Eurovision also send one of their numbers forward to make four with Mark McNally
The break look like they are going to get into the two minute lead territory, you sense team bosses are itching to get riders up there. ENRC and S-Telecom move a rider each onto the attack.
Gabor Kasa
and Davronjan Khvostunov
are the riders and they are joined shortly afterwards by Adonis Cardoso Española
AMEX always looking for the big breakaway of course!
None of these seven riders look like they will hold much out on the cobbles, indeed they can barely get more than two minutes clear. As we approach the dual hills however a big five man move attack clear of the peloton.
This is a dangerous move and one of such style that we have seen get good results in some of the previous cobbled classics but with over 100km and so many cobbled sections to go this is perhaps too early.
Nonetheless it is surprising that the pack allow these six plenty of leeway as they join the seven others up front to make a lead group of 13 and the gap balloons to over four minutes.
Duclos-Lassalle leads them onto the first short cobbled section on the hills, named as one of the favourites before the race this is quite a gamble for the Adecco man.
The cobbled section is short but the five riders who have a good ability on cobbles, that's Kavsek, Wellens, Duclos-Lassalle, Crombez and Hassink get a gap on the rest of their breakaway companions.
The pack are setting a better tempo now as they too reach the first cobbled section, with Metinvest and Alstom setting a holding pace to keep this dangerous five man move in check.
Positioning is key on moments like these and as they come downhill off the climbs the peloton is splintered with decent cobblers like Iban Iriondo
and Maxime Debusschere
caught out well back front the front peloton group.
The cobbled sections come thick and fast now as we loop around onto the Appian way six times before the finish.
The lead five have maintained their gap well over the eight chasers behind and with the dual UPC riders marshalling things well they are extending their gap on the other favourites in the peloton.
They move onto the first section of the Appian way, the five leaders grit their teeth.
Aleu Iacta Est - The die is cast!
The peloton really need to pull their fingers out as the gap with 100km to go is over seven minutes between the lead five and them. Tyskie who took the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne realise that they too now need to help out Alstom and Metinvest with the chasing. The pack is down to 69 riders at this point.
The addition of Tyskie brings about a reduction in the gap but also reduces the size of the pack with Delhaize losing all of their riders from the front group and with Urban Monks
and Eddy Van IJzendoorn
part of the dropped group. Some of the favourites are feeling the heat already.
The riders are spending almost as much time on cobbles as they are roads and on the cobbles the break do not seem to be losing their advantage as the teams behind are not prepared to use their best cobblers to chase down.
For the likes of Frenchman Duclos-Lassalle this is his domian!
The eight other riders originally in that break are in between and have pluckily kept going over these Appian way sections. They are losing ground to the leaders and falling back slowly to the pack and have split in two that hardly helps matters.
Carduso Espanola, McNally, Vargas and Kasa are in the first group.
With Nadiradze, Khvostunov, Heiskari and Gaspoz in the second group.
Conspicuous by their absence is the CDiv2 team leaders Het Neiuwsblad from any of the action so far. All five of their team are still in the 32 man peloton but have yet to take a single turn on the front. They finally realise that with 75 to go and the gap still hovering around seven minutes they are going to have to pull this back.
They do seem to be pulling it back, but once again when we get onto the cobbles the lead five manage to extend their lead again.
As the pack moves onto the 4th Roman road section it is Damien Robert
who leads the pack, finally a decent cobbler who might be able to reduce the gap.
As it stands he has three of his four team-mates here including team leader Guillaume Blot
With the other breakaway rider caught and dropped we can start to look at the numbers left in the lead chase group.
Het Niewsblad and Tyskie have all five of their teams in the pack with Metinvest having three including Italian hope Bucciero. Ekspla, P. Laško, Samsung Mol and Gazprom have two riders apiece and Skoda and Cativan have a rider up here also.
However with Robert setting a blistering pace up front more riders drop off the pace. These are mainly teammates but one of the riders include yet another favourite in Kenny Geluykens
Even Het Nieuwsblad who have ridden a conservative race in the main have lost their first rider as the pack reduces the gap to the leaders.
The riders move onto the fifth of six Appian way sections and the leaders still have five minutes with 40km to go. The pack behind are running out of numbers and these riders still look strong though Crombez is not doing any turns.
Havning been dropped on the 4th Appian way section Geluykens is trying hard to get back up to the fifteen pack of chasers.
The fifteen chasers are: Stijn Vandenburgh, Dries Van der Ginst, Gorik Gardeyn, Koen Barbe Guillaume Blot, Damien Robert Jens Renders, Anthony Colin Robby Meul, Gil Suray Radomir Simunek Jan Almblad Antonio Bucciero Mindaugas Striska Mikhail Timochine
The latter rider of course not really chasing with Wellens forward with Duclos-Lassalle, Kavsek, Hassink and the struggling Crombez. They have closed down the gap but nowhere near sufficiently enough as the gap is over four minutes with 15km left.
All five leaders look like they are waiting for the final sprint and UPC with two riders control the last cobbled section. Kavsek looks the nippiest for the sprint here and must be the big favourite.
They move off the cobbles into the last road section, their daring attacking move has worked wonders here. It is a move that would make Julias Caeser himself proud no doubt!
No attacks from the other favourites either with some glum looking faces realising they are battling for sixth now. Geluykens has made it to the back of the pack which is sort of a Phyrric victory as he looks tired now.
Hassink leads us into to the last three kilometres, interestingly though his teammate Kavsek sits third wheel behind probably his biggest sprint threat Wellens. Duclos-Lassalle is 4th wheel and Crombez who has done brilliantly to hold on is fifth wheel.
Kavsek launches with 1.5km left.
He leads comfortably as they go into the last kilometer.
Wellens is holding on and responding as we approach the final left hander.
He speeds past a flailing Kavsek.
The experienced Belgian stuns the Dutch cobbler/sprinter clearly he has conserved his energy well and he is full of speed as they approach the line. Meanwhile Duclos-Lasselle is trying to hold off the other two for third.
Gazprom take the win through their Belgian cobbler in another mild upset.
Kavsek takes second with Hassink just edged out in 4th it has been a good day from UPC, but perhaps won they really could have won. Duclos-Lassalle responds to his manangers call for a result and this should move Adecco forward, Crombez takes fifth for Dyson.
The pack are set to finish over four minutes down, Italian cobbled specialist Bucciero leads them into the finale.
He holds off a strong finish by Barbe, Het Nieuwsblad get all five riders in the top 25 riders, but will likely be disappointed with 7th, 12th, 17th, 21st and 22nd. Colin grabs 8th for Tyskie ahead of Blot and Striska.
The following riders failed to complete the race:
Ribeiro (Kingspan)
Samai (Gazprom)
Delise, Grželj (P. Laško)
Medina (Cativen)
Martikainen (Finnair)
Rada (S-Telecom)
de Oliveira (Petrobrus)
