Less than thirty seconds separated the top five of the GC going into the final day of the Eneco Tour, and with Peter Sagan sitting just off the top three, the UCI World and European Champion would be aiming for a podium place. However, on what was already a hard day, the wet weather caused treacherous conditions. The Slovakian rider powered through to take sixth on the stage and move up to claim his podium spot and the points classification.
The profile of the final day would strike fear into any rider’s heart on a one day race, but after six days of hard riding, the relentlessly-undulating parcours of the last stage of the Eneco Tour was going to be a killer. The 197.8km route saw barely a flat section over its length and with wet weather adding to the mix, a hard day awaited.
It took some time for a break to form – the riders testing each other to see who would go on the attack. With more than 60km covered, a group of nine finally went up the road, and built up an advantage of a little under three minutes. After the break’s success on yesterday’s stage, the bunch wouldn’t want to allow the gap to grow any more than this, but with a hard parcours ahead of them, it would be hard to control the pace while tackling the climbs of the day.
Tinkoff were pushing hard in the race’s final 60km, but as the race reached the 20km mark, the pace in the peloton behind was much more relaxed, the expectation that the GC riders’ teams would push hard towards the finish. The red jersey of points leader, Peter Sagan, was at the front of the second group as he worked to pull back valuable seconds on the GC, but wet weather and leaves on the already tough, cobblestone climbs were making the chase hard, causing many of the chasers to crash, including the GC leader.
After his hard ride, the Slovakian rider cemented his position in the points contest, taking home the Tour’s points jersey. Photo by Bettini Photo
As the finish loomed on the horizon, the breakaway group was dropping riders, but the gap remained steady at around forty-five seconds. Peter was keeping a close eye on his GC rivals after the race leader dropped out with just a few kilometres to go. Crossing the line in sixth position on the stage, forty-three seconds after the stage winner, Peter took a podium spot, finishing third in the GC and claiming the points classification for the race.
The UCI World Champion had worked hard throughout the stage, but found it hard to get other riders to work with him. “A very hard race came to an end with a very hard stage that was made even tougher because of the rain. I’m lucky I didn’t crash. I finished on the podium of the Eneco Tour but it could have been better. Nevertheless, it was difficult to race against everybody else. I wanted to close the gap and come back to the front group but nobody wanted to collaborate. There is nothing I can do, that’s cycling but I’m happy I always do my best.”
Looking back on the stage, Sport Director, Tristan Hoffman, had nothing but praise for the team leader after his hard efforts today. “Everything came back together on the final circuit, then Etixx started to attack. Peter got really close to the front group but it was all up to him. He did a fantastic job as he had to keep pushing all day. All the boys did a fantastic job – they gave everything today. Peter moves up to 3rd on GC, which was a nice reward. I believe this was the maximum we could get out of today.”
The UCI World and European Champion took his podium spot, as well as the race’s points classification. Photo by Bettini Photo
After a slow start to the race, the break’s performance was pivotal in how the stage and the race overall unfolded, continued Hoffman. “It took a long time for break to get away early on, then when went it went we put four guys on the front to work, nobody else wanted to work so the guys had to ride hard. At one moment he was virtual leader, but it was always going to be hard. He gave a lot today and did a fantastic race. We hoped for the win but 3rd is a strong result.”
Peter’s strong performance at the race also helped him to reclaim the top spot of the UCI WorldTour points classification. “I’m also very happy that, although I didn’t win the Eneco Tour, my third place gives me a lot of points to regain my leadership at the UCI WorldTour individual ranking. It’s been a long season and I will now get some needed rest.”
Stage Result
1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Dimension Data 004:03:27
2. Niki Terpstra (NED) Etixx-Quick-Step +00:00:02
3. Oliver Naesen (BEL) IAM Cycling +00:00:02
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Team Giant-Alpecin +00:00:43
5. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) BMC Racing Team +00:00:43
6. Peter Sagan (SVK) Tinkoff +00:00:46
GC Overall Standings After Stage 7
1. Niki Terpstra (NED) Etixx-Quick-Step 22:43:26
2. Oliver Naesen (BEL) IAM Cycling +00:00:31
3. Peter Sagan (SVK) Tinkoff +00:01:00
