- Sep 20, 2017
- 10,812
- 19,922
- 28,180
The last stop for a lot of sprinters - and Mathieu van der Poel - before the Tour. Unfortunately the route isn’t that great, with a notable lack of a Flemish Ardennes stage. Also, the golden kilometre is still there in spite of last year’s sh*tshow.
Startlist
The route
Stage 1: Scherpenheuvel-Zichem - Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, 164.9k
Just like in 2021, we have a rolling stage in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, which also hosted the TT last year. Just like in 2021, it should still be a sprint.
Stage 2: Merelbeke - Knokke-Heist, 175.7k
A very flat stage to the coast, similar to last year’s. Just like that stage, the final 100 metres rise sharply.
Stage 3: Beveren - Beveren, 15.2k
Very similar TT to the 2013 and 2017 ones, but slightly longer. It’s completely flat and mostly untechnical.
Stage 4: Durbuy - Durbuy, 172.6k
The queen stage is a carbon copy of last year’s.
Stage 5: Brussels - Brussels, 194.8k
The race finishes in the capital, the first visit here since 1980 (!). Unfortunately, they put more attention towards an intermediate sprint in Schepdaal (I wonder who they wanted to start here?) than actually approaching Brussels from an interesting side, so sprint stage it is.
Startlist
The route
Stage 1: Scherpenheuvel-Zichem - Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, 164.9k
Just like in 2021, we have a rolling stage in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, which also hosted the TT last year. Just like in 2021, it should still be a sprint.
Immediately after the finish line, the riders climb to the basilica of Scherpenheuvel.
Aside from that, the first half of the circuit is mainly flat, the ‘hill’ below being the largest undulation for a while.
The finale starts with the Papenberg, where the intermediate sprint is located on the penultimate lap. It consists of some false flat followed by the profile below.
It is immediately followed by the cobbled Kerkstraat.
It is followed shortly by the Wijndries, harder than the PCS profile suggests and right before the golden kilometre.
After the golden kilometre, there are only some minor undulations of which I do not have a profile.
Aside from that, the first half of the circuit is mainly flat, the ‘hill’ below being the largest undulation for a while.
The finale starts with the Papenberg, where the intermediate sprint is located on the penultimate lap. It consists of some false flat followed by the profile below.
It is immediately followed by the cobbled Kerkstraat.
It is followed shortly by the Wijndries, harder than the PCS profile suggests and right before the golden kilometre.
After the golden kilometre, there are only some minor undulations of which I do not have a profile.
Stage 2: Merelbeke - Knokke-Heist, 175.7k
A very flat stage to the coast, similar to last year’s. Just like that stage, the final 100 metres rise sharply.
Stage 3: Beveren - Beveren, 15.2k
Very similar TT to the 2013 and 2017 ones, but slightly longer. It’s completely flat and mostly untechnical.
Stage 4: Durbuy - Durbuy, 172.6k
The queen stage is a carbon copy of last year’s.
The first climb is Champs des Hêtres, which is the first 2.2k of the profile below.
It is immediately followed by a climb the organisers have mislabelled as Côte de Petite Somme, corresponding with the final 2.4k of the profile below.
After an irregular descent, the straightforward Côte de Bende starts.
The next section is fairly easy, with benign gradients even on the brief uphill section that separates two descents. After some valley, we have a combination of climbs that was used towards the end of the 2021 circuit as well: Hermanne...
...and Grand Houmart, the first half of the profile below.
From here, the riders descend into the touristic centre of Durbuy, before climbing out the other side of the valley to the finish line, which is situated at the end of the profile below.
Stage 5: Brussels - Brussels, 194.8k
The race finishes in the capital, the first visit here since 1980 (!). Unfortunately, they put more attention towards an intermediate sprint in Schepdaal (I wonder who they wanted to start here?) than actually approaching Brussels from an interesting side, so sprint stage it is.
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