Zdenek Stybar takes third, for Quick-Step Floors' 57th podium at World Tour level this season.
Three days after seizing the moment and claiming what he called the biggest win of his career, Fabio Jakobsen pulled out of the BinckBank Tour, some 80 kilometers from the finish of stage 4, which rolled out from Blankenberge before heading out to Ardooie, in West Flanders, a city which hosted a stage finish at all 14 editions of the race. The 21-year-old neo-pro was in pole position to take home the points jersey, which he had been wearing since the opening day, but illness forced him to retire.
Despite being a short one, Thursday's stage was very intense, with the peloton riding full gas behind the original breakaway and even splintering due to the ferocious pace, before regrouping and allowing a new group to go clear. Also this move was a short-lived one, the quartet being overhauled before the Golden Kilometer sprint, where Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert and teammate Zdenek Stybar picked up three and two bonus seconds, respectively.
Same Stybar was in the mix in Ardooie, where the technical final kilometer, containing several tricky bends, spiced up the fight for victory, which went to Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), after a late attack. The former winner of the event put in an impressive sprint after another top job of Florian Sénéchal and concluded third, gaining several places in the general classification thanks to the bonifications.
Giro d'Italia stage victor Maximilian Schachmann remained in the top 10 overall, 41 seconds behind the leader, ahead of the final flat stage, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw – Lanaken, 204.4 kilometers.
Photo credit: ©Justin Setterfield/ Getty Images
