Baloise Belgium Tour: Fabio Jakobsen wins crash-marred stage 2, takes overall lead
Mathieu van der Poel in second as sprint favourites Jasper Philipsen, Caleb Ewan crash inside 4km from the finish
Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) sprinted to his fourth win of the season on stage 2 of the Baloise Belgium Tour in Knokke-Heist, the European champion beating Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the uphill drag to the finish.
Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny) rounded out the podium in third place, sneaking past Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) just before the line.
Jakobsen now takes over the race lead, though he’s tied on time with Van der Poel.
The dash to the line in the seaside town saw Soudal-QuickStep take over on the front, with lead-out man Michael Mørkøv delivering Jakobsen to the perfect place to start his sprint. After launching, the Dutchman had Uno-X right behind him, struggling to close the gap before Van der Poel shot up the middle of the road with De Buyst on his wheel.
The effort was too late to make any impression on Jakobsen, however, as he eased across the line to secure the win while Van der Poel and De Buyst sped past Kristoff at the death.
At 4km out from the finish, two of the top contenders for the win – stage 1 winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) – were both taken out of the running after a crash near the front of the peloton. While Philipsen was quick to get up and start racing again, Ewan lingered in the road for some time and was clearly in some discomfort after hitting the ground hard, with a team update later saying that while he had several abrasions, and a small swelling of a nerve, he would start the time trial on Friday .
“We had to decide really fast that I was going to do the sprint. It’s really a shame for Jasper because he had the fast legs,” Van der Poel said after the finish.
“It was really hectic after the final corner. I wanted to get in front of Fabio, but I trusted in our own lead-out. We were just a little far back. It’s a shame, but I don’t think I could’ve beaten him today.”
Earlier in the stage, James Fouché (Bolton Equities Black Spoke), Javier Serrano (Eolo-Kometa), Aaron Van Poucke (Flanders-Baloise), Stijn Daemen (Beat), Daan van Sintmaartensdijk (VolkerWessels), and Etienne van Empel (Corratec-Selle Italia) made the break of the day.
However, with the stage being largely pan-flat and with a selection of top sprinters in the peloton, there was little hope of the move sticking to the final. The breakaway riders would hang on until around the 35km to go mark, at which point the peloton – driven by Alpecin-Deceuninck, Soudal-QuickStep, and Lotto-Dstny – pushed on in the crosswinds.
There were splits, but it was all back together again for the ‘golden kilometre’ at 14km from the finish. Van der Poel made his bid for the race lead there, grabbing two bonus seconds at one of the three sprints.
However, he’d miss out on countback with Jakobsen winning the stage and holding Van der Poel off, thanks to that placing. In the final run to that sprint, the same mix of top sprinters’ teams again controlled the race, though Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lotto-Dstny were unlucky to lose their contenders late on.
In the end, it was Soudal-QuickStep’s day, with the Belgian squad once again showing why their lead-out train is so feared as Mørkøv, Casper Pedersen, Tim Declerq and co helped Jakobsen to his 42nd career win.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
European Cyclocross Championships: Italy take victory in mixed team relay
Filippo Agostinacchio leads team to the win on final leg ahead of France and Spain -
Saitama Criterium - Biniam Girmay sails over line first as Japan gets its taste of the Tour de France
Mark Cavendish, Primož Roglič and Jasper Philipsen among riders lining up for the off-season crowd pleaser -
‘I wanted a Spanish team’ - Pablo Castrillo ready to put transfer saga behind him and push on with Movistar in 2025
Winner of two stages at the 2024 Vuelta a España is pleased that 'long negotiation' after long transfer battle -
‘We are fighting to get this invitation’ - Uno X Mobility hoping for third straight Tour de France ride in 2025
Norwegian second-division squad in battle with Tudor and TotalEnergies for final two wildcard places