And, here we are, in front of first race for all 2014 Pro Tour teams! Race is about to start, so let's just repeat what's have been written in preview, but shortly as we don't have much time. The race starts in 10 minutes.
Type of Race: Hilly
Length: 230,8km
Riders will have to face 7 laps of Badaling Hill, but after they firstly pass 1/3 of the race and get out of the Beijing city. The race starts exactly at entrance of the Beijing city and Badaling hill is on outskirt of city, so riders will have to do pretty good "training" before the challenge really starts.
34°C here, no clouds on sky promises us great, sunny day for cycling. Cycling supporters and fans of Man Game cycling are all around Beijing. But of course, most of them are waiting near finish line, on Badaling Hill.
No changes in starlist from yesterday. All of the riders that signed up for the race are on start. Favourites already planned their tactics in busses, but you can still see few of them talking with their team-mates. When we're already on favourites topic, let's just repeat who are the biggest favourites for taking the win here.
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Jan Bakelants
Yuri Trofimov
Damiano Cunego
Stefan Schumacher
Francesco Gianni
Dimitri Claesys
Frank Schleck
Ricardo Ricco
Simone Ponzi
The guys above are listed as main contenders and top favourites for taking the win home, but they really aren't the only ones. There are few guys, such as Nicolas Roche, TeeJay van Garderen, Alexandar Flugel, Ben Gastauer and Robin van der Hugenhaben and maybe even Alejandro Valverde who can make some surprises and bring the good result home.
The race is about to start. All of the guys looks ready to face the Badaling hill and win this. But there will be only 1 winner at the end. Who's going to be that? We'll check out soon. A minute after, race director raises his ManGame WT flag and race can officially start!
Just when the race started, on 230 kilometers to go, few guys decided to attack and try something from a breakaway, if peloton lets them go. There are actually only 3 guys this year and their names are: Demare, Steensen and Lewis. All of these guys are from the teams that has strong leader, who should do good later.
They soon decided to make one group and they quickly started co-operating. Their lead was just widening and it was becoming more and more clear that the peloton will let this go.
Meanwhile, back in peloton, no one really cared enough for this attack, as these guys are just not strong enough to take a win as break escapees. However, top-teams wanted everything in their control, so every team that has chances to win this had at least one guy in front. Some of them are: Good Energy, Bouygues, Aker, Vesuvio and Tinkoff.
Seems like the peloton wanted to enjoy these wide boulevards in Beijing as much as they can, as they had to leave the city soon. 180 kilometers to go, E1 group is out of the city and they're heading the Badaling hill for the first time now. Big time advantage for them, as they reach 10 minutes.
As the race gone and finish line got closer, few teams decided to pull back from the top of the peloton. That meant someone's surely going to take control of this race, and it was Tinkoff this time, who clearly worked for their leader and one of best worlds puncheurs, Yuri Trofimov.
The gap decided to decrease from the moment they took over the top of the peloton. Nothing really happened in next 20 kilometers. After the first circuit and descent, one pretty big decisive thing happened in the race. On little turn, just before riders in peloton started 2nd lap, Edvald Boasson Hagen, World Champion and surely top favourite for taking a win here, had a crash!
Nothing too serious, as he gets out of that with only few scratches on his legs. But will this affect his later performance? Once again, race started to be quite monochrome and quite boring. 130kms to go and Pavel Brutt had to taste asphalt aswell, as he had crash on the entrance of tunnel.
He quickly after that managed to get back in peloton, and the game of mice and mouse with peloton against breakaway started again. Breakaway co-operated and never thought of any kind of solo-attack, which surely kept them more in the game.
3rd lap of 7 passed with Aker on top of the peloton. The gap started decreased significantly in meantime. It's now on 6 minutes, and still about 90 more kilometers to go.
4th and 5th laps surely brought us alot of fun here! Gap between the peloton and E1 group was about 3 minutes, but that wasn't most important thing then. Half of the lap passed, hilly part aswell and then boom! Few favourites for taking a win decided to make a move. van Garderen and Bakelants were first two to launch this.
But they were not only guys who made a move there. Boasson Hagen is following that aswell. Seems like that fall wasn't that bad, after all, since Norwegian is going like a rocket there!
And just as that wasn't enough for one strong group, Trofimov made a move aswell. Pretty good tactic move, as he decided the tunnel for a move. No wind there and Russian is gaining time quickly.
The first three guys merged after only few hundred of meters and they're now going really strong. TeeJay is setting one hell of the pace!
Neither Trofimov was too late, as he joined them on the descent. These guys looks so focused. The race is about to be decided now. About 30 kilometers before finish line.
Not much passed after the new wave of the riders attacked. This time, one big group is trying to make a move. Cunego, Valverde, Zeits, Schumacher, Ponzi and Schleck are there.
But there was one small problem from the guys in E2 group. Peloton were chasing strongly and easily caught them, after only few hundred of meters of attack.
26 kilometers to go and guys from E1 group decided to co-operate and started doing some strong relays and turns. They're really looking good.
But, the main group behind won't just let them go like that. All the teams that has no rider in front and are aiming on win here are giving their all to catch up with them. Pokerstars, Festina and Vueling are most active ones. 24 kilometers to go.
20 kilometers to go and the last lap is about to start. Guys from breakaway of the day group are still in front, but they are just too exhausted to stay in front. They're first ones to pass throught the finish line last time before final.
Just few tens of meters after the last lap started, E1 felt that peloton is just coming closer and closer and van Garderen joined attack. All of the guys are following him.
But then, big move from peloton. 6 guys are attacking and all of them are mainly ones that already made unsuccessful move, few kilometers ago. Anyways, their names are: Schleck, Cunego, Valverde, Gianni, van der Hugenhaben and Ricco.
2 German teams with great puncheurs, Rothaus and Volkswagen are now taking over the top of the peloton and they're trying to reduce the gap and possibly even catch the guys in front. 18 kilometers to go.
E2 group surprsingly quickly caught up with E1 and they merged. Seems like no one is interested in actual relaying, so they stop and they're playing the strategic game. Can be two edged sword, as peloton might catch them and that's surely the last thing they want now.
But that situation wasn't actual for long time, as Bakelants decided to stretch the legs of the guys in front a bit. They're all trying to follow him.
They soon caught the breakaway group. It was brave fight for them, but it was just too much to expect them to do any good with this competition. 16 kilometers to go, still.
Few meters after that, the tempo calmed down as no one could really contineu the attack after Bakelants sat. Once again, there's compact group. 12 guys there.
A kilometer after, Valverde made a move. This was actually quite successful move, as the results startted to appear. Van der Hugenhaben drops, as well as Gianni.
But just at that point, whole new group of guys (let's say outsiders, actually) tries their luck and makes a move from peloton. Schumacher, Ponzi, Sanchez, Zeits, Costa, Flugel, Gilbert, Claesys and Caruso were there. These guys looks pretty strong, indeed.
As almost all guys from almost all teams that have any kind of chances to win this here already made an attack, peloton now slows down and decides not to chase the groups in front.
10 kilometers to go and situation in front is like this now:
E1 Group
E2 Group - +31'
Schleck
Ponzi
Trofimov
Caruso
Bakelants
Claesys
Cunego
Gilbert
Valverde
Sanchez
Van Garderen
Zeits
Ricco
Costa
Hagen
Schumacher
Gianni
Flugel
van der Hugenhaben
McCarthy
Guys in E1 group finally started to co-operate. They're really doing great. Seems like Schleck is doing most of the job and that he's really one of the most fresh guys today here.
Surprisingly, no action on the top of the climb, where's the steepest part of the hill actually. It's all flat and downhill until the finish now. Trofimov is now trying to go on his own once again, but it doesn't look like successful move, as all of the guys in E1 are following that.
After they once again merged into one big group and entered the tunnel last time, the riders at the front slowed down. But do this mean the coming of E2 group now and merging of these 2 groups?
Actually, almost! Riders behind decided to chase that hardly on the descent and came so close, but Trofimov, Bakelants and Schleck decided not to gamble once again and upped the pace. Race was never this opened!
4 kilometers to go, riders were passing under the last tunnel on todays race. Schleck made a little sneaky move and attacked when they were in the tunnel, so he avoided wind hits. He's looking great and he's actually gaining some time on group behind. If they don't organise soon, the race will go into the hands of Luxembourgian.
Back behind, in E2 group, the tempo is getting higher and there are alot of the guys struggling. Hagen is one of them! Seems like that fall on the middle of the race starts to affect on his performance, as he looks much worser than on the start of the race. Basically, previous E2 group is whole here. They're now paying the price of constant chasing on the descent.
Ponzi couldn't find his form today and he was one of the guys that got a gap on the 3 kilometers to go. Now, only strongest guys are in E2 group.
2 kilometers to go and Schleck is still in front. He does have only about 10-15 seconds of advantage, so the race is still open. Can he stay in front and become the first winner from a solo-attack here?
He soon gets in sprinting zone and he's first one to actually start sprinting. There's only now bridge to pass under and few hundred meters of uphill finish for him. You could just hear Sporting Nonsense screaming on radio that Frank has this!
Meanwhile, few seconds and tens of meters behind, Caruso opens the sprint for E2 group.
Without even a gap, but with clear disadvantage of only few meters, next group lead by World Champion, Eddie Boss starts sprinting.
Schleck was soon on the ascent once again. Only one hundred meters for him and it looks like no one can really overtake him now. He's looking stronger than ever!
As the riders behind hits the hill, the favourites steps up and starts accelerating. Bakelants is showing that he can surely get the 2nd place, just behind Vesuvio's guy here. Cunego and Valverde are there aswell. They're clearly going to overtake Caruso who started the sprint just too early. Trofimov is looking great aswell, but he's too far down the road in this part of the race to get in fight for 2nd here. Van Garderen isn't looking good either. Seems like he was too active on the relays today.
And yes, a hundred meters in front of this action, Frank Schleck of Vesuvio Accumalux grabs the first win of the season and the very first win in solo-attack, since the races first edition, back in 2011!
Fight in E3 group is interesting aswell, as Hagen is first to enter the sprint. Surprisingly, he really doesn't look so superior (he really should look like that, considering what HIL and SP stat he has). He's followed by Ponzi, Sanchez Gianni and Flugel here. Rest of that group, McCarthy, Zeits, Costa, van der Hugenhaben, Gilbert, Schumacher and Claesys are just few meters behind. These are not looking good and will probably fight for 10th-20th place, at the end.
Meanwhile, just few meters in front, guys from E2 group were fighting for 2nd,3rd and places all to 9th there. Just as it was clearly visible from the start of that climb, Bakelants shows some great acceleration and grabs the 2nd place.
Last years winner, Cunego finishes as 2nd. Pretty good result for Italian here, as he finished in front of Caruso, Valverde, Trofimov, van Garderen, Gianni and Ricco, who shared the positions from 3rd to 9th.
E3 group are now sprinting for 10th position. At the end, Flugel manages to get it, as he finishes in front of Ponzi, Hagen and many others who finished in the same group.
There was the end of the race, as all the favourites finished it there. Now, the peloton is only left to finish the sprint and race can be closed. 11 minutes and 36 seconds after the E1 group, guys from peloton sprinted for the finish. Sinkiewitz takes a "win" in that mini-sprint.
And the race was officially closed then. What a great race and day for cycling this was. Absolutely great solo-victory for Frank Schleck after brave attack. I think there wasn't any more happy person on the world than the Luxembourgan, on the moment he steppd on the podium.
Good Energy was the best team at the end, but that really doesn't count too much, as this is just a classic. If nothing they'll have one really nice team-photo to bring home.
