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.
Another interesting read: results 4th stage 2021 Benelux Tour.
Benelux Tour 2021 – stage 4: routes, profiles, more
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