What the Benelux?

The 3rd Eneco Tour of Benelux (formerly the Benelux Tour) begins today as well. The 8 stage tour across Belgium and the Netherlands is on the Pro Tour calendar and therefore features most of the prominent teams.

Only in its third year, the race already has a fairly decent following. The fact that this race crosses two cycling mad countries has certainly contributed to its immediate success, but it is also due to the fact that this fledgling race has already been marred by a bit of controversy.

The 2006 edition featured a crash during the final stage that saw leader George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) taken out by Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) in the finale (Photo: AFP). The latter eventually won the overall as a result of Hincapie being on the pavement. Officials determined that the crash was coincidental, which left Discovery and Hincapie shaking their collective heads. Neither, however, is scheduled to participate in this year's race.

Stages
Prologue August 22 Hasselt (Bel) ITT (5.1km)
Stage 1 August 23 Waremme (Bel) - Eupen (Bel) (189.5km)
Stage 2 August 24 Anvers (Bel) - Knokke-Heist (Bel) (199.1km)
Stage 3 August 25 Knokke-Heist (Bel) - Putte (Bel) (170.8km)
Stage 4 August 26 Maldegem (Bel) - Terneuzen (Ned) (182.7km)
Stage 5 August 27 Terneuzen (Ned) - Nieuwegein (Ned) (179.9km)
Stage 6 August 28 Beek (Ned) - Landgraaf (Ned) (177.4km)
Stage 7 August 29 Sittard (Ned) - Geleen (Ned) ITT (29.6km)