Our rider will start the final day of the race in tenth overall.
Stage 6 of the Benelux Tour had a Classics-style route, on a course that contained no fewer than twelve classified climbs, including the Côte Saint-Roch, Côte Bois des Moines and Côte Le Vieux Chemin, which gave little respite to the riders, with attacks coming thick as fast in the final 80 kilometers, as soon as the breakaway got pegged back.
Kasper Asgreen, who started the day 13th after the misfortune he had Friday afternoon on the roads to Bilzen, tried to shake up things and took off with 50 kilometers to go, but his move was a short-lived one despite the remarkable effort he put in. A couple of minutes later, a group of puncheurs rode clear on the steep ramps of Côte Saint-Roch, and Asgreen tried to limit the losses without going into the red.
On the short downhill sections, the 26-year-old Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider pulled back some time, but by the moment he arrived in Houffalize, the stopwatch showed a gap of one minute between his group and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious), who took the stage and the leader’s jersey.
The strong ride helped Kasper make a return in the top 10 overall ahead of the final stage, which will borrow some of the cobbled roads and climbs of Ronde van Vlaanderen: “Today was incredibly hard. I tried to give it a go, but it wasn’t a good day for me as I couldn’t go as fast as the other guys. Sunday’s stage suits me better and hopefully I’ll get a good result there.”
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
