Back to the flat then for five straight forward stages that could and should end in sprints. This stage is long though, and there is some undulation.
207 km to go: An early breakaway consisting of I.Kovalev (RVL), Hagg (TNE), Day (UHC), Peron (TNN), Reimer (MTN) and Talabardon (SOJ) try to get away at the start. At first it looked good for them.
202 km: But they were soon joined by Delfosse (CRE), Cornu (TSV), Gerard (BSE) and King (RLT), which is far too many for the peloton and the sprinters' teams begin to bring them back.
194 km: Despite putting up some fierce resistance, the group of ten are reeled back in and accept defeat. OGE and BAR doing most of the work.
168 km: After a lot of battling to get a breakaway established, a group of seven succeeds. They are Amorison (CRE), King (RLT), De Maar (UHC), Valencia (COL), Jacobs (TSV), Gerard (BSE) and Reimer (MTN). The highest placed rider is De Maar, who is 36th at 9'51".
153 km: Valencia takes the first sprint but as you would expect, there is no battle for it. Gerard second and King third. The peloton is already 6'30 behind and there is nobody on the front at the moment.
116 km: Second sprint. King, Amorison, Reimer is the order they roll through. The peloton is currently 9'30 back.
111 km: As the escapees hit the first KoM sprint of the day, there is activity. Gerard, who has some points already goes on the attack to claim maximum points, ahead of Valencia and King. Incredibly, the peloton has just completely stopped riding and are now 11'30 behind, which makes De Maar the virtual leader!
90 km: There is absolutely no interest in the peloton today. Maybe the sprinters are too tired from yesterday's hard climb but whatever the reason, the escapees are now 15 minutes ahead! There's no way they will be caught today.
80 km: Amorison beats Gerard to the KoM points this time, with King in third again. It's all futile though as Spilak is mathematically confirmed as the winner of the KoM competition here. The peloton is now 14'30 behind.
76 km: Third sprint, the order is King, Valencia, Reimer. There is some activity at the head of the bunch, but they're not really making any headway, gap at 13'50.
59 km: At the third categorised climb of the day, Amorison beats Gerard in a close sprint. Someone should tell them that it's pointless. Valencia comes over third. As you can see from the image, the peloton have once again completely stopped riding, Spilak coming over the top at the front in his yellow jersey. The gap is now a whopping 16'40!! What are Katusha doing??
20 km: Nothing else happens until the 20km banner as Valencia and King go on the attack, but surely way too early. Behind them, the sprinters' teams have finally come to the front but it's all much too late. The gap is 14 minutes and De Maar is still easily the virtual leader.
10 km: King and Valencia are working really well together and they still have fifteen seconds on the other escapees but they will really struggle to hang on with still so long to go. Peloton are motoring now but are 12 minutes back.
4 km: As the lead duo are caught by the chasers, King gives it one last go but this time De Maar follows him and the Curaçaoan just rides straight past him. And that's the end of that for King, his day is done but a brave effort nonetheless.
2 km: De Maar still leads with Gerard going early and coming quickly from behind. The others may have left it too late to catch the UHC man.
1 km to go: As you can see, everyone is spread out across the road. There is no cohesion which is perfect for De Maar. Gerard has run out of steam and Jacobs is the only one that seems to be making any progress but surely he's too far back?
FINISH: Sure enough, it's a win for De Maar and for Curaçao, he played that magnificently. Tactically perfect. Jacobs does take second but if he had have followed Gerard, who knows what he might have achieved. Reimer takes third for MTN as Gerard faded. Now we just have to wait for the sprint for eighth and keep an eye on the clock.
Peloton FINISH: And, typically, Guardini easily wins the sprint when it doesn't matter. D.Van Poppel and Alinejad complete the top ten as Brookes struggled. The gap? 10'25. Which means that we have a new leader, Marc De Maar! Who predicted that? Katusha have had an absolute shocker. King and Jacobs also move into the top fifteen.
Result
1
Marc De Maar
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
4h39'02
2
Pieter Jacobs
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
3
Martin Reimer
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
4
Frédéric Amorison
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
5
Arnaud Gérard
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
6
Juan Pablo Valencia
Colombia
s.t.
7
Ben King
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
8
Andrea Guardini
Astana Pro Team
+ 10'25
9
Danny Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Naveed Alinejad
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Fabian Brookes
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
12
Andreas Stauff
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
13
Alexander Porsev
Katusha Team
s.t.
14
Tom Van Asbroeck
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
15
Jacopo Guarnieri
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
16
Bobbie Traksel
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
17
Aidis Kruopis
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
18
Boy Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
19
Evaldas Siskevicius
Sojasun
s.t.
20
Leonardo Duque
Colombia
s.t.
21
Dermot Walker
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
22
Maxime Vantomme
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
23
Francesco Reda
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
24
Franco Pellizotti
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
25
Allan Davis
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
26
Fabio Felline
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
27
Tom O'Callaghan
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
28
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
s.t.
29
Simon Clarke
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
30
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
31
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
s.t.
32
Juan Antonio Flecha
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
33
Pieter Weening
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
34
Robert Förster
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
35
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
36
Ruslan Tleubayev
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
37
John Darwin Atapuma
Colombia
s.t.
38
Leigh Howard
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
39
Philip Deignan
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
40
Esteban Chaves
Colombia
s.t.
41
Josef Hintermuller
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
42
Pierre-Luc Périchon
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
43
Alexander Serov
RusVelo
s.t.
44
Eduard Vorganov
Katusha Team
s.t.
45
Bob Jungels
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
46
Alessandro Vanotti
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
47
Filippo Baggio
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
48
Laurent Didier
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
49
George Bennett
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
50
Yannick Talabardon
Sojasun
s.t.
51
Adrien Niyonshuti
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
52
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
53
Francesco Bongiorno
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
54
Alberto Losada
Katusha Team
s.t.
55
Chad Beyer
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
56
Sergey Firsanov
RusVelo
s.t.
57
Firmansyah Sinaga
Sojasun
s.t.
58
José Mendes
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
59
Travis Jones
Sojasun
s.t.
60
Ivan Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
61
Mathieu Favre
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
62
Alexander Mironov
RusVelo
s.t.
63
Stefano Pirazzi
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
64
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
65
Evgeniy Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
66
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
67
Karl Menzies
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
68
Emanuele Sella
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
69
Ben Day
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
70
Ioannis Dimitriou
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
71
Heimdal Hagg
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
72
Jacobus Venter
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
73
Jean-Luc Delpech
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
74
Jonathan Clarke
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
75
Sven Vandousselaere
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
76
Freqalsi Debesay
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
77
Darren Lapthorne
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
78
Serguei Klimov
RusVelo
s.t.
79
Matthew Brammeier
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
80
Joeri Stallaert
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
81
Ralf Matzka
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
82
Floris Goesinnen
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
83
Pieter Vanspeybrouck
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
84
Jonathon McEvoy
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
85
Arthur Van Overberghe
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
86
Juan Pablo Suarez
Colombia
s.t.
87
Stijn Steels
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
88
Riccardo Chiarini
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
89
William Walker
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
90
Kurt Hovelynck
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
91
Dominique Cornu
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
92
Brice Feillu
Sojasun
s.t.
93
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
94
Alfredo Balloni
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
95
Johnnie Walker
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
96
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
97
Ryan Roth
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
98
Amir Rusli
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
99
Etienne Tortelier
Sojasun
s.t.
100
Craig Lewis
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
101
Sébastien Delfosse
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
102
Jay Thomson
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
103
Anton Vorobyev
Katusha Team
s.t.
104
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
Katusha Team
s.t.
105
David Lozano
Team Novo Nordisk
s.t.
106
Kevin De Mesmaeker
Team Novo Nordisk
s.t.
107
Javier Megías
Team Novo Nordisk
s.t.
108
Björn Leukemans
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
109
Adam Phelan
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
110
Fabio Calabria
Team Novo Nordisk
s.t.
111
Andrea Peron
Team Novo Nordisk
s.t.
112
Arman Kamyshev
Astana Pro Team
+ 12'59
113
Joe Eldridge
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 14'00
114
Zachary Bell
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 15'01
115
Tomás Gil
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
116
Christian Meier
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
GC
1
Marc De Maar
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
21h38'49
2
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
+ 54
3
Franco Pellizotti
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 1'09
4
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
+ 2'07
5
Josef Hintermuller
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 2'35
6
Travis Jones
Sojasun
s.t.
7
Janez Brajkovič
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'49
8
Pieter Weening
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 3'02
9
John Darwin Atapuma
Colombia
+ 4'15
10
Eduard Vorganov
Katusha Team
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Emanuele Sella
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
12
Esteban Chaves
Colombia
+ 4'36
13
Philip Deignan
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
14
Ben King
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 5'06
15
Pieter Jacobs
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
+ 5'08
16
Simon Clarke
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 5'11
17
José Mendes
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
18
Sergey Firsanov
RusVelo
s.t.
19
Mathieu Favre
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
20
Laurent Didier
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
21
Alfredo Balloni
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
22
George Bennett
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
23
Alberto Losada
Katusha Team
s.t.
24
Francesco Bongiorno
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
25
Firmansyah Sinaga
Sojasun
s.t.
26
Stefano Pirazzi
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
27
Ioannis Dimitriou
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
28
Francesco Reda
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 6'56
29
Alessandro Vanotti
Astana Pro Team
+ 7'12
30
Bob Jungels
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
31
Pierre-Luc Périchon
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
32
Riccardo Chiarini
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
33
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
34
Chad Beyer
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
35
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
36
Brice Feillu
Sojasun
s.t.
37
Juan Antonio Flecha
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 8'17
38
Arnaud Gérard
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 8'31
39
Martin Reimer
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 9'59
40
Craig Lewis
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 10'19
41
Fabio Felline
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 11'50
42
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
43
Juan Pablo Valencia
Colombia
s.t.
44
Yannick Talabardon
Sojasun
s.t.
45
Heimdal Hagg
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 12'14
46
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 12'18
47
Frédéric Amorison
Crelan - Euphony
+ 12'26
48
Ben Day
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 15'21
49
Alexander Mironov
RusVelo
+ 15'29
50
Björn Leukemans
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 15'31
51
Sven Vandousselaere
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
+ 15'45
52
Freqalsi Debesay
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
53
Juan Pablo Suarez
Colombia
+ 16'30
54
Tomás Gil
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 16'50
55
Leonardo Duque
Colombia
+ 17'38
56
Serguei Klimov
RusVelo
s.t.
57
Arman Kamyshev
Astana Pro Team
+ 18'19
58
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
Katusha Team
+ 18'43
59
Adrien Niyonshuti
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 18'52
60
Jacobus Venter
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 19'26
61
Ryan Roth
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 19'57
62
Jonathan Clarke
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 20'09
63
Pieter Vanspeybrouck
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
64
Dominique Cornu
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
65
Sébastien Delfosse
Crelan - Euphony
+ 20'28
66
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 21'13
67
Fabian Brookes
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
+ 22'23
68
Evaldas Siskevicius
Sojasun
+ 22'25
69
Alexander Porsev
Katusha Team
s.t.
70
Naveed Alinejad
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 22'43
71
Allan Davis
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 23'07
72
Tom O'Callaghan
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
73
Jacopo Guarnieri
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
74
Alexander Serov
RusVelo
s.t.
75
Ivan Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
76
Arthur Van Overberghe
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
77
Stijn Steels
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
78
David Lozano
Team Novo Nordisk
s.t.
79
Leigh Howard
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 24'24
80
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 24'44
81
Danny Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 24'46
82
Boy Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 24'48
83
Andrea Guardini
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
84
Filippo Baggio
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
+ 24'50
85
Aidis Kruopis
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 24'56
86
Karl Menzies
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
87
Jay Thomson
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
88
Javier Megías
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 26'18
89
Maxime Vantomme
Crelan - Euphony
+ 26'31
90
Bobbie Traksel
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
91
Anton Vorobyev
Katusha Team
s.t.
92
Jonathon McEvoy
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
93
Floris Goesinnen
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
94
Jean-Luc Delpech
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
95
Robert Förster
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 27'05
96
Andrea Peron
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 27'53
97
Kevin De Mesmaeker
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 28'08
98
Ralf Matzka
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 28'14
99
Fabio Calabria
Team Novo Nordisk
s.t.
100
Ruslan Tleubayev
Astana Pro Team
+ 29'24
101
William Walker
Drapac Cycling
+ 30'28
102
Amir Rusli
Drapac Cycling
+ 32'03
103
Dermot Walker
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 32'08
104
Evgeniy Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
105
Kurt Hovelynck
Crelan - Euphony
+ 32'14
106
Andreas Stauff
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 32'26
107
Tom Van Asbroeck
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
108
Matthew Brammeier
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
109
Joeri Stallaert
Crelan - Euphony
s.t.
110
Etienne Tortelier
Sojasun
+ 34'28
111
Adam Phelan
Drapac Cycling
+ 35'16
112
Darren Lapthorne
Drapac Cycling
+ 35'27
113
Christian Meier
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 43'10
114
Joe Eldridge
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 45'09
115
Johnnie Walker
Drapac Cycling
+ 47'17
116
Zachary Bell
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 54'25
Points
1
Fabian Brookes
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
71
2
Leigh Howard
Orica - GreenEdge
57
3
Naveed Alinejad
RadioShack - Leopard
56
4
Franco Pellizotti
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
49
5
Danny Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
48
6
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
41
7
Andrea Guardini
Astana Pro Team
41
8
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
36
9
Frédéric Amorison
Crelan - Euphony
30
10
Boy Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
28
KoM
1
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
36
2
Arnaud Gérard
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
24
3
Frédéric Amorison
Crelan - Euphony
24
4
Jacobus Venter
MTN - Qhubeka
22
5
Alberto Losada
Katusha Team
20
Spoiler
*Has anyone worked out the flag code for Curacao yet?*
What!!!!!! That's just weird. Uhh Brookes wasn't trying, that's why he was third, uh yeah, he would have won, ummm, if there wasn't a break, yeah...
PCM logic, !
Hey, I think, no idea what we were implying.
Not sure why anyone would trust us to chase, basically we are just a load of amateur Italians with two decent foreigners and a half good sprinter with a girls name! Kidding, though, seriously, our team is awful.
The Hobbit wrote:
Hey, I think, no idea what we were implying.
Not sure why anyone would trust us to chase, basically we are just a load of amateur Italians with two decent foreigners and a half good sprinter with a girls name! Kidding, though, seriously, our team is awful.
So you used all your energy chasing down me and the others. Not quite sure that helps...
I will definitely be buying my future industrial valves somewhere else
I hear you're looking for me?
Seriously, Katusha. *facepalm*
The one time an unmanaged team should be doing something that would help everybody, they don't.
Weather: 23°, overcast. Torrential downpour halfway through the stage. 40kph+ crosswinds throughout the stage.
A more or less completely flat stage with just the final categorised climb of the race to deal with. Surely it will be a bunch sprint today?
135 km to go: A breakaway of six forms at the start. This time, there are no problems and the peloton let them go. The six are; Roth (CSS), Tortelier (SOJ), Kuznetsov (KAT), Mironov (RVL), Peron (TNN) and Hägg (TNE). The best placed on GC is Hägg, who is 45th @ 12'14".
99 km: Now, we have typical Malaysian weather, a sudden torrential downpour, which isn't that nice for the riders. Stauff (MTN) can't stay upright and hits the deck. Despite the fact that he's their sprinter, MTN send nobody back for him and he has to use a lot of energy to get back in the group. With heavy rain and a gale blowing across the road, the pace is high, Vacansoleil using their strong rouleurs to see how much damage they can do.
95 km: And the maximum gap the breakaway pulls out today is just 5'30. Some of the DS's have clearly had a word with their riders after yesterday's debacle. Leukemans (VCD) doing all of the work at the moment.
89 km: At the first sprint, Peron leads the escapees through, ahead of Roth and Mironov. The gap is already down to 4'30. You have to feel sorry for these breakaway riders, the weather is absolutely horrendous and the sprinters' teams are out for revenge.
73 km: At the final categorised climb of the race, Mironov attacks for the points. He must be desperate for prize money as the competition has been decided. Maybe his girlfriend wants a gift? Kuznetsov and Peron pick up the other points. The peloton follow four minutes later.
42 km: As Roth, Tortelier and Mironov roll through the second sprint, the rain has stopped but the crosswinds are relentless. The peloton is two minutes behind with Leukemans continuing to put the pressure on at the front. Echelons are starting to form now.
27 km: The final sprint order is Kuznetsov, Roth, Hägg. The escapees are doing an amazing job just to keep the peloton behind at the moment. The gap is currently 1'20. OGE have now started to help VCD to make the stage hard.
10 km: The breakaway still has a minute on the peloton somehow. This group of six are going along like a train! Despite the high pace and crosswinds, only twelve riders have been dropped at the moment. The biggest names are Lewis (CSS), Cornu (TSV) and Debesay (MTN). Most of the peloton is in single file in the gutter.
7 km: Now Rohregger (RLT), Venter (MTN) and Talabardon (SOJ) are amongst the riders dropped from the peloton. This has been a far harder day than anyone could have predicted.
5 km: With the peloton still struggling to catch the escape, Roth goes on the attack. The other five stay together to try to bring him back. They have forty seconds on the bunch, with OGE now doing all the work. Where are Bardiani Valvole?
3 km: Now Mironov attacks, followed by Hägg and they both catch Roth but they should have surely waited for the sprint. Kuznetsov and Tortelier still wait, while Peron looks done. Unbelievably, the peloton look to have run out of legs. They just can't catch this strong group!
1 km to go: As the lead quintet round the final corner, it's Tortelier in the lead as he and Kuznetsov use the energy they didn't waste in an attack. Peron has now been dropped and the sprinters can surely kiss goodbye to another opportunity. BAR finally come to the front, about twenty kilometres too late. Group headshake going on.
500m to go: Tortelier and Kuznetsov are going shoulder to shoulder and are going at the same speed. Hägg is the quickest of the five but is struggling to catch the lead duo. The peloton loom into view in the background, Brookes (BAR) leading the way but it's all too late.
FINISH: Wow! So that's yet another photo finish here in Malaysia. Apparently, Tortelier has won but Kuznetsov thinks he has it too. The Russian furious to have missed out by what must be less than a millimetre.
FINISH: On the wide shot, you can see how close the sprinters got. Some incredible speed from Howard and Brookes got them fourth and fifth but Hägg just held on for third. In the end, most people got given the same time, Perichon (BSE) and Rohregger being the biggest losers today.
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Le Tour de Langkawi Stage 6 
Marc De Maar
Pieter Jacobs
Martin Reimer
Arnaud Gérard
Juan Pablo Valencia
Ben King
Andrea Guardini
Naveed Alinejad
Simon Spilak
Travis Jones
Eduard Vorganov
Fabian Brookes
Jacobus Venter
Alberto Losada
Heimdal Hagg
Aidis Kruopis
