Jan Bakelants
announced his intentions as the hill climbing star of professional cycling with a storming win on yesterdays very tough stage 3. The question is can the new race leader keep it up on this similar sort of test over an even longer 242 km?
You can bet a smarting Frank Schleck
former race leader Philippe Gilbert
and the keen Italian youngster Simone Ponzi
will be looking for some sign of weakness in the Belgian and a whole host of other hill climbers will be trying to make up ground.
Big gaps opened up yesterday, that though seemed to be down to tiredness and it is a rather cautious opening with three riders opening up a gap before six others jumped across to them. The three leaders: Welle Jallays Richie Porte Antonio Colom Mas
are now on the first King of the Mountains climb with six riders chasing
Dominique Rollin, Juan Van Heerden Romain Zingle Niels Scheunemann Jacob Fiedler
and KoM contender Gediminas Bagdonas
The Lithuanian rider bides his time and the six do make it up to the three riders before the prime. He just needs a second or first place on one of the two primes today, bizarrely they are only worth 5-3-1 points.
We just quickly whizz back to the peloton and we see Joost Posthuma
dropped on the climb. This is a big blow for Jack Wolfskin and their hopes for this race, it really does put into question whether the Dutchman will be any good for tomorrows short time trial.
Better news for the team though is that Welle Jallays
attacks convincingly to take the 5 points for winning the climb ahead of Niels Scheunemann
and Romain Zingle
Disappointment then for Bacardi with Bagdonas unable to add to his 16 points, given that he was dropped before the final climb yesterday his hopes look a little bleak of snatching the Green jersey off of Thomas De Gendt
The presence of Juan Van Heerden
would suggest the South African would be going for the Intermediate sprints but come the first one just after the climb he just rolls through 3rd behind Jacob Fiedler
and Welle Jallays
The pack have allowed the break some freedom once again in today's marathon stage with the gap once again getting over 10 minutes. But sure enough Wiggle once again are starting to try and pull it back for leader Ponzi.
Pearl Adidas are not too far away from the front but they seem quite happy like Pendleton's yesterday to take a back seat to the keen Anglo Italian team.
Rain has not been with us today, in fact it is quite a warm Italian spring day. However we are still getting crashes on the route, with the pace now quite high these are proving very terminal to riders GC ambitions. Tim Dees
gets a puncture and drops back to the Theo Bos
group. That is a pretty devastating blow right there as one of the domestiques for Diego Ulissi
is out of the running today.
We are getting down to the last third of the stage now and the final 70km look as nasty as they did yesterday:
The Wiggle led peloton is between 5 and 6 minutes behind the breakaway, they look determined to put Ponzi to a stage win but they hit a snag when GC number 2 Damiano Caruso
crashes.
The Italian 25 year old pulls his way towards the back of the peloton, he doesn't seem to be radioing it in as the team continue to push at the front.
Caruso cannot make it too far up the pack when ahead of him a gap appears just ahead of the disappointing Edvald Boasson Hagen
Wiggle suddenly disappear from the front, but the damage to Caruso is already done with Pearl Adidas and Vesuvio now commiting numbers to the pace making. The favourites group (sans Caruso and Hagen) is down to just 57 riders on this tricky King of the Mountains climb,
The climb is doing damage to the 9 man breakaway too as first TTer Jacob Fiedler
and then King of the Mountains second place Gediminas Bagdonas
are dropped.
Looks like De Gendt is secure in that jersey for a couple of days, his teammate Richie Porte
jumps out of the pack to take the prime.
Romain Zingle
is second with Antonio Colom Mas
third.
The acceleration has dropped Dominique Rollin
and Niels Scheunemann
back in the pack riders continue to be blasted out of the pack.
Rather appropriately or inappropriately I suppose Thomas De Gendt
gets fired out the back.
The pace has been pretty high from the pack and the breakaway's gap is down to just over a minute with just under 30km to go. It's deperation time really as Juan Van Heerden Romain Zingle
and Antonio Colom Mas
attack.
Four more climbs to go and the writing is on the wall for the breakaways though it is Wikipedia's sprinter Van Heerden who is last to resist.
On this climb though the favourites start to make their move, first to go is Aleksandr Efimkin
He rode pretty determinedly yesterday, a rider who was not so good yesterday now shows he fancies it after being goaded by his former manager.
It's Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver
and the two attackers join forces some 30 to 40 seconds ahead of the group.
20 klicks to go and after a little hesitation it is Jonathan Bellis
who is chasing for Chris Froome
The Brits lead a now vastly reduced 22 man front group some 20 or so seconds behind our lead pair. The full list of riders here then: Bellis, Froome Ulissi, Ljungbald Bakelandts, Vastaranta, Walker Gilbert, Moletta, Margaliot Ballan, Van der Hugenhaben Schleck, Hoogerland Pavarin, Ponzi, Ziani Danny Summerhill Sergio Ghisalberti Maurice Schreurs Guillaume Levarlet
With David López Garcia
and Domenik Klemme
some of the most recent to slip back.
The lead pair give up their move and as we get onto the penultimate climb some 15 km out it is Philippe Gilbert
who attacks in an attempt to regain his leaders jersey.
It's a tough acceleration and no-one is trying to follow the points leader, but Schleck is pacing which is causing splits. A poorly placed Diego Ulissi
has to attack up.
He gets there but Frank Schleck Simone Ponzi Jan Bakelants
are moving clear!
Panic stations behind as Aleksandr Efimkin Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver
and Diego Ulissi
race across.
Danger signs for a clearly suffering 5th place on GC Chris Froome
however he is being led across with other contenders Robin van der Hugenhaben Sergio Ghisalberti
and Maurice Schreurs
by his teammate Jonathan Bellis
As Gilbert is reeled in, his rival Simone Ponzi
goes away on a downhill attack.
But he cannot get away before this last climb, again he seems to be attacking a little too early but what can he do against Schleck and Bakelandts. We are down to 12 men then Schleck, Bakelandts, Ponzi, Gilbert, Froome, Schreurs are the top 6 on GC. 7th placed Caruso is of course missing then Rodriguez and Ghiselberti are here with Efimkin, Ulissi, Van den Hugenhaben, Ghiselberti and Bellis.
Ballan and Pavarin are not able to make it across to this group and as we enter the climb it seems Ulissi of Festina is determined not to get caught out behind. Trouble is with Bakelandts and Schleck behind him the front does not look the best place to be either!
It's Schleck who jumps first today, you feel he has been saving himself for a go, Bakelandts of course is straight on his wheel.
Ulissi struggles to hold the Belgians wheel with Ponzi and Gilbert on his tail.
Bakelandts looks full of confidence as Schleck stops for a breather he powers on past.
Behind him Ulissi is wasted as Ponzi and Gilbert come cruising past into 3rd and 4th.
Bakelandts begins to grit his teeth as this climb starts to bite and Schleck has his second wind the old champion is coming back at the young pretender.
Into the final 500m, the gap is there for Frank to come on the inside that he is trying to do.
Bakelandts is determined to try and hold Schleck off, it's a classic battle. Actually moving fastest of all just behind is Gilbert who has blasted ahead of Ponzi.
Bakelandts just holds off Schleck no time gaps today but he has eeked out more of a lead.
He may lose a few seconds tomorrow against the clock but his morale must be sky high thats two in a row!
Gilbert gets a comfortable third and he is pretty decent against the clock, so he holds that last podium place and the points jersey with confidence.
Ponzi is 4th on the stage and on GC he finishes ahead if Ulissi, Efimkin and Rodriguez.
Bellis manages to protect Froome's high 5th placing with a fine team mates effort.
