American team Trek-Segafredo took top honors in the sprint stage of the Hammer Series Saturday in Limburg, Netherlands. Team Sky climbed the overall to take the pole position for Sunday’s 50km team time trial pursuit race.
The second stage of this new race was flat and fast, intended for the pure sprinters. The field raced eight laps on a 12km circuit.
“It was actually only attacking. It’s a nice way of racing, but it’s tough to do,” Sunweb’s Albert Timmer said.
The peloton rode an aggressive race, meaning that there were few truly organized sprint trains.
“It was full gas immediately from the start, it was like every lap was the last lap,” Trek-Segafredo’s Boy van Poppel said. “It was full sprinting all the time and with those laps that were double points, it was full gas!”
His teammate Jasper Stuyven added, “Today we did really good. We always had a guy in the front, so we never had to chase.”
Despite the strong performance, Trek-Segafredo will in group two Sunday, meaning it will not be able to race for the overall Hammer Series title. Team Sky will lead-out group one, with Sunweb starting 32 seconds behind.
As the Hammer Chase is a pursuit, the first team across the line out of group one will win the Hammer Series overall. If a team in group two turns in the day’s fastest time, that squad will win the Hammer Chase stage.
Top 10 results: Hammer Sprint
1. Trek-Segafredo, 70.7
2. Lotto Soudal, 61.8
3. Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team, 59.6
4. Team Sky, 50.9
5. Nippo-Vini Fantini, 40.4
6. Team LottoNL-Jumbo, 35.4
7. Team Sunweb, 30
8. Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team, 26.5
9. Quick-Step Floors, 24.3
10. Orica-Scott, 23.1
Hammer Chase start order – Group 2 (14:50 CET)
1. Trek-Segafredo
2. Quick-Step Floors +39″
3. BMC Racing Team +55″
4. Bahrain-Merida +1’18”
5. Team Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij +1’33”
6. UAE Team Emirates +1’45”
7. Israel Cycling Academy 2’00”
8. Team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 2’15”
Hammer Chase start order – Group 1 (16:05 CET)
1. Team Sky
2. Team Sunweb +32”
3. Nippo-Vini Fantini +1’00”
3. Lotto Soudal +1’12”
4. Movistar Team +1’29”
5. Cannondale-Drapac +1’49”
6. ORICA-SCOTT +2’02”
7. Team LottoNL-Jumbo +2’16”
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