Dylan Groenewegen was unable to unleash his sprint in the sixth stage of the Eneco Tour today in Lanaken. Instead, an escape group stayed clear with Slovenian Luke Pibernik (Lampre) winning the stage. Little changed in overall classification, Rohan Dennis (BMC) remains leader.

A crash three kilometres from the finish was not conductive for the sprint finish. It was the last possible one of the tour with tomorrow a classification day. "It looked like a criterium with all the turns in the final,” said Groenewegen after his 19th place. “We were separated under one-kilometre arch and I knew we could not get the breakaway. Then we took a roundabout on the wrong side and I realised that it was over for me. Tomorrow is an important day for the GC, let’s see what I can do for our leaders." 

"It was a relatively quiet day in the peloton,” explained Sports Director Merijn Zeeman. “In the first hill zone, there were some attacks, but everything came back together. On the Halembaye and Muizenberg, some tried, but even then it was all shutdown afterwards. Riders began to realise that a sprint was possible, but we still had a leading group with a big gap and I thought it was going be close. The leading group played it smart to win."

Classification battle ahead

The Eneco Tour planed a classification day for the final day tomorrow. In the stage towards Geraardsbergen, peloton will face many climbs. "The GC may be about to change, but BMC Racing will do everything to keep it together like today,” added Zeeman. “We want to finish as high as possible in the GC with Jos van Emden, we're going do everything to make that happen."

Jos van Emden sits sixth overall

Today, he rode on home roads. "It's always nice to have course knowledge, but I need to know the roads of every stage. It saves a lot of energy when you have the home advantage,” Van Emden said. “It would be a highlight for me this season if I can hold my place in the GC. I have my own chances in this race, and it's nice if I can follow through with it tomorrow."