Philipsen narrowly edged out by Bennett at BinckBank Tour

Stage 2 of the Binckbank Tour (169.1 km from Blankenberge to Ardooie) saw Jasper Philipsen come home in 2nd place, bettered only by a flying Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe), winner of stage 1.

The peloton made the catch of the six escapees with 5km to go, with UAE Team Emirates leading out Philipsen on the run-in with the help of Marcato and Molano who were at the head of the lead group. Philipsen made the initial burst and opened a sizeable gap over his rivals with only Bennett able to latch-on to the Belgian’s wheel who came in ahead of Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo- Visma).

Philipsen is now in 5th place in the overall standings, 14 ” from Bennett. The 3rd stage, 166.9 kilometers with start and finish in Aalter, Belgium offers another chance for the sprinters.

“We knew that the end would be treacherous, with many technical parts in the final 1500 meters, but we moved very well as a team – said Philipsen – My teammates did a great job to get me through it and set me up well for the sprint.
Molano was gearing up to launch the sprint but had a mechanical problem and I ended up on my own and ended up getting past by Bennett who was coming fast from behind “

Stage 2 results
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-hansgrohe 3h45’20 ”
2 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Team Emirates UAE Team Emirates s.t .
3 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma s.t.

General classification after the 2nd stage
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-hansgrohe 7h27’57 ”
2 Wisniowski Lukasz (Pol) CCC Team 12 ”
3 Joseph Cerny (Cze) CCC Team 14 ”
5 Jasper Philipsen 4 (Bel) Team Emirates UAE s.t.