2006 Eneco Tour

The 2006 Eneco Tour road cycling race took place from 16 to 23 August, two weeks later in the season than the year before. The second edition of the Eneco Tour covered parts of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. As in 2005, 23 teams took part in the race. Next to the 20 UCI ProTour teams, Chocolade Jacques–Topsport Vlaanderen, Skil–Shimano and Unibet.com received wild card entries.

The race itself was very close, as both the prologue (6 km) and timetrial (16 km) were quite short which led to small time differences. A dramatic conclusion on the last day rendered Stefan Schumacher the victory over George Hincapie, with just one second of advantage. Other riders who stood out during this race were the Belgians Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert, who both won in their home region. Other wins came from Manuel Quinziato and David Kopp.

Schedule

Stage Route Distance Date Winner
P Den Helder Netherlands Den Helder Netherlands 6.1 km Wednesday 16 August  Stefan Schumacher (GER)
1 Wieringerwerf Netherlands Hoogeveen Netherlands 176.9 km Thursday 17 August  Tom Boonen (BEL)
2 's-Hertogenbosch Netherlands Sittard-Geleen Netherlands 194.6 km Friday 18 August  Manuel Quinziato (ITA)
3 Beek Netherlands Westmalle Belgium 185 km Saturday 19 August  Tom Boonen (BEL)
4 (ITT) Landgraaf Netherlands Landgraaf Netherlands 16.1 km Sunday 20 August  George Hincapie (USA)
5 Hasselt Belgium Balen Belgium 181.7 km Monday 21 August  Tom Boonen (BEL)
6 Bornem Belgium Sint-Truiden Belgium 211.7 km Tuesday 22 August  David Kopp (GER)
7 Ans Belgium Ans Belgium 199.7 km Wednesday 23 August  Philippe Gilbert (BEL)

Stages

16-08-2006: Den Helder, 6.1 km. (ITT)

Prologue Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 7' 00"
2  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 1"
3  Joost Posthuma (NED) Rabobank 1"
General classification after Prologue
Cyclist Team Time
1  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 7' 00"
2  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 1"
3  Joost Posthuma (NED) RAB 1"

17-08-2006: Wieringerwerf-Hoogeveen, 176.9 km.

Stage 1 Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 4h 12' 52"
2  Simone Cadamuro (ITA) Team Milram s.t.
3  Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Liquigas s.t.
General classification after Stage 1
Cyclist Team Time
1  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 4h 19' 47"
2  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 4"
3  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 7"

18-08-2006: 's-Hertogenbosch-Sittard Geleen, 194.6 km.

Stage 2 Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  Manuel Quinziato (ITA) Liquigas 4h 46' 43"
2  Simone Cadamuro (ITA) Team Milram 4"
3  Wouter Weylandt (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 4"
General classification after Stage 2
Cyclist Team Time
1  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 9h 06' 34"
2  Manuel Quinziato (ITA) Liquigas 1"
3  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 3"

19-08-2006: Beek-Westmalle, 185 km.

Stage 3 Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 4h 50' 00"
2  Max van Heeswijk (NED) Discovery Channel s.t.
3  Baden Cooke (AUS) Unibet.com s.t.
General classification after Stage 3
Cyclist Team Time
1  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 13h 12' 20"
2  Manuel Quinziato (ITA) Liquigas 11"
3  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 13"

20-08-2006: Landgraaf, 16.1 km. (ITT)

Stage 4 Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 19' 58"
2  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas s.t.
3  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 7"
General classification after Stage 4
Cyclist Team Time
1  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 13h 32' 35"
2  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 3"
3  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 11"

21-08-2006: Hasselt-Balen, 183.1 km.

Stage 5 Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 3h 52' 20"
2  Julian Dean (NZL) Crédit Agricole s.t.
3  Simone Cadamuro (ITA) Team Milram s.t.
General classification after Stage 5
Cyclist Team Time
1  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 17h 24' 55"
2  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 3"
3  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 11"

22-08-2006: Bornem-Sint Truiden, 213.9 km.

Stage 6 Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  David Kopp (GER) Gerolsteiner 4h 50' 43"
2  Marco Zanotti (ITA) Unibet.com s.t.
3  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux s.t.
General classification after Stage 6
Cyclist Team Time
1  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 22h 15' 38"
2  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 3"
3  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 11"

23-08-2006: Ans-Ans, 201.2 km.

In the last final meters, Stefan Schumacher got hit by an arm from a supporter and as a result made an awkward move away from the supporters to the middle of the road, which resulted in George Hincapie falling down. Before the move it looked like Schumacher was going to become second and Hincapie third, which would make Hincapie the winner with an advantage of 1 second. Since Hincapie crashed he did not take any bonus seconds for ending in the top three and because Schumacher managed to restart his sprint and end third he took 4 bonus seconds and so won by 1 second. The jury took about twenty minutes deciding if Schumacher should be removed to the back of the peloton but in the end they concluded that Schumacher did not make the move on purpose and thus Schumacher won the Eneco Tour 2006. Some reactions:

  • Dirk Demol, sports director of Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team: "If you look at the replay, you can clearly see that George Hincapie was surely going to end in second or third place. Even if he was going to be beaten by Schumacher in the sprint and end third, he would still be first in the overall standings. Surely we will issue a complaint."
  • Stefan Schumacher: "I'm not happy right now, it's a shame it has to end this way. For my career it's a big step, because it's my biggest win so far, but still I'm not happy right now.
  • Croatian jury president Bruno Valcic: "It was a tough decision for us, but Schumacher clearly got hit by a supporter and surely did not bring George Hincapie down on purpose."
Stage 7 Result
Cyclist Team Time
1  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 5h 05' 16"
2  Manuele Mori (ITA) Saunier Duval–Prodir 2"
3  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 2"
General classification after Stage 7
Cyclist Team Time
1  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 27h 20' 55"
2  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 1"
3  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 12"

General classification

The leader of the general classification (ENECO Energie leiderstrui) wears a red jersey.

Cyclist Team Time
1  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 27h 20' 55"
2  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 1"
3  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 12"
4  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 17"
5  Manuel Quinziato (ITA) Liquigas 32"
6  Joost Posthuma (NED) Rabobank 35"
7  Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP) Rabobank 52"
8  Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre–Fondital 53"
9  Thomas Dekker (NED) Rabobank 55"
10  Steffen Wesemann (SUI) T-Mobile Team 56"

KOM Classification

There was no King Of the Mountains jersey this year. Instead, during some of the climbs bonus seconds were handed out in stages 6 and 7.

Points Classification

The leader of the points classification (Lotto Puntenklassement) wears a white jersey.

Cyclist Team Points
1  Simone Cadamuro (ITA) Team Milram 91
2  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 90
3  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 59
4  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 57
5  Julian Dean (NZL) Crédit Agricole 56
=6  Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre–Fondital 54
=6  Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Liquigas 54
=6  Wouter Weylandt (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 54
9  Fabrizio Guidi (ITA) Phonak 52
10  Bert Roesems (BEL) Davitamon–Lotto 48

Best Young Rider

The leader of the Best Young Rider Classification (Topsport Vlaanderen jongerenklassement) wears a yellow jersey.

Cyclist Team Points
1  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 27h 20' 55"
2  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 12"
3  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 17"

Best Team

Team Time
1 Liquigas 82h 04' 56"
2 Rabobank 11"
3 Discovery Channel 29"

Jersey progress

Stage
(Winner)
General classification
Points Classification
Young Rider Classification
Team Classification
0Prologue (ITT)
(Stefan Schumacher)
Stefan Schumacher no award Stefan Schumacher Discovery Channel
0Stage 1
(Tom Boonen)
Tom Boonen Tom Boonen Quick-Step–Innergetic
0Stage 2
(Manuel Quinziato)
Simone Cadamuro
0Stage 3
(Tom Boonen)
0Stage 4 (ITT)
(George Hincapie)
George Hincapie Discovery Channel
0Stage 5
(Tom Boonen)
0Stage 6
(David Kopp)
0Stage 7
(Philippe Gilbert)
Stefan Schumacher Liquigas
Final Stefan Schumacher Simone Cadamuro Stefan Schumacher Liquigas

UCI ProTour Points

The Eneco Tour 2006 is part of the UCI ProTour and so the riders can earn UCI ProTour Points. Below is states which riders won points and where. Because the Eneco Tour 2006 is a smaller stage race the points given are 3, 2 and 1 for the first three in each stage result. At the end of the tour, the top 10 in the standings receive points accorded as follows: 50, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 and 2.

Cyclist Team Points
1  Stefan Schumacher (GER) Gerolsteiner 55
2  George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel 45
3  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas 37
4  Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 34
5  Manuel Quinziato (ITA) Liquigas 28
6  Joost Posthuma (NED) Rabobank 21
7  Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP) Rabobank 15
8  Alessandro Ballan (ITA) Lampre–Fondital 10
9  Tom Boonen (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 9
=10  Simone Cadamuro (ITA) Team Milram 5
=10  Thomas Dekker (NED) Rabobank 5
12  David Kopp (GER) Gerolsteiner 3
=13  Julian Dean (NZL) Crédit Agricole 2
=13  Max van Heeswijk (NED) Discovery Channel 2
=13  Manuele Mori (ITA) Saunier Duval–Prodir 2
=13  Steffen Wesemann (SUI) T-Mobile Team 2
=17  Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Liquigas 1
=17  Wouter Weylandt (BEL) Quick-Step–Innergetic 1
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