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Starting in the first hour of racing at the Eneco Tour on Friday proved to be just the ticket for Team RadioShack’s Jesse Sergent who stormed the 14.7km/9.1mi course in Roermond, Netherlands to take his third win of the season.  Sergent (23) rode the technical course in mostly dry conditions to post an early time to beat that held up throughout the stage.  An untimely flat yesterday was bad luck for Jesse Sergent, knocking him out of contention for the overall,  but the New Zealand native channeled his forces to turn things around in Friday’s individual time trial.  

“I did not expect this at all,” said Jesse Sergent after his stage victory.  “After my 7th place in the opening prologue, my confidence was up and I was hoping for a top 5 today.  But my back luck of yesterday became my good luck today. I only had 2K on wet roads.”

Sergent’s win marks the 24th victory this season for Team RadioShack.  In addition, Team RadioShack lead in the Teams competition for the general classification and team rider Ben Hermans holds the ninth spot on the overall.  The race lead is currently held by Norwegian Edvald Boaddon Hagen of Team Sky.  Racing continues through Sunday.  

Team Director Dirk Demol evaluated Sergent’s performance, saying, “Jesse did an almost perfect TT.  He was faster than specialists like Alex Rasmussen who did his TT in the same circumstances as Jesse.  I think he only misjudged the final corner – he was going so fast.” Sergent averaged  49.2 km/h (30.6 mi/h). 

“It’s hard for me to say what kind of time trial I prefer,” continued Sergent. “I was excellent (2nd) in the Tour of Austria on a 30 K flat course without corners.  But today was very technical and I won, so I don’t know.”

While no stranger to the bike, this is Jesse’s  first year as a professional road cyclist.  In the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Sergent won the bronze medal as part of the New Zealand team in team pursuit. Later that year he signed with Trek-Livestrong for the 2009 and 2010 cycling seasons.  In August of 2010 Sergent became a stagiere for Team RadioShack and signed his first professional contract for the 2011 season. Earlier this year Sergent won the Prologue in Three Days of West Flanders as well as the overall classification. 

“Jesse comes from the track,” said Dirk Demol.  “We take care to not burn him out.  Even in 2010 with Trek-Livestrong he didn’t do too many road races.  This year after a strong spring season, along with a silver medal in the men’s individual pursuit at the Track World Championships in March, he took a break after Paris-Roubaix.  He then came back to racing in Luxemburg and Wallonie.”  

“Eneco was my first goal for part-two of my season.  I feel good for the upcoming races.  I’ll race at Poitou-Charentes and Plouay,” Sergent said, referring to one-day races in France and Belgium.  “Then hopefully the world championships in Copenhagen, too.”

Top Ten Results:
1 Jesse Sergent (Team RadioShack)  0:17:55;  2 Alex Rasmussen 00:14;  3 Jurgen Roelandts 00:20;  4 Vladimir Isaichev 00:27;  5 Lars Boom:  6 Jens Mouris 00:30;  7 Maarten Tjalingii;  8 Taylor Phinney;  9 Edvald Boasson Hagen 00:32;  10 Bert Grabsch 00:34
General Classification after stage 4:
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen 14:49:06;  2 Philippe Gilbert 00:12;  3 David Millar 00:18;  4 Taylor Phinney 00:27;  5 Jos van Emden 00:47;  6 Joost van Leijen 00:54;  7 Dominique Cornu 00:57;  8 Dries Devenyns 00:58;  9 Ben Hermans (Team RadioShack) 00:59;  10 Linus Gerdemann 01:23

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Taylor Phinney of the BMC Racing Team overcame rain-slickened course conditions in Friday's individual time trial to move into fourth overall with two days remaining in the Eneco Tour of Benelux.

Didn't Take Many Risks
Phinney was fastest of all the general classification contenders on the 14.7-kilometer course, but couldn't match times set by riders who enjoyed dry conditions. Jesse Sergent (Team Radioshack) won with a time 30 seconds faster than Phinney, who was eighth on the day. "It was pretty wet when I started and ended up clearing a bit, but the road were definitely wet," Phinney said. "I managed to stay upright, which was good, and I didn't take too many risks. I'm happy for Jesse. He's one of the best up-and-coming time trialists in the world." BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Rik Verbrugghe said the rapidly drying course was good for Phinney, but even better for the riders starting after him. "If he has the same conditions as the top guys, I think Taylor moves into the top two," Verbrugghe said. With ninth place on the day, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Pro Cycling) replaced Philippe Gilbert as race leader.

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Eneco Tour, Stage 2: Phinney Keeps The Lead

BMC Racing Team's Taylor Phinney finished sixth Wednesday to retain his lead at the Eneco Tour of Benelux, but his advantage over second place was cut from seven to three seconds. 

Tougher Stage Awaits
André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) won his second straight stage but Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Pro Cycling) finished third in the 173.7 kilometer race to take a four-second time bonus. "It was a really nervous day, but the team took really good care of me," Phinney said. "I was hoping to pay them back at the finish with a top five or top three placing. Unfortunately, I conceded some time, which was not part of the plan, but the team is really strong. I'm confident in my legs and looking forward to tomorrow." BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Fabio Baldato said Thursday's 191.2 km undulating stage will be Phinney's greatest test since he took the lead with a win in the prologue. "Tomorrow will be much more difficult," Baldato said. "We hope Taylor keeps riding well and receiving good teamwork to keep the lead."