From the 28th of August to the 1st of September, the Renewi Tour provides extra World Tour action. In Belgium and The Netherlands the peloton will tackle a five-day stage- race which will feature opportunities for the sprinters, time-trialists and classics specialists. We preview the race ahead.
Five days of racing and this will feature the famous Geraardsbergen circuit which features plenty cobbled climbs, a 15-kilometers time-trial which can be decisive for the overall classification and three stages that should end in bunch sprints - bonifications can also be crucial for the outcome here.
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The race starts off with a 163-kilometer long from Riemst to Grote-Spouwen. A day with an intermediate sprint right in it's start, and some hills with a golden kilometer inserted in the middle already inside the final hour of racing. However it's not overly hard and should end in a sprint.
Perhaps the most important day for the overall classification. The final day is key but here many riders will create significant differences between each other which may not be possible to close later on in the race.
Stage 3 is a pan-flat stage, classic of the region. It finishes in the city of Ardooie which should host a bunch sprint without any serious technical feature.
The fourth day of racing in profile is virtually the same as the previous day, but on the road it sees the peloton now in the Netherlands. The finale into Aalter will be rather technical and a big challenge for the sprinters.
Finally, the riders reach the serious climbing. The final day of the Renewi Tour, as usual, takes place in and around the town of Geraardsbergen. It is over 200 kilometers long and features a final circuit which will see the riders climb the Muur de Geraardsbergen and Bosberg on three occasions.
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The Favourites
This is a very dynamic race. Often, the final day of racing in Geraardsbergen will create some differences with it's explosive circuit but often they are not huge, or in better words, many riders arrive together in small groups. This means that the seconds won or lost in the first days of the race will decide many positions in the overall classification. The time-trial will be rather long for a five-day race and will be a key moment of the race, but the sprint bonifications and golden kilometers throughout the week can really make a difference when the finale comes. Of course, several riders I will mention below fit in different categories...
Classics Specialists - Mathieu van der Poel will be the man who will be watched the most without a doubt. The World Champion's current form is unknown but regardless, he will be the most followed man in the cobbles or even elsewhere. The final stage suits him very well and he can certainly win the race, whilst also being able to defend himself against the clock. But a race like this is easy to lose; he didn't even finish on the Top10 of the Olympic Games despite looking at times the strongest...
A few teams can really use their numbers to put pressure on rival teams such as UAE with the strong time-trialist Tim Wellens (a three-time winner of the race and defending champion) and Nils Politt; Visma who have Olav Kooij as a sprinter but mainly Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot to play for in the hills; and French teams Decathlon (Benoît Cosnefroy and Oliver Naesen) and Groupama (Valentin Madouas and Laurence Pithie) who can each throw in a little chaos onto rival teams.
Furthermore we have Matej Mohoric who is also a proven winner in this race who is always a danger in every terrain, BORA's Max Schachmann who can also time-trial very well and enter the hills already in strong position, Italian duo Alberto Bettiol (making his debut for Astana) and Tour de Wallonie winner Matteo Trentin; and a few outsiders in Ilan van Wilder, Marco Haller, Iván García Cortina and Axel Zingle who can mainly be names to take into consideration in the hilly day.
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Time-trialists - The TT will be crucial in the race, it is big enough for gaps to be created and they can then race more defensively and tactically in the cobbles. Certainly it can backfire for whoever enters the final stage in the lead, but for many others they wil be in pole position to take advantage of any crack. INEOS Grenadiers certainly will be hoping to take advantage of this scenario as they come in with a strong Filippo Ganna into the race but also an in-form Magnus Sheffield... The likes of Mikkel Bjerg and Stefan Bissegger are riders to take into consideration as well.
Sprinters - Then a few riders who can ride the cobbles well but may gain the upper hand because of bonus seconds in sprints. Jasper Philipsen is the first name to come to mind because truly he is a great classics rider who should be able to grab quite a lot of bonifications all throughout the race. Jonathan Milan is an incredibly dangerous rider: He can time-trial well, is in incredible sprint form and honestly I wouldn't discard him in the hilly stages... Olav Kooij, Arnaud De Lie and Biniam Girmay are all excellent cards but the TT may wreck their possible victory ambitions.
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Prediction 2024 Renewi Tour overall classification:
*** Mathieu van der Poel
** Jonathan Milan, Filippo Ganna, Tim Wellens
* Christophe Laporte, Jasper Stuyven, Valentin Madouas, Alberto Bettiol, Matteo Trentin, Magnus Sheffield, Jasper Philipsen, Arnaud De Lie, Biniam Girmay
Pick: Mathieu van der Poel
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