BinckBank Tour 2019 Route stage 7: Sint-Pieters-Leeuw – Geraardsbergen

After the Wall of Geraardsbergen was removed from the Tour of Flanders in 2012 the Eneco Tour and its successor BinckBank Tour adopted the climb. Since then Alessandro Ballan, Zdeněk Štybar, Greg Van Avermaet, Manuel Quinziato, Edvald Boasson-Hagen, Jasper Stuyven and Michael Matthews powered to victory on the steep cobbles. The finish is not near the chapel at the top though, but on the Vesten, which is halfway up the Wall.

The flag is dropped in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw before the BinckBank Tour sets sail to the closing circuit around Geraardsbergen. Following five warm-up climbs the riders get a first taste of the cobbled finishing ramp before the race concludes with three laps of 25.6 kilometres. Each run takes the ascents of the Wall of Geraardsbergen (1,100 metres at 8.7%, cobbled), Bosberg (1,000 metres at 6%, last 400 metres cobbled), Onkerzelestraat (1,500 metres at 3%), and Denderoordberg (700 metres at 8%).

Following the last passage over the Denderoordstraat there are 5.4 kilometres left to race. A flat section leads to a gradual descent of 2 kilometres before a flat run-in of 1.5 kilometres moves through Geraardsbergen (which is, by the way, one of the oldest cities in Belgium). The route crosses the Dender River and shortly the riders hit the foot of the Wall of Geraardsbergen. The last 500 metres go up at 5%.

Starting at kilometre 157.4, the Golden Kilometre serves three opportunities to win time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds within 1,000 metres. The first three riders on the line take 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

The race is expected to finish around 16.20 local time.

Other interesting reads:
– live race report
– GC after stage 6

BinckBank Tour 2019 stage 7: route, profile, more

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