Stage 5 - Riemst > Aywaille Day five of the Benelux Challenge and we're heading for the most crucial hilly stage, that features an uphill finish. Not the longest climb, but definitely steep enough to create gaps between the leading groups.
Kluge leads the GC with Breen (1.23) and Ben Nasser (3.13) as well as Favilli (3.14) still in striking distance, if today's stage is ridden hard. Some other strong puncheurs like Pibernik (4.24) or Hoelgaard (5.03) will at least try to improve their GC positions and maybe fight for the GC podium.
For today's breakaway (again quickly formed early into the stage) it's the last (and good) chance to fight for both a possible stage win and the KoM classification:
Daspuntsag would join the initial breakaway later into the stage (prior to the first mountain sprint). No easy task to catch KoM leader Centrone (32pts), but no mission impossible with several sprints on the menu today.
Good news for Centrone then, as Kreuziger and Wahyudi dominate today's first few mountain sprints, leaving Daspuntsag and Thomson (who's dropped from the group already halfway through the stage) with no chance to attack the KoM leader.
Kreuziger and Wahyudi both collect 22pts towards the mountain classification and go clear from the early break with now just 36km to go. The peloton is about 3 minutes behind at this point, where Centrone has more or less secured the KoM classification here:
Provisional KoM Centrone 32, Vangenechten 24, Kreuziger/Wahyudi 22
24km to go now and also Kreuziger/Wahyudi have been swallowed by the peloton! Still a few climbs ahead and the bunch is reduced to 77 riders due to the rather high pace set by mainly ENI-MOL, Cerveceria and Campari.
For a few moments, it looked like a group of 15 riders (led by Cohyadi) would go clear from the peloton, but there's no further acceleration as the race cools down for the next few kilometres.
14.4km before the finish, the action kicks off again though:
Schurter and Ziesler attack from the main group!
Teklit and Haas try to follow immediately..
That's rather some second-tier riders on the move, but the first big moves happen just a few moments later:
Hoelgaard and Serry catch up to Haas!
Former race leader Pibernik and Godoy are the next riders trying to go clear from the bunch, 13.9km to go!
Siskevicius, Meyer and Hugentobler (as well as Ben Nasser) would then led the chase of the main group and they succeed in a way:
Hoelgaard (GC 11th, + 5.03) is the only rider of those latest attacks, who manages to stay clear from the main group with now just 8km remaining!
He keeps pushing, but now it's Serry with another acceleration at the front of the main group (53 riders), going past Ziesler easily.
3.5km to go and Hoelgaard maintains a 30 seconds gap on the main group, where Serry couldn't go clear. Plucinski now setting the pace with Kebede/Ben Nasser on the next positions. The high pace makes for some further selection in this group, where only 30 riders remain in contention for the stage..
Kluge got dropped from this latest pace! The GC leader finds himself in a group, that is already about 2 minutes behind group Ben Nasser/Breen and will have to fight hard to defend his GC podium (Breen as the current virtual GC leader at this point)..
Other riders being dropped are:
Ferreira (in the same group as Kluge) Kreder (one minute ahead of group Kluge) Kulppi (same group as Kreder) Centrone (two minutes behind group Kluge)
The leading groups enter the final climb, just about one kilometre to go!
Hoelgaard holds on to a 28 seconds gap..
Serry Henao with a small advantage on the chasing group..
Pibernik Ben Nasser Thymides Modolo Plucinski Kireva Siskevicius Kruopis on the further positions!
Hoelgaard enters the final 500metres with still a gap on the following riders.. 19 seconds now..
..and that's three riders now:
Serry Henao Ben Nasser
22 seconds behind it's
Pibernik and Thymides (losing ground now)
Further 17 seconds behind the main group with Siskevicius, Hugentobler, Teklit and Modolo in the front positions!
Further behind in this 25-men-group, it's Breen struggling to keep this pace now! He has passed Kluge in the virtual GC, but will he defend his 2-minutes-advantage on Ben Nasser for those final 500metres? He keeps fighting, but he's suffering..
Back to the front, where Hoelgaard already celebrates his stage win! The chasing trio could not close the gap and there's still a clear gap between him and those riders. This won't be only a nice stage victory, but there's still a chance for Hoelgaard to make a nice jump in the GC!
Behind him, we see Serry ahead of Henao and Ben Nasser, who does not look as strong as his two group mates! Pibernik not too far behind and then it's still Thymides with a clear gap on the following group!
+ 20" for Serry, Henao, Ben Nasser and Pibernik
A strong finish by Pibernik, who managed to finish in the same time as Serry eventually. Ben Nasser missing out on crucial bonifications, but of course he will finish with a clear gap on Breen here. But how big will this gap become in the end?
+ 47" for Thymides as a good 6th on the stage
Wallays and Siskevicius finish with the same time then..
+ 1'17" for former race winner Hugentobler
+ 1'39" for a bigger group with Teklit, Haas, Modolo, Kireva, Kruopis, Van der Haar, Meyer, Favilli and Geschke
That's actually a good result for riders such as Modolo, Van der Haar and Kireva. Also Kruopis did limit the losses succesfully!
And here's comes group Breen.. a tough one, as the gap between the group happened just ahead of him:
+ 2'27" for Breen, who loses more than 2 minutes on Ben Nasser!
+ 5'30" for GC leader Kluge as 54th on the stage then..
..a tough day for Kluge, who lost his GC lead that way. But how far will he drop in the GC?
Ben Nasser takes over the race lead from Kluge, now leading the GC by just 17 seconds on Breen! With just one flat stage to come, this looks good for Ben Nasser. A huge effort by Breen as well though. He fought hard to hold off Ben Nasser in the GC, but lost it by quite a small margin eventually.
Hoelgaard though with good news for his team, moving up to 3rd by just one second ahead of Pibernik and Favilli completing the Top-5 for now. Van der Haar a strong 6th and so it's still a great team result for Delvaux. Kluge drops to 7th ahead of Wallays, Thymides and Modolo. Good news for Kluge as well though, since he defends the points lead by only two points on Modolo and four on Ben Nasser. Modolo will become a dangerous threat for this classification tomorrow.
