17 augustus 2010
- 24 augustus 2010
Eneco Tour
From the 17th until and including the 24th of August the Eneco
Tour took place in the Netherlands and Belgium. This ProTour race
began on Tuesday August 17th with a 5.2 kilometre
prologue.
Like previously this year the race did not turn out as Koen
would have wished. Koen had the right bike etc but it didn't go as
he would have hoped. On a wet course Koen found cornering difficult
and eventually crossed the line with a time of 6'45" which
eventually brought Koen to 83rd place. Canadian time trial champion
Svein Tuft won the prologue with a time of 6'18" which was five and
six seconds faster than Rabobank's Jos van Emden and Lars Boom
respectively.
The first stage took the peloton over 178 kilometres from
Steenwijk to Rhenen. Very early in the stage a leading group of
three formed with Albert Timmer on behalf of Skil-Shimano. The
three were caught on the big finishing circuit with 10 kilometres
to go. In the final 10 kilometres the whole peloton was broken up.
Koen was well placed and in the end he was in the group of 80 that
sprinted for the stage win on the Grebbeberg, taking 13th place. It
was "good old" Robbie McEwen that won the sprint.
The stage from Sint Willebrord to Ardooie in Belgium finished
after 198.5 kilometres in a mass sprint. Just like a day earlier a
breakaway group rode away for most of the day. They were caught in
the finishing circuit with 15 kilometres to go. With 10 kilometres
remaining Koen attacked and compatriot Michiel Elijzen joined him.
They rode ahead of a charging peloton. A rider from Footon-Servetoo
joined the two. With 6 kilometres left, they were caught. In the
end it was German Andre Greipel who won the sprint in the streets
of Ardooie. He bested the winner of stage 1, Australian Robbie
McEwen while Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen came in 3rd. Koen
finished in the peloton in 79th place. Canadian Svein Tuft still
holds yellow, three seconds ahead of Boasson Hagen and four seconds
ahead of Greipel.
The stage that began and finished in Ronse, Belgium took the
peloton over 191.8km finished with a spectacular finale. With the
peloton having to climb the legendary Oude Kwaremont twice in the
final 50km adding to how tough the stage was. A course with the
feel of a classic all too familiar for classic specialists, like
Koen. Koos Moerenhout set a brutal pace on the first climb of the
Oude Kwaremont. Behind the peloton broke up while at the front a
German rider, Geschke, got away. He was quickly joined by his
compatriot Tony Martin, Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen, Koos
Moerenhout and Lars Boom. A great leading group with several time
trialists and classics specialists. But the peloton was not going
to let this group stay away and several groups set about the
pursuit. On the climb of one of the many small climbs, Koos
Moerenhout broke away and Tony Martin joined him. The rest of the
leading group were then caught by the depleted peloton. While
Moerenhout and Martin stayed ahead, several groups tried to get
away behind. However none of these groups were successful but the
peloton did reduce in size as the pace was brutal on the second
climb of the Oude Kwaremont. In the finale Koen's teammate and team
leader Dominique Cornu cycled into some grass and got distanced
from a group. Koen at this time was setting the pace of the group,
not knowing that his team leader was sidelined temporarily. Hearing
that his team leader was behind, Koen dropped behind to help Cornu
chase back. This happened during the final kilometers. The two
Skil-Shimano riders managed to bridge up to the group before the
sprint for third place, At the finish Moerenhout won the stage and
Martin took the leader's jersey off Svein Tuft. Alan Davis won the
sprint for third place. Koen finished in a chasing group of about
27 riders, 1'24" seconds behind in 26th place. In the general
classification Koen is now in 19th place, 1'53" behind Martin.
Martin has a ten second advantage over Moerenhout. Tuft is now in
third place at 1'26".
The stage from St-Lievens-Houtem (Belgium) to Roermond (the
Netherlands) ended after 212km as expected in a mass sprint. It was
not until with only two kilometres to go that the breakaway was
caught before a typical mass sprint ensued. New Zealand's Greg
Henderson from Team Sky won the sprint ahead of Dutchman Kenny van
Hummel of Skil-Shimano and Henderson's teammate Edvald Boasson
Hagen. Koen crossed the line in 48th place. Koen is currently in
18th place in the general classification.
On Sunday's stage in the Eneco Tour the stage went from Roermond
to Sittard. The stage was touted as a small Amstel Gold Race, going
over a distance of 204km with several well known Limburg hills
including the Cauberg. Eleven riders got away early in the stage.
Their advantage was never any greater than four minutes. After the
first climb of the Cauberg the group dropped one to ten. In the
final hour the peloton came closer and closer to the leading group.
The 40 strong peloton charged up the hills but six of the early
breakaway managed to stay clear. Koen attacked with 5km to go but
unfortunately he was unable to get away. It was the Australian Jack
Bobridge that got away from his five companions to win the stage.
The peloton crossed the line 15 seconds later where there was a
sprint for seventh place. Koen finished in the peloton in 17th
place. There was no change at the top of the general classification
but Koen did move up a place in the overall classification to
17th.
The second last stage of the Eneco Tour took place on Monday
with a road stage in Belgium from Bilzen to Heers. Despite the
stage starting and finishing in Belgium's Limburg region, the stage
did go into the Ardennes. The stage was a bit like a small Fleche
Walloone. This was because alot of the stage went over the route of
the Ardennes classic including going over the Wall of Huy. But
despite all these climbs and the various breakaway attempts, the
stage's honours were decided through a mass sprint in the streets
of Heers. German Andre Greipel won ahead of Belgian Roelandts
and Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen. Koen sprinted to a great sixth
place on the stage.
The concluding time trial did not go well for Koen. Koen's form
has been good during the previous stages but he came up short in
the time trial. Koen completed the 16.5km time trial course with a
time of 22'17" that was good for 66th place on the day. The time
trial was won by German Tony Martin with a time of 20'24". Martin
won the general classification with an advantage of 31 seconds over
Koos Moerenhout who conceded 20 seconds to Martin on the final
stage. Koen's teammate Dominique Cornu finished 21st in the time
trial and 9th in the general classification, 2'35" down on Martin.
Koen finished the race in 18th place overall, 3'48" down on
Martin.
Photo: Koen before the start of the time trial (with thanks
to Cor Vos)
Photo: Koen and Dominque Cornu before the start of the first
stage (with thanks to Cor Vos)
Photo: Koen and Michiel Elijzen on the big screen in Ardooi
during their breakway attempt in the second stage (with thanks to
Cor Vos)
