Tim Merlier has won the fifth and final stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour. In Brussels, he was faster than Sebastian Molano and Kim Heiduk in an unavoidable bunch sprint. UAE Team Emirates – XRG successfully defended the purple leader’s jersey of Filippo Baroncini, who holds a few seconds’ lead over Ethan Hayter and Jenno Berckmoes in the general classification.
Six riders attacked early in the race. Leader in the Flandrien Super 8 Combativity classification Dylan Vandenstorme (Team Flanders Baloise), Belgians Michiel Hillen (Baloise Glowi Lions), Yorben Lauryssen (Pauwels Sauzen Cibel Clementines) and Alex Vandenbulcke (Tarteletto-Isorex) and Dutchmen Roy Hoogendoorn (Metec Solarwatt) and Jochem Kerckhaert (BEAT Cycling Club) joined forces. In the first of five laps, they built up a bonus of just under four minutes.
The golden kilometre, which everyone had been eagerly looking forward to, came to nothing. UAE Team Emirates – XRG, led by Filippo Baroncini, controlled the peloton and ensured that the early breakaway riders remained in front. This left the classification unchanged and only a late breakaway or bonus points at the finish could decide the overall winner. Michiel Hillen and Alex Vandenbulcke stayed ahead of a complete peloton until deep into the final but were caught with just over ten kilometres to go.
It was time for a mass sprint with a lot at stake. Not only the stage win, but also the overall victory was still up for grabs. With a few seconds’ lead, leader Baroncini had to hope that Hayter, Berckmoes and Ganna would not steal too many bonus seconds.
Attack is the best form of defence, or at least that’s what the UAE riders must have thought. They launched Juan Sebastian Molano, but he was quickly caught by a supreme Tim Merlier (Deceuninck – QuickStep), who once again did not allow anyone to come up beside him on the uphill finish. Molano finished second ahead of Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers), so no bonus seconds for the classification contenders.
Filippo Baroncini takes the overall victory in this fiercely contested Baloise Belgium Tour with a handful of seconds ahead of Ethan Hayter (Deceuninck – QuickStep) and Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto). Sebastian Molano takes the red Metec SafeCycling points jersey thanks to a consistent week. Alec Segaert (Lotto) is the best young rider and takes home the attractive new Belviva young rider jersey. Dylan Vandenstorme brilliantly defended his Flandrien Super 8 Combativity jersey today.
