The course of the 2010 edition of the Eneco Tour has been announced; presenting a course, which organisers hope, will offer something for everyone. "The course of this year provides an exciting race,” said race director Rob Discart, “but it is obviously the riders that make the race. The course meets with the conditions we impose on ourselves every year in all respects: the stages are divided evenly between the Netherlands and Belgium and offer stages for the sprinters, riders who are racing for the overall and experts in the time trial.”
After a 5km prologue in Steenwijk, Netherlands, the race heads west to Belgium, where stage 3 around Ronse will take in parts of the Ronde van Vlaanderen; the course will then head back into the Netherlands and the Limburg region that plays host to the Amstel Gold Race. From there, the race will head back into Belgium to finish with a 16.5km time trial in Genk, where organisers will hope to see the race go down to the wire.
“The course is also constructed so that this edition of the Eneco Tour will remain undecided until the end,” continued Discart. “The fact that we succeeded is thanks to various cities and towns on the race, who honour the most beautiful landscapes of cycling flatlands and demonstrate how the Eneco Tour wins the hearts of lovers of cycling."
2010 Eneco Tour stages:
Monday 16 August – Team Presentation in Steenwijk, Netherlands
Tuesday 17 August – Prologue Steenwijk (Ned) 5km
Wednesday 18 August – Stage 1 Steenwijk (Ned) – Rhenen (Ned) 177km
Thursday 19 August – Stage 2 Rucphen (Ned) – Ardooie (Bel) 210km
Friday 20 August – Stage 3 Ronse (Bel) – Ronse (Bel) 187km
Saturday 21 August – Stage 4 St-Lievens-Houtem (Bel) – Roermond (Ned) 212km
Sunday 22 August – Stage 5 Roermond (Ned) – Sittard (Ned) 208km
Monday 23 August – Stage 6 Bilzen (Bel) – Heers (Bel) 205km
Tuesday 24 August – Stage 7 Genk (Bel) – Genk (Bel) ITT 16,5km