The first sprint stage yesterday saw a close one between two of the principal sprinters in the field in Guarnieri and Roelandts. It was an abject failure for Lo Cicero and he probably will not like the finale today with a 4th cat climb crested just 11km from the finish that said following the descent it is pan flat for the finish.
It's a calm day in the pack with little wind and little attacks early on. But five riders do get away before the first sprint.
Delgerbayer, Jang, Gate, Nel and Van Leijen make up the break with Delgerbayer the best place in GC some 57 seconds back.
Gate takes the first sprint ahead of Jang and Nel.
No real chance of this break succeeding with Vespa hungry for a repeat and Armavia hungry to show last stage was a blip.
Same result again at sprint 2 with Gate taking it from Jang with Nel in third.
The break are working hard in the second half of the race and remarkably still have 1.40 with 20km to go, though should at least get to the last sprint and possibly the last mountain prime.
Gate again takes the hotspot sprint over Nel and Jang.
Gate is on an absolute stormer here and takes the 4th category climb.
Unfortunate for him it’s the only climb of the day as he has been strong, Nel takes second and Jang third meaning Van Leijen and Delgerbayar have gained little but exposure in today's break.
Bouygues now help with the chase as we enter the last 10kms with the gap now down to about 30 seconds.
They catch Gate with 4km to go and each of the big three teams set up a sprint train.
Happily for Armavia Lo Cicero has made it over that 4th cat okay, unhappily they just have one lead out in Matzka, Andriato doesn't mind though and tags this one.
Manan and Manarelli decide to back yesterdays stage winner Guarnieri as they follow the promising chain of Ascani and Richeze.
Roelandts meanwhile has set up his own train with Jacobs and Weylandt. The Bouygues train has rather a long tail!
Bazajev, Crespo, Zabel, Baumann, and Bouhanni, Lorenzetto and Nishitani are on the back of this.
First men peel off.
Yes this means with 2km to go Lo Cicero is sprinting flat out already.
1400m to go and Richeze has to peel off as Lo Cicero goes past.
Lo Cicero goes under the kite in the lead.
Andriato has had a good ride here, meanwhile Roelandts has remained calm, Crespo has made a move but looks like he is going up a cul-de-sac.
750m left.
All together now... Lo Cicero fades...
Guarnieri is struggling to hit the afterburners as Roelandts is now hitting top speed. Bazajev and Zabel are following with Cadbury duo Torckler and Murray joining the fun. Manan and Manarelli look spent as Bouhanni and Lorenzetto are coming across the road to look for space.
500m
Roelandts eases past Guarnieri, Bazajev would appear to be his main danger now, with Andriato on the other side of the track unable to find a super speed.
250m left.
Bazajev draws level with Guarnieri, Zabel looks to challenge for a podium.
Bazajev just cannot make a move on the Belgian.
Fairly straight forward win for Roelandts.
Bazajev 2nd, Zabel 3rd, Guarnieri 4th with Lorenzetto 5th, Manarelli 6th, Torckler 7th, Crespo 8th, Nishitani 9th and Baumann 10th. Lo Cicero again fails to make the top ten!
The win brings Roelandts to within 17 seconds of Larsson’s leaders jersey.
Stage results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Jurgen Roelandts
Bouygues Telecom
4h29'33
2
Assan Bazajev
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
3
Rick Zabel
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
4
Jacopo Guarnieri
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
s.t.
5
Mirko Lorenzetto
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
6
Carlos Alexandre Manarelli
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
7
Michael Torckler
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
8
Marcos Crespo
Vattenfall Cycling
s.t.
9
Taiji Nishitani
Meiji - Cannondale
s.t.
10
Eric Baumann
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
11
Rafael Andriato
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
12
Ivano Lo Cicero
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
13
Thomas Murray
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
14
Nacer Bouhanni
Meiji - Cannondale
s.t.
15
Wouter Weylandt
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
16
Mauro Richeze
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
s.t.
17
Anuar Manan
Meiji - Cannondale
s.t.
18
Adrien Niyonshuti
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
19
Evgeni Popov
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
20
Meiyin Wang
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
21
Johann Rabie
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
22
Adrien Petit
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
23
Kin-San Wu
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
24
Gustav Larsson
Vattenfall Cycling
s.t.
25
Tony Martin
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
26
Pieter Jacobs
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
27
Suk-Young Choi
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
28
Dimitri Jiriakov
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
29
Nino Schurter
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
30
Maxim Iglinski
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
31
Vassilis Adamou
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
32
Daniele Di Nucci
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
33
Stefano Locatelli
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
34
Luca Ascani
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
s.t.
35
Hossein Alizadeh
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
36
Simon Gerrans
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
37
Ralf Matzka
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
38
Andriy Khripta
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
39
Louis Meintjes
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
40
Aleksandr Bespalov
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
41
David Garbelli
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
s.t.
42
Yousef Mirza Banihammad
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
43
Mauricio Soler
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
44
Carlos Castaño
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
45
Michael Rodriguez Galindo
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
46
Danilo Di Luca
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
47
Moris Possoni
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
48
Benedikt Mundle
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
49
Chen Shikai
Meiji - Cannondale
s.t.
50
Jianhua Ji
Meiji - Cannondale
s.t.
51
Nicolas Brolin
Vattenfall Cycling
s.t.
52
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
53
Pablo Andres Alarcon
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
54
Amir Mustafa Rusli
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
55
Ben King
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
56
Marco Osella
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
57
Simon Galle
Vattenfall Cycling
s.t.
58
Gyung Gu Jang
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
59
Mikhel Ronimois
Vattenfall Cycling
s.t.
60
Yeison Delgado
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
61
Heiko Redecker
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
62
Hugues Mottin
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
63
Andrea Dal Col
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
s.t.
64
Clément Lhotellerie
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
65
Roberto Ferrari
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
66
Tom David
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
67
Blaise Sonnery
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
68
Simon Yates
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
69
Aaron Gate
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
70
Adam Petrie-Armstrong
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
s.t.
71
Stefan Kung
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
72
Simone Masciarelli
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
73
Florian Scheit
Vattenfall Cycling
s.t.
74
Kenji Itami
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
75
Gabriele Bosisio
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
s.t.
76
Oleksandr Lobov
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
77
Aleksei Bauer
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
78
Chun Kai Feng
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
79
Kristoffer Skjerping
Vattenfall Cycling
s.t.
80
Johannes Christofel Nel
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
81
Geert Van der Sanden
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
82
Xavier Quevedo
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
83
Michael Schwarzmann
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
84
Hossein Nateghi
Meiji - Cannondale
s.t.
85
Dylan Groenewegen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
86
Dennis Van Niekerk
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
87
Edward King
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
88
Matteo Priamo
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
89
James Oram
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
90
Giacomo Scarponi
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
91
Sam Harrison
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
92
Maxime Daniel
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
93
Joshua Edmondson
Meiji - Cannondale
s.t.
94
Daniel Schorn
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
95
José Serpa
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
96
Vadim Ratiy
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
97
Fabio Aru
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
98
Daniel Vesely
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
99
Alex Ardila Cano
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
100
Daniel Ricardo Diaz
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
101
Tom Scully
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
102
Aleksandr Dyachenko
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
103
Georg Preidler
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
104
Jean-Christophe Peraud
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
105
Adrian Laidler
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
106
Nariyuki Masuda
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
107
Fernando Briceno
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
108
Javier Joaquin Navarro
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
109
Roman Kilun
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
110
Craig Lewis
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
111
Denis Vorontsov
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
112
Karel Hnik
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
113
Phan Age Haugard
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
114
Michael Hepburn
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
115
Sonomtseren Delgerbayar
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
116
Josh Atkins
Cisco Cycling Team
s.t.
117
Joost Van Leijen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
118
Romain Bardet
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
119
Victor Shishelov
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
120
Oscar Freire
Control Team
+ 14'03
121
Angel Vicioso
Control Team
s.t.
122
Óscar Pereiro Sio
Control Team
s.t.
123
Iban Mayo
Control Team
s.t.
124
Francisco Mancebo
Control Team
s.t.
125
Haimar Zubeldia
Control Team
s.t.
GC
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Gustav Larsson
Vattenfall Cycling
8h35'33
2
Tony Martin
Bouygues Telecom
+ 3
3
Hugues Mottin
Bouygues Telecom
+ 9
4
Jurgen Roelandts
Bouygues Telecom
+ 17
5
Jean-Christophe Peraud
Oz Cycling Project
+ 21
6
Luca Ascani
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
+ 24
7
Adrian Laidler
Oz Cycling Project
+ 30
8
Aleksandr Bespalov
LukOil-Rostelekom
+ 34
9
Assan Bazajev
ING Cycling - Project
+ 36
10
Johann Rabie
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
11
Carlos Castaño
ING Cycling - Project
+ 37
12
Vadim Ratiy
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
13
Phan Age Haugard
VolksWagen-Mapei
+ 38
14
Maxim Iglinski
LukOil-Rostelekom
+ 40
15
Vassilis Adamou
PFG-Armavia
+ 41
16
David Garbelli
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
+ 43
17
Roman Kilun
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
18
Chen Shikai
Meiji - Cannondale
+ 44
19
Craig Lewis
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 46
20
Jianhua Ji
Meiji - Cannondale
+ 49
21
José Serpa
Evian-MIAT
+ 50
22
Andrea Dal Col
Vespa-Aprilia Racing
+ 51
23
Alex Ardila Cano
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
24
Simon Yates
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
+ 53
25
Aleksandr Dyachenko
Cisco Cycling Team
+ 54
26
Michael Hepburn
Cisco Cycling Team
+ 55
27
Fernando Briceno
Repsol-Cativen
s.t.
28
Sam Harrison
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
+ 56
29
Yousef Mirza Banihammad
PFG-Armavia
+ 57
30
Sonomtseren Delgerbayar
Oz Cycling Project
s.t.
31
Dimitri Jiriakov
Sauber Petronas Racing
+ 58
32
James Oram
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
33
Matteo Priamo
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 1'00
34
Daniel Schorn
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
35
Daniel Ricardo Diaz
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
36
Pablo Andres Alarcon
PFG-Armavia
+ 1'01
37
Marco Osella
Cisco Cycling Team
+ 1'03
38
Clément Lhotellerie
Bouygues Telecom
+ 1'04
39
Yeison Delgado
VolksWagen-Mapei
s.t.
40
Rafael Andriato
Repsol-Cativen
+ 1'08
41
Louis Meintjes
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
42
Tom David
Team Cadbury - Schweppes
s.t.
43
Denis Vorontsov
LukOil-Rostelekom
s.t.
44
Danilo Di Luca
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
+ 1'09
45
Ben King
ING Cycling - Project
+ 1'10
46
Dennis Van Niekerk
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
47
Mirko Lorenzetto
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 1'12
48
Hossein Alizadeh
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
49
Joost Van Leijen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
50
Michael Rodriguez Galindo
Repsol-Cativen
+ 1'13
Points
A super day all round for Roelandts who takes the points lead away from Guarnieri, Bazajev perhaps will be a challenger in this too with two decent finishes so far.
