BinckBank Tour (final stage)
Sütterlin 11th overall at BinckBank Tour after fine performance at Flemish hills on the final day; Erviti, Izagirre also in the mix today
Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (SUN) claimed overall honours in the 2017 BinckBank Tour on Saturday after holding off his rivals on the final day in the hills of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the final circuit of the 191km stage seven from Essen to Geraardsbergen including the ascents of the Kapelmuur, the Bosberg and the Denderoordberg. It was a good day for the best Movistar Team classics specialists, too, with German youngster Jasha Sütterlin notably involved in the day’s fight.
The ‘bull from Freiburg’ reached the summit of both Kapelmuur ascents within the best ten of the bunch, even going off the front into some brief, solo attacks -where he was seconded by Izagirre and Erviti– and following the wheel of Sagan (BOH), Van Avermaet (BMC) and Dumoulin when the three left the rest of the group behind at the final Denderoordberg climbs, less than 6km from the finish. Eventually, Jasper Stuyven (TFS) profited from vigilance into the main group to win the stage in front of the main favourites, the group completed by Sütterlin, who was 14th at 7”.
Jasha’s slight time loss at the finish prevented him from finishing within the top ten overall (11th, 2’24” down on Dumoulin), yet didn’t ruin a quite satisfying week by the German, who continued with an excellent 2017 season which has already included his first pro win in Madrid, another silver medal at the German TT champs and a satisfactory Tour de France debut.