Stage 4

Thursday September 02 2021 - Aalter to Ardooie - 196 km
 

Thursday 2 September - Stage 4 at the Benelux Tour is the last chance for the sprinters. The 166.1 kilometres race travels from Aalter to Ardooie. A tricky chicane before the flamme rouge leads onto a false flat finish.

Three years ago, Jasper Stuyven put that chicane to good use. The Milan-San Remo winner placed a well-timed attack and won the race just ahead of Caleb Ewan.

But usually the Ardooie stage is food for sprinters. Last year, Jasper Philipsen took the spoils, thus succeeding Sam Bennett (2019), Peter Sagan (2017, 2016), Tom Boonen (2015), and Nacer Bouhanni (2014).

Once the flag is dropped the riders tackle a lap around Aalter before continuing on flat roads to a 15 kilometres circuit around Ardooie. The local round is raced four times, so riders are offered a welcome insight into the last kilometre.

Starting 9.6 kilometres before the finish, the Golden Kilometre serves three opportunities to win time bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds within 1,000 metres. The first three riders on the line gain 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

The 4th stage of the Benelux Tour starts at 11.00 and the race is expected to finish around 14.55 – both are local times.