The third stage is the most difficult one. Starting in Batu Anam and finishing 176.6 kilometer later in Kuala Lumpur, the riders have to climb over many hills. The pace has to be high to drop as many prologue specialists as possible. Will Kemboi be able to stay with the front group and retain his yellow jersey?
Lasinis enjoyed his adventure in the breakaway so much that he wants to do it all over again. His two compatriots from yesterday don't join him, instead he rides away with Duchesne and Valter.
Three more riders joined to make a breakaway of six: Thurau, Mosca and Balloni. The latter is a good prologue specialist but already lost time yesterday.
Three of them are interested in the intermediate sprint in Rompin. Thurau wins ahead of Duchesne and Balloni. With 140 kilometer to go the gap is 3'30.
The gap stabilizes at that margin. Only four teams paticipate in the chase: GCN, Swisslion but mostly Xero and the leading team Farfetch.
Duchesne wins the category four mountain sprint at Kampung Gelang. Thurau and Mosca claim the remaining points, and place behind the Canadian in the virtual classification as it was the first categorized sprint. There will be two more sprints of the fourth category and one of the third, so plenty of action guaranteed.
The second IS in Pertang is won by Thurau as well, with Balloni second and Lasinis third. The peloton has closed gap to 2 minutes with 80 kilometer to go.
The peloton allows the gap back up to 3, not fearing the breakaway will make it to the end. Farfetch uses Paillot and Bettiol in the chase, suggesting they think Kemboi can stay with the best. Campari and Popo4Ever also providing a few riders now.
Valter is the first rider of the breakaway to lose contact, five kilometer from the top of Gading Rapids. The peloton has halved the gap over the past few kilometers and there is no sign they'll stop. Swisslion and Zalgiris especially involved in the chase.
Mosca wins this category four climb with Thurau in second place. The other riders of the breakaway are caught on the line, and third place eventually went to Giogieri. The two remaining riders are tied for the mountains classification at six points, but eleven still up for grabs.
Mosca holds off peloton by 40 seconds to also win Air Terjun Siong, and claims the solo lead with eleven points. Thurau had been caught and the remaining points went to Nareklishvili and Intxausti. The Italian will win the mountains classification unless Thurau or Duchesne wins the final climb, but that seems very unlikely. Kemboi and Bettiol crossing the top in fifth and sixth, with Houle and Di Maggio close by. 80 riders in peloton, Scully the only rider from the GC top ten missing.
Sole leader Mosca is caught at the start of the Bukit Hantu climb. Kemboi still nice near the front, hiding behind the Zalgiris team, but the real test starts now. Two tough hills in the last twenty kilometer, one of the third category and the final one uncategorized but just as difficult.
Campari sweeps the final climb with Fiorelli, Kebede and Di Maggio, confirming the polka dot jersey for Mosca. Kemboi lost a few places but was not in danger of getting dropped, unlike a bunch of other riders as Campari's pace was very high.
The front group is reduced to 55 and still includes the yellow jersey and the runner-up, but number four Silvestre is in the second group of 20 at a minute with, amongst others, Giogieri, Pszczolarski, Nelson and Figueiredo. The final climb, Bukit Ampang, starts in four kilometer, is four kilometer long and has an average gradient of six percent.
The 10k banner is also the start of climb. Williams leads the group followed by Fiorelli, Kipkemboi and Orlov as pacesetters. The real Kemboi has moved back to the front, he has to survive this climb and he is the winner.
Dowsett opens the attacks halfway up the climb, Farfetch responds by sending Turgis with him. Kemboi glued to Guerreiro wheel and still well positioned, but the difficult part comes now. Campari setting up the chase for Di Maggio.
Mutsumine brings the duo back, Kemboi can thank the Campari team but the Kenyan had to drop a few positions. We're now entering the steepest part of the climb.
Riders struggling to follow the at the back are one of Farfetch's other aces Paillot, local hope Ahmad Zamri, Sterobo, Trofimov, Cataford and Gilanipoor.
Landa with an acceleration and Farfetch covers options again, sending Bettiol to his wheel and the Spaniard could not get away. Also an amazing acceleration from the yellow jersey to return himself at the front positions.
Right at top Dunbar attacks, followed by Dowsett, Groselj, Turgis, Di Maggio and Diggle. Kemboi came close but he's definitely struggling now and needs guidance from Bettiol and Guerreiro. A six kilometer downhill is his only opportunity to get back.
The downhill is very steep and Dunbar uses it to get a small lead over his four chasers. Diggle has already been caught by group Kemboi which is led by Landa and Houle, the gap to the Irishman is 33 seconds.
Dunbar Dowsett Groselj Turgis Di Maggio
join two kilometer from the finish line, gap 24 seconds according to GPS seconds to group Konig, Panayotov Afonso, Brandao, Minguez Ayala Kebede, Mutsumine Lienhard, Thiery Bettiol, Guerreiro, Kemboi Landa Diggle, Durasek, Piccoli Ackermann, Kanepejs, Tanovitchii Zmorka Nepomnyachsniy Debesay, Houle Carpenter, Dees
with Sergent Favilli Bazhkou
just behind.
Intxausti dropped in the final moments and is in group four at one minute from group yellow jersey with white jersey Eenkhoorn and Zabel.
The five out front are pretty even when it comes to sprinting, side by side as they entered the final kilometer. GPS gap still 24 seconds, Bettiol once again leading out Kemboi, but playing the same tricks as yesterday is near-on impossible.
Turgis and Di Maggio leading with 350 meters to go but Dowsett has more speed. He was blocked by Dunbar who is now falling off the pace. Bettiol has released Kemboi who is rapidly closing in. If Groselj and Dunbar don't take bonus second, he can afford a gap of 20 seconds.
Alex Dowsett just pushes his wheel past Di Maggio to take the win on the third stage. Turgis third. They will gain some places with the bonus seconds and time gap, but will it be enough to take the race lead? Kemboi has almost caught Groselj and Dunbar. Bettiol, Houle, Lienhard, Panayotov and Debesay the other riders involved in the sprint.
Kemboi is so fast that he even manages to take fourth place. Dunbar fifth, Groselj just hanging on to sixth.
Houle takes seventh place, Lienhard eighth, Debesay ninth and Bettiol tenth. Everyone who was in the group at the descent finishes in the same time, 14 seconds from the leading trio.
Sergent, Favilli and Bazhkou lose nearly a minute which is devastating for their GC ambitions. White jersey-loanee Eenkhoorn with Intxausti, Petelin, Lilovski and Thill at 1'38. Cataford and Silvestre at 2'30, Scully, Paillot, Sterobo and Ahmad Zamri at 2'45. The gaps might not seem that huge but for a short race with only a four-kilometer time trial left, only seconds can be recovered instead of minutes.
The fourteen seconds was not enough to take the yellow jersey from Salem Kemboi, who must be the surprising favorite heading into the epilogue given he almost won the prologue. Dowsett's win takes him to second place at ten seconds with Farfetch teammates Bettiol and Turgis tied for third at eighteen seconds. Di Maggio fifth at 23 seconds but tomorrow will not be a day of gaining places for him. Zmorka in sixth might hope to hop onto the podium, Dunbar in seventh becoming the new wearer of white in Kemboi's stead. The current top ten is completed by Groselj, Konig and Dees at 33 or 34 seconds. Silvestre will wear green tomorrow as runner-up to Kemboi, Mosca has won the mountains classification provided he doesn't get lost tomorrow, and Farfetch continues to be the Team of the Race.
