, but only after Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors) had threatened to deny the fast men with a canny late attack on the rain-soaked run-in to the finish.

Theuns delivered a powerful sprint to beat Marko Kump (UAE-Team Emirates), Tim Merlier (Vérandas Willems–Crelan) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), but only after his teammate Jasper Stuyven's mammoth effort had helped the sprinters to overhaul Lampaert within sight of the line.

Lampaert, winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen earlier in the season, seized his opportunity by punching his way clear with a shade over four kilometres to go. With the sprinters' teams struggling to organise themselves behind, the Belgian carried a sizeable advantage into the final kilometre. Although the bunch was closing, he looked poised to claim the stage honours as he entered the finishing straight only for Stuyven's intervention to tip the balance in favour of the sprinters.

In a chaotic finale, Theuns proved the quickest off the mark, and his fierce acceleration carried him well clear of Kump and Merlier to claim his first victory at WorldTour level. Sagan, meanwhile, was seeking the 100th win of his career, but after picking the most direct route to the finish in Ardooie on Wednesday, he found himself caught in traffic here. The world champion was unable to pick his way through all of the bodies in front of him and he had to settle for 4th place.

Sagan's disappointment will pale in comparison to that of Lampaert, who began the day just 12 seconds off the overall lead and looked set to claim a double haul of stage honours and race leader's green jersey. The tunic instead stays with Stefan Küng (BMC), who finished safely in the main peloton to maintain a lead of 4 seconds over Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe) and 5 over Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and Sagan.

The BinckBank Tour continues on Friday with a punchy stage through Amstel Gold Race country to Sittard-Geleen that ought to shake up the general classification.

How it unfolded

André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) cut a forlorn figure after he failed to make an impact in the bunch finish in Ardooie on stage 3, and articulated something of an existential crisis when he spoke to Het Nieuwsblad on Wednesday afternoon, saying: "I've completely lost my instinct on the bike."

Greipel's introspection comes in the wake of a Tour de France that ended without a stage victory, ending his remarkable record of claiming a stage win on every Grand Tour he had started since 2008. Always a humble sort of a sprinter, Greipel decided on Thursday that he might better serve his team by infiltrating the early break rather than by trying to force the issue in a bunch sprint.

After a high-speed start to stage 4 from Riemst, it took some 40 kilometres for the day's early break to form, and Greipel was the instigator. The German was joined in his effort by Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) and Pim Ligthart (Roompot), and the trio quickly struck up a decent working alliance.

In keeping with the tenor of the BinckBank Tour to date, however, the sprinters' teams were reluctant to grant Greipel, Politt and Ligthart too much leeway, and they had an advantage of just two minutes as they entered the final 50 kilometres of the stage. From there, the bunch set about the task of reeling them back in, and the move was finally snuffed out with 24 kilometres remaining with Ian Stannard riding strongly on the front of the peloton for Team Sky.

On a day of steady rain over Lanaken, there was a fierce battle for positions on the narrows roads in the finale, but Alex Dowsett (Movistar) and Dion Smith (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) succeeded in forging clear of the peloton with 13 kilometres remaining.

Dowsett showcased his talents as a rouleur during their spirited rally off the front, while Smith's smooth pedalling hinted at his form after completing his debut Tour de France last month. They built a lead of 20 seconds over the peloton during their stint on the attack before they were finally clawed back with a shade over four kilometres to go.

By then, Quick-Floors' designated sprinter Marcel Kittel had been distanced by the peloton, and instead it was Lampaert who carried the Belgian squad's hopes in the closing kilometres with a well-timed attack. For almost four kilometres, he looked a likely stage winner, and even when he turned his head with 400 metres to go, he must still have believed in his chances. It was not to be.

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