Tim Merlier claimed victory in the fourth stage of the Renewi Tour. The European champion won a bunch sprint after a duel with Olav Kooij, who in the end also had to settle for second behind Pavel Bittner. Arnaud De Lie remains the overall classification leader.
After the spectacular stage on Friday, it was again the turn of the fast men on Saturday in the Renewi Tour. Still, the classics riders were cautious, as Saturday's stage was by no means easy. Arnaud De Lie had to stay alert, as he started the stage with only a one-second lead in the general classification over Mathieu van der Poel.
Kubis and De Bondt join the break
The stage also inspired several riders to launch a strong early breakaway. It was a group of six riders including Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Lukas Kubis (Unibet Tietema Rockets). They built up a nice advantage of four minutes.
For a brief moment, Cofidis seemed ready to shake up the race, but that didn’t last long. The French team pulled back from the front of the peloton, allowing the escapees’ lead to remain steady. This meant De Lie and co couldn’t contest the time bonuses at the Green Kilometer; it was the breakaway that picked off those seconds.
De Bondt on the attack, just as we know him - photo: Cor Vos
Early break fights back
After the Green Kilometer, the peloton did pick up the pace. This was needed, because with over 40 kilometers to go, the six escapees still had a three-minute lead. Visma Lease a Bike, Lotto, and Cofidis then turned up the throttle, aiming to set up respectively Olav Kooij, Arnaud De Lie, and Milan Fretin for the sprint victory in Bilzen-Hoeselt.
Chasing them down was certainly not easy. Up front they were pushing hard, and several teams had to lend a hand. Riders from Soudal Quick-Step, Movistar, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, UAE Emirates XRG, Astana Qazaqstan, and Intermarché-Wanty all came to the front of the peloton, which was necessary to gradually reel in the breakaway. At the start of the final ten kilometers, the six leaders still held a 50-second advantage.
Duel between Merlier and Kooij
It took a while longer, as De Bondt and Kubis still had something left in the tank. They dropped the other break riders and tried to go for it as a duo. They held out for a bit, but were eventually caught just under a kilometer from the finish. Then the Jayco AlUla team took control at the front of the peloton. They were able to perfectly position Dylan Groenewegen in the last kilometer.
Groenewegen couldn’t make his move in the final kilometer. Kooij did, after a strong lead-out from Christophe Laporte. Kooij went on the left side of the road, Merlier on the right. In the final straight, however, Merlier was unmatched, seemingly easily besting Kooij. Kooij took third place as Pavel Bittner sprinted past him at the line.
No time bonuses for Van der Poel on Saturday - photo: Cor Vos
Renewi Tour| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:19:28 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
