Preview Renewi Tour 2024 | Van der Poel makes his comeback, very strong starting field

The biggest multi-day race in the Low Countries is about to start again. This year, the Renewi Tour has headed mainly to Belgium again, where we can expect five beautiful days of racing with a ditto field of participants. IDLProCycling.com takes you along!

The Renewi Tour—previously known as the Eneco Tour or BinckBanck Tour—has been a permanent feature of the WorldTour calendar for many years. This is also reflected in the victory list, which includes at least three of the greatest Dutchmen of the last decade: Niki Terpstra (2016), Tom Dumoulin (2017), and Mathieu van der Poel (2020).

Furthermore, Tim Wellens has already won the race three times, including last year. As did Bahrain Victorious riders Sonny Colbrelli and Matej Mohoric, Laurens De Plus also won the race.

Latest winners Renewi Tour 2024

2023 Tim Wellens
2022 Not ridden
2021 Sonny Colbrelli
2020 Mathieu van der Poel
2019 Laurens De Plus
2018 Matej Mohoric
2017 Tom Dumoulin
2016 Niki Terpstra
2015 Tim Wellens
2014 Tim Wellens

Renewi Tour 2024: Course, favorites daily wins and times

Stage 1, Wednesday, Aug. 28: Riemst - Bilzen (163.6 km)

The Renewi Tour begins with a stage on and near the Belgian-Dutch border, around Riemst and Bilzen. That's where last year's final stage ended in a charade, with riders also going on strike at one point. Hopefully, that won't be necessary this time!

Climbs
6.0 km: Cote de Hallembaye (1.0 km a 4.9%)
17.5 km: Cote sur le Coteaux (1.6 km a 4.2%)
57.0 km: Slingerberg (1 km a 4.9%)
65.5 km: Cote de Hallembaye (1.0 km a 4.9%)
77.0 km: Cote sur le Coteaux (1.6 km a 4.2%)
117.0 km: Slingerberg (1 km a 4.9%)
125.5 km: Cote de Hallembaye (1.0 km a 4.9%)
137.0 km: Cote sur le Coteaux (1.6 km a 4.2%)

Favorites
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla)
Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike)

Timetable
Start: 11:35 a.m.
Finish: 3:30 p.m.

Stage 2, Thursday, Aug. 29: Tessenderlo - Tessederlo (15.4 km, individual time trial)

On day two, some changes can already be expected in the GC, as there will be an individual time trial in Tessenderlo. The course will be 15 kilometers long and on flat roads.

Climbs
No.

Favorites
Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers)
Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers)
Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost)

Timetable
Start: 12:24 a.m.
Finish: 3:32 p.m.

Stage 3, Friday, Aug. 30: Blankenberge - Ardooie (185.5 km)

On day three, we will start on the Belgian coast at the seaside resort of Blankenberge. We'll finish in Ardooie, which has been part of the Renewi Tour for years. Usually, we get a real sprint there, which is what the field of participants is geared towards.

Climbs
No.

Favorites
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)

Timetable
Start: 11:20 a.m.
Finish: 3:21 p.m.

Stage 4, Saturday, Aug. 31: Oostburg - Aalter (178.5 km)

Stage four is from Oostburg to Aalter, another name we know in the cycling world. After 178 kilometers, the sprinters get another great chance at a stage win.

Climbs
No.

Favorites
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R)
Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)

Timetable
Start: 11:30 a.m.
Finish: 3:20 p.m.

Stage 5, Sunday, Sept. 15: Menen - Geraardsbergen (202.5 km)

The Renewi Tour ends in Geraardsbergen after a beautiful stage through the Flemish Ardennes. Along the way, the riders will tackle the Bosberg, Muur, and other famous hills, which is promising!

Climbs
63.8 km: Kluisberg (1.8 km a 6.4%)
69.9 km: Cote de Trieu (1.2 km a 7.4%)
80.7 km: Hoogbergstraat (4.4 km a 3.1%)
87.9 km: Oude Kruisberg (1.4 km a 5.5%)
96.8 km: Oude Kruisberg (1.4 km a 5.5%)
107.2 km: Les Plachettes (1.1 km a 6.4%)
120.4 km: Denderoordstraat (0.7 km a 7.5%) - four local laps
125.9 km: Muur (1.2 km a 7.8%) - four local laps
131.2 km: Bosberg (1.4 km a 5.0%) - three local laps
140.2 km: Onkerzeleberg (2.9 km a 3.2%) - three local laps

Favorites
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Tim Wellens (UAE-Team Emirates)
Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious)

Timetable
Start: 10:15 a.m.
Finish: 2:47 p.m.

Favorites Renewi Tour 2024

How can you win the Renewi Tour? Time trial, survive the Flemish hills, and preferably have a decent sprint to take advantage of the Golden Kilometer. All things Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck usually knows how to deal with. The Dutchman resumes in competition and does so with a course that he already managed to do wonderfully to his liking in 2020. Soren Kragh Andersen is likely to be the backup leader on duty.

Tim Wellens is also considered one of the leading contenders. The Belgians won the race for three years, were recently the best in the time trial at the Tour of Poland, and had a strong team, including Nils Politt and Mikkel Bjerg. Another former winner at the start is Matej Mohoric, who finished sixth in Poland last week on behalf of Bahrain Victorious.

As in the classics, many teams are opting for multiple vital riders. Thus, Visma | Lease a Bike has Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte at its disposal, INEOS Grenadiers is fielding Filippo Ganna and Magnus Sheffield, among others, and Lidl-Trek is doing it with Jasper Stuyven, Quinn Simmons and Jonathan Milan.

Intermarché-Wanty is counting on Mike Teunissen and Biniam Girmay, while Lotto-Dstny has man-in-form Arnaud De Lie and Florian Vermeersch at its disposal. The French teams are also bringing some pretty lovely people to the start: Arkéa - B&B Hotels (Kévin Vauquelin and Matis Louvel), Cofidis (Axel Single), Decathlon AG2R (Oliver Naesen, Pierre Gautherat and Aurélien Paret-Peintre) and Groupama-FDJ (Valentin Madouas and Laurence Pithie) can all be along for the ride.

Other riders who should handle this work well are Maximilian Schachmann (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Frank van den Broek (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) and Yves Lampaert of Soudal Quick-Step.  

According to IDLProCycling.com, who are the favorites for the Renewi Tour 2024?

Top favorites: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tim Wellens (UAE-Team Emirates)
Outsiders: Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), Christophe Laporte (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Maximilian Schachmann (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Long shots: Nils Politt (UAE-Team Emirates), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Alberto Bettiol (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike) Jasper Stuyven and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)

TV Renewi Tour 2024

This week, the Renewi Tour will be followed on Sporza (on VRT1) and Eurosport's online platforms: Discovery+ and HBO Max. This will happen daily around 1:45 p.m., as the Renewi Tour stages finish fairly early to avoid overlap with the Vuelta. 

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