Renewi Tour 2023

The sprinters and one-day specialists head to Belgium and the Netherlands for some Classics-style racing in August

The Renewi Tour peloton on the Muur van Geraardsbergen in 2021

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Renewi Tour

Dates 23 Aug - 27 Aug
Race Length 734 kms
Race Category Elite Men

Updated: August 21, 2023

Renewi Tour 2023 overview

The Renewi Tour - formerly known as the Eneco Tour, BinckBank Tour and Benelux Tour - is a stage race that’s made for Classics specialists and sprinters. Taking place around the Netherlands and Belgium from August 23 to 27, the five-day race covers much of the Flemish terrain we’re more used to seeing during the spring than in August.

With most of the stages either fairly flat or punchy, this WorldTour race usually attracts the Classics-type riders and gives them the perfect opportunity for some end-of-summer success, whilst their more climbing-focused counterparts head off to the Vuelta a España.

There are some big names in attendance at this year's race, including Tour de France stage-winning sprinter Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), former race victor Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), and retiring home hero Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën).

Renewi Tour 2023 key information

All the important details you need to know about this year's Renewi Tour.

Dates: August 23-27, 2023

Country: Belgium and the Netherlands

Category: 2.UWT (WorldTour)

Editions: 17 (as of 2022)

First winner: Bobby Julich

Most recent winner: Sonny Colbrelli

Renewi Tour 2023 route

This year's Renewi Tour is down from seven stages to five, but still features a varied and exciting route. There are flat sprint days, an individual time trial, and a punchy day to the Muur van Geraardsbergen for the Classics specialists.

Renewi Tour 2023 route map

Renewi Tour 2023 contenders

Despite clashing with the Vuelta a España, the start list has attracted some big names from around the peloton, with a mixture of sprinters and Classics specialists ready to battle it out for stages and the overall.

Among the sprinters' contingent, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will be a big favourite, but there are plenty of names to challenge him. Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) beat Philipsen on the final stage of the Tour de France, whilst Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) has been showing his strength this season, as have Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny). More experienced riders Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa Samsic) will also be hoping for a win as they skip the final Grand Tour of the season.

When it comes to the overall, the inclusion of a time trial and the Muur van Geraardsbergen means that doing well in the sprints likely won't be enough to win the general classification. The list of overall contenders is quite open - there isn't one obvious favourite - but the likes of 2018 winner and 2021 runner-up Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) are all riders who could go for the win here.

Renewi Tour 2023 teams

Eighteen WorldTour teams and four ProTeams will take part in this year's Renewi Tour.

Alpecin-Deceuninck
Jumbo-Visma
Soudal Quick-Step
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
Bahrain Victorious
AG2R Citroën
Bora-Hansgrohe
Lidl-Trek
EF Education-EasyPost
Ineos Grenadiers
UAE Team Emirates
Cofidis
Groupama-FDJ
Movistar
Arkéa Samsic
dsm-firmenich
Astana Qazaqstan
Jayco AlUla
Lotto Dstny
Israel-Premier Tech
Flanders-Baloise
Bingoal WB

What happened in the 2022 Renewi Tour?

The 2022 edition of the Renewi Tour, then called the Benelux Tour, was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts on the men's racing calendar.

The last edition of the race was in 2021, when Sonny Colbrelli won after pulling off a solo move on the penultimate stage, earning enough time to secure the overall victory, despite Matej Mohorič winning the often-decisive Muur van Geraardsbergen stage.

Renewi Tour race history

The Renewi Tour was formerly known as the Eneco Tour up until 2017 and the acquisition of a new sponsor, BinckBank. It carried this fresh moniker up until this year when the title sponsors pulled out and the name was changed to the Benelux Tour, reflecting the region the race takes place in.

While the race has built a reputation for being one of the most exciting stage races on the calendar, it hasn’t always been that way. The race as we know it now has been around since 2005, but existed in a slightly different guise before that.

The original race was born from the dying embers of the Tour of the Netherlands in 2000, a very long-running race that had become so unpopular and predictable that it lost a lot of its sponsorship. In 2005 the new and reinvigorated Eneco Tour emerged with a series of Classics-esque stages all around the Benelux region.

Since then the race has followed a format of between five and seven stages, usually featuring a mid-week time trial, as well as a hilly day featuring the Muur van Geraardsbergen in Flanders. It’s these two stages that typically determine the overall winner of the race, but we have also seen several editions blown apart by the crosswinds that ravage the stages along the coastlines of northern Belgium and the Netherlands.

Over the race’s 17 editions, the overall wins have largely been spread out amongst the big cycling nations, with Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium all taking multiple victories. It’s the Netherlands that leads the way on four wins however, with the likes of Lars Boom (2012), Niki Terpstra (2016), Tom Dumoulin (2017) and Mathieu van der Poel (2020) all taking an overall title for their home nation.

In the last few years, the race has seen a number of different types of rider win, from Grand Tour specialists like Tom Dumoulin (2017) to super-domestiques like Laurens De Plus (2019).

Explore the tabs above to find out more about the route and start list of this year's race, as well as the stage results and standings.