Biniam Girmay has won the opening stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem. The Eritrean proved fastest in the sprint of a reduced peloton, ahead of Tim Merlier and Max Kanter. Rune Herregodts saw his 20 km solo effort caught just 150 metres from the line.
The riders set off beneath the basilica of Scherpenheuvel-Zichem for a demanding 188.3 km stage through the Hageland region. On the four local laps, the peloton had to tackle the Kerkstraat (500 m of cobbles at 5.3%), the Heuvelstraat (500 m of cobbles at 3.4%), the Wingerstraat (500 m at 5.1%) and the Dongelstraat (600 m at 5.2%).
An early breakaway featuring Roy Hoogendoorn, Olivier Godfroid, Storm Ingebritsen and Stijn Appel animated the first half of the race. They were later replaced at the front by Bodgan Zabelinskiy, Wies Nuyens, Bart Kortleve, Jarno Bellens and Robbe Mellaerts. Kortleve picked up six bonus seconds at the Golden Kilometre shortly before the peloton regrouped.
With just over 20 km to go, Rune Herregodts made his move. The UAE time triallist held a lead of around 15 seconds over the peloton for several kilometres, but the sprinters’ teams showed no mercy. With 150 metres remaining, Herregodts was swept up by a charging, reduced peloton.
Jasper Philipsen was nowhere to be seen in the final sprint, but Biniam Girmay and Tim Merlier were right up there. The two went head-to-head, with Girmay ultimately throwing his bike just ahead of his rival on the line. Max Kanter finished third, followed by Steffen De Schuyteneer and Søren Wærenskjold.
Girmay also takes the first leader’s jersey in the Baloise Belgium Tour. He holds a two-second lead over Bart Kortleve and three seconds over Robbe Mellaerts, who both collected time bonuses at the Golden Kilometre. Stage two will take place on Thursday, from Merelbeke-Melle to Knokke-Heist.
