Phinney Keeps Lead At Eneco Tour

Sint Willebrord, The Netherlands

Phinney Keeps Lead At Eneco Tour

Taylor Phinney stayed safe Tuesday on a crash-filled Stage 1 at the Eneco Tour of Benelux to keep his overall lead for the BMC Racing Team.

Thankful For Teamwork

Phinney avoided several pile-ups, including a large one in the middle of the field with one kilometer to go in the 192.1 km stage. The former U.S. national time trial champion even led out the sprint, finishing seventh to stage winner André Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto). "I was feeling good at the end," Phinney said. "Rabobank made a big push to try and split the field and I was right up there with great help from Greg Van Avermaet and Karsten Kroon in the final. We had (Michael) Schär, (Johann) Tschopp and (Simon) Zahner on the front all day. And Steve Morabito and Yannick Eijssen also did great work. I'm really thankful to them for all their help today." Assistant Director Rik Verbrugghe said the BMC Racing Team was strong in helping pull back a breakaway that gained a more than four minutes' lead. "The guys did a good job to close the gap, along with Garmin-Cervélo and Sky," Verbrugghe said. "It was really dangerous with the roads today but we kept Taylor safe and that was 
most important."