BiciRace.com :: 2006 Eneco Tour

2006 Eneco Tour, Stage 5

Eneco Tour, Netherlands

Stage 5, Hasselt (B) – Balen (B), 183.1K

21 August

Boonen Wins on Home Soil

Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) spread his wings to fly to victory over home soil in the Eneco Tour of Benelux stage five. Under Flemish rain, the Belgian showed his world champion stripes to everyone gathered in Balen, his home town before relocating to Monaco earlier this last winter. Trailing in the wake of the 25 year-old were Julian Dean (Crédit Agricole) and Italian Simone Cadamuro (Milram). With two more testing stages, George Hincapie, under Disco escort, kept safe in his race leader's red jersey.

Parcours: 183.1 kilometers of dead-flat for Balen, the once hometown of reigning World Champion Tom Boonen.

A good sized escape formed in the opening kilometers out of Hasselt. Seven men came together to test the strength of the peloton, in particular the squadras of Quick-Step, for Boonen, and Disco, for race leader Hincapie. The seven-man escape consisted of brothers Nicolas and Sébastien Portal of Crédit Agricole and Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, Mathew Hayman (Rabobank), Bert Roesems (Davitamon-Lotto), Michiel Elijzen (Cofidis), Thomas Lövkvist (Française Des Jeux) and Koen Barbé (Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen).

The seven touched a maximum of only three minutes before the gap started to be reduced. It was first Skil-Shimano doing the work on the front to pull back the escape, but then the reins were handed over to the ProTour workhorses of Disco and Quick-Step. With -35K the gap was brought down, leaving the escape with only a measly 1'30".

Mother Nature helped make the day a typical Belgian affair by unleashing showers on the Eneco peloton. Disco's work now over, Milram and Quick-Step were getting soaked as they made pace for Balen. At -30K the gap was down to 1 minute, at -20K the escape was in sight and at -10K the escape had been gobbled up.

10K to go and wet dodgy roads; it was perfect for a Belgian rider to give it a solo bid. Jan Kuyckx (Davitamon-Lotto) flew down the side of the road but his attempt to shake the sprinters' teams was quickly nullified. Milram attentively pulled the Belgian back into the fold, but it was to be another Belgian to go for the stage win.

With the help of Il Treno Blu, Boonen was hammering along the wet and familiar roads towards the finish line. Quick-Step's Bram Tankink and then Wouter Weylandt gave Boonen the launch pad he needed; the Belgian firing off of Weylandt's momentum with 500 meters to go. Dean surged forward in the closing meters to nab second but the New Zealander could not touch the World Champion.

To the delight of all the tifosi gathered in the rain on the Balen roadside, Boonen raised his arms in the air with the blue, red, black, yellow and green colors of World Champion for them all to see. "It was a perfect sprint and lead out. It's special to win in your home town," Boonen described after the Balen finish.

Hincapie retains his race lead, and his Disco boys will have to control the attacks over the next two days. In particular the last day, starting and finishing in Ans. Stage 7, at 201K, will feature many of the climbs used in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and will surely produce a grand finale to the 2nd Eneco Tour of Benelux.

Results: 3:52'20", 47.285 K/h
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step
2 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
3 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Milram
4 Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
5 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
6 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com
7 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas
8 David Kopp (Ger) Gerolsteiner
9 Olaf Pollack (Ger) T-Mobile
10 Loyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
11 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak
12 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Phonak
13 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick-Step
14 Luciano Pagliarini (Bra) Saunier Duval-Prodir
15 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel
16 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Crédit Agricole
17 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Rabobank
18 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
19 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Skil-Shimano
20 Alan Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
21 José Joaquín Rojas (Spa) Astaná
22 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Crédit Agricole
23 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
24 Iván Gutiérrez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
25 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
26 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
27 Javier Mejías (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
28 Gerben Löwik (Ned) Rabobank
29 Erki Pütsep (Est) Ag2R Prévoyance
30 Lars Michaelsen (Den) Team CSC
31 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas
32 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner
33 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas
34 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux
35 Gregory Rast (Swi) Phonak
36 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC
37 Laurent Mangel (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
38 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile
39 Beńat Albizuri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
40 Joseba Albizu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
41 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Discovery Channel
42 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank
43 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner
44 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step
45 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
46 Michael Schär (Swi) Phonak
47 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
48 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank
49 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
50 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
51 Rik Reinerink (Ned) Skil-Shimano
52 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
53 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank
54 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel
55 Antonio Colom (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
56 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
57 Matthé Pronk (Ned) Unibet.com
58 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano
59 Renaud Dion (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
60 Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas
61 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Skil-Shimano
62 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas
63 Frank Hoj (Den) Gerolsteiner
64 Eric Baumann (Ger) T-Mobile
65 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak
66 Steffen Wesemann (Swi) T-Mobile
67 Johan Coenen (Bel) Unibet.com
68 William Bonnet (Fra) Crédit Agricole
69 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel
70 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile
71 Matej Jurco (Svk) Milram
72 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto
73 Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
74 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
75 Mikel Pradera (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
76 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
77 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Française Des Jeux
78 Frederik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
79 Koen De Kort (Ned) Astaná
80 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2R Prévoyance
81 Laurent Lefčvre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
82 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Discovery Channel
83 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Skil-Shimano
84 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis
85 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Unibet.com
86 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
87 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank
88 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak
89 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned) Cofidis
90 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Française Des Jeux
91 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
92 Aitor Pérez Arrieta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
93 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
94 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC
95 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
96 Bram De Groot (Ned) Rabobank
97 Martin Müller (Ger) Milram
98 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
99 Serge Baguet (Bel) Quick-Step
100 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick-Step
101 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quick-Step
102 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
103 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel
104 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano
105 Alberto Fernández De La Puebla (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
106 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Phonak
107 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick-Step
108 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Milram
109 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
110 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux
111 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Crédit Agricole
112 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Milram
113 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
114 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Cofidis
115 Bert Roesems (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
116 Sébastien Portal (Fra) Crédit Agricole
117 Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
118 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française Des Jeux
119 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis
120 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
121 Erwin Thijs (Bel) Unibet.com
122 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis
123 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
124 Carlos Abellán (Spa) Astaná
125 Carlo Scognamiglio (Ita) Milram
126 Thomas Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner
127 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
128 Piotr Mazur (Pol) Saunier Duval-Prodir
129 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
130 Aaron Olson (USA) Saunier Duval-Prodir
131 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
132 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 0.20
133 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Milram
134 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Unibet.com 0.29
135 Matthew White (Aus) Discovery Channel 0.35
136 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.40
137 Carlos Zarate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1.04
138 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Française Des Jeux
139 Yohann Gčne (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 2.07
140 Koen Barbé (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen 2.29
141 Dennis Haueisen (Ger) Milram 2.41
142 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Cofidis 2.47
143 Eladio Sánchez (Spa) Astaná
144 Nicholas Roche (Irl) Cofidis
145 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 4.28
146 Nicolas Fritsch (Fra) Saunier Duval-Prodir 7.05
147 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux
148 Unai Uribarri (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
149 Ivan Santos (Spa) Astaná
150 Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano
151 Anthony Ravard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
152 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française Des Jeux
153 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel
154 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick-Step 9.08
155 Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger) Skil-Shimano 7.12
DNF Daniel Navarro (Spa) Astaná
DNS David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Fondital
DNS Marcus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
DNS Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNS Gorka González (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNS Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas
DNS Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Unibet.com

GC:
1 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 17:24'55"
2 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.03
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0.11
4 Iván Gutiérrez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.15
5 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 0.31
6 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux 0.32
7 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 0.34
8 Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.50
9 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank 0.51
10 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 0.52
11 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.54
12 Steffen Wesemann (Swi) T-Mobile 0.55
13 Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel 0.56
14 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Skil-Shimano 0.57
15 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step 1.00
16 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step
17 Olaf Pollack (Ger) T-Mobile 1.02
18 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 1.04
19 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick-Step 1.08
20 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.09
21 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC 1.11
22 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak 1.13
23 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 1.14
24 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1.26
25 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel 1.27
26 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Crédit Agricole 1.32
27 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Française Des Jeux 1.42
28 Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.com
29 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Discovery Channel 1.43
30 José Joaquín Rojas (Spa) Astaná 1.55