The short parcours today make for a city criterium like atmosphere often experienced in domestic racing. Riders with a decent kick usually do well in those sorts of circuit based races, however they are not guaranteed to end in a sprint.
The break of the day is six riders who after a session of attacking riding are allowed clear on the second of our 6.5km circuits around Hong Kong.
Geert Van der Sanden Juhi-Matti Alaluusua Sergei Klimov Marco Corsini Cyril Lemoine Alexandre Pichot
What's interesting here is that all six riders are decent sprinters at this level so all six will look to get to the finish together and juke it out. Corsini is not a name we have seen often from Het Nieuwsblad's talented pool of riders, the team clearly did very well in pre-season to talk so many strong riders into joining their squad. Alstom obviously have the outstanding sprinter of the division in Saïd Haddou but have played an interesting plan in putting Pichot out there. It means the pacing in the pack is left to Samsung-Mol, Petrobrus and Serbian Telecom.
The break though hold a good 3 minute gap for a few circuits, it feels like a game of chicken going on in the pack with no team wanting to fully commit themselves. Up front you sense the Finnair, Dyson, UPC and Gazprom team directors getting excited as the laps roll off all three teams have had fairly barren times of late and this would boost their end of season dinners! A more concerted effort from Samsung Mol manages to get the gap down to two and a half minutes with 45km left, but as Peter Slovak and Robby Meul move away no-one picks up the slack.
This causes some attacks on the toughest section of the circuit.
As mentioned in the preview there are some steep uphill sections on this supposedly flat crit, with one section of 400m averaging 10% which is causing problems. Here we see Fabio Ciccarese, Dean Podgornik, Maxim Rudenko and Martin Kohler
attack. It's a nice move and all four time their effort well quickly joining up with the break to make ten riders clear with 37km left - the time gap has remained steady at two and a half minutes.
This is dangerous now and Kingspan decide to go all in and chase fully.
It's going to be tough to pull this break in, with Ciccerese in particular from the break in a determined mood leading the break round the next circuit.
But the Kingspan duo of Eddy Van IJzendoorn and Paul Healion do a super job as the duo reduce the gap to 1.30 with 30km to go. The next circuit see's the incredible Healion lead for most of it really hammering it back to the break of 10.
The danger then has been completely neutralised, though this is very early with 22km to go for the pack to be compact. Alstom's plan to avoid doing much of the work has backfired slightly as they feel the pressure to go on the frontt.
Indeed their man in from the breakaway Pichot gives it more effort pacing hard at the front.
This pacing manages to drop Menno Horst and of course Samai Samai!
The Belgian journeyman gets 45 or so seconds before the elastic tightens and Ivan Stevic leads the chase.
This is hurting a few of the sprinters, notably Kingspan duo Mohammad Umardi Rosdi and Elia Rigotto who are both dropped spoiling the chance of a Kingspan lead out.
Not that there is any leadout in prospect here as the tight circuit parcours with this nasty hill sections seems to be interrupting the organisation. Nine kilometres to go and the sprinters are queued up behind Victor Gomes Colinas
Daniel Thorsen is riding point, the Australian will be hoping to get his thick legs up over the last little wall. Behind Thorson is his compatriot Simon Gaywood who lacks Thorson's speed but can certainly climb as well as any CDiv2 sprinter. Saïd Haddou is relying on a teammate seperate from the train to get him on the right wheel at the right time.
You can see though the sprinters are a fair ways back on the final climbing section with 6.5km left.
Gomes Colines comes to the front behind his teammate and one of today's MVP's in Healion.
Thorson manages to scramble his way up towards Gomes Colines but behind a little gap opens up.
It has put some of the others into the red zone as Fabbri powers his way across dragging the remnents of the sprint train with him. It remains to be seen though whether these riders will have the energy left for the sprint.
As we begin to head towards the finish area (seperate from the circuits), it is Gomes Colinas that the sprinters are queueing up behind.
You'll note here the order has changed just slightly as Gaywood is now riding close to Gomes Colinas's wheel with Thorson perhaps struggling behind him. Fabbri looks smooth and Haddou has got himself in the wheels with Castillo and Klimov behind.
The metres are running out though and the sprinters have not pushed themselved to the front, the pacers at the front are fanning across the road with 2200 left perhaps one of these five can take it ahead of the sprinters !
The five however push right leaving a gap for Fabbri to jump around as Gomes Colinas gets jumped by Gaywood and a returning Stevic (S-Tel). The five leaders have been caught by a speeding up by the fast men.
Sobal wakes up and joins in the sprint as they approach a nasty switchback between 1100m and 800m to go. Haddou, Kohler and Gaywood are poised on Fabbri's wheel.
But it is the man in the lead that surprises them with an acceleration of his own - the Italian shows great strength.
Behind though Haddou completely flounders finding the gradient not to his tastes as Gaywood and Kohler battle to get on Fabbri's wheel.
Fabbri's is not weakening as now Gaywood and Kohler start to rock and roll under pressure from Klimov, Stevic, Sobal and Gomes Colinas.
Fabbri takes a stunning win, hard to say where that came from he made two very strong bursts after riding in the wheels al race.
Gaywood just holds for second place, though third looks tight.
From the finish camara we can see that Gomes Colinas just holds off Klimov, meanwhile Kohler finds himself edged out by the S-Tel duo.
Haddou can only finish 12th, shaking his head as he crosses the line perhaps the course made it too tough for the fast Frenchman.
