Tony Martin remains in red leader’s jersey despite big attack by Chris Froome
Ag2r La Mondiale leader Nicolas Roche has turned around what has been a largely frustrating season for him by grabbing the first-ever WorldTour win of his career on day three of the Tour of Beijing. The 27 year old finished first into Yong Ning, outsprinting his compatriot Philip Deignan (RadioShack) to the line.
Vuelta a España runner-up Chris Froome (Sky Procycling) was also part of what was a successful three man move. The Briton just about held on for third, with the bunch – led by Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-ISD), Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank SunGard) and Paul Martens (Rabobank) finishing in the same time.
The break was sparked off by Deignan, who attacked at the bottom of the day’s final climb of Erpulang and opened a gap. Roche and Froome bridged across just before the top and the trio drove the pace along the remaining twelve kilometres, just about holding off the bunch.
“I’m obviously happy, it’s a victory that feels really good,” said a relieved and fulfilled Roche afterwards. “This is my second win since I joined AG2R La Mondiale [the other being the 2009 Irish championships – ed.] but it is the most important. It is timely for me and the team. I had a difficult season from a personal point of view for various reasons, and the team also has experienced a complicated end of season.
“A tactic was put in place at the pre-stage briefing and the team played the game one hundred percent. I said at the start that I wanted this stage and that Jean-Christophe [Peraud] could move up the general classification. Everyone put themselves into place and the result is there. There are not many days like this where you announce that you want to win and that it works out!”
The triumph is a huge plus for Roche’s Ag2r La Mondiale team as a lack of points means it is fighting to keep its top-level ProTeam licence. On a personal level, it’s a big step forward for the rider: it is Roche’s first-ever WorldTour victory, and his first win since the 2009 Irish road race championships. His last international triumph was a stage win in the 2008 Tour du Limousin and while he has ridden strongly in many races since then, including seventh overall in the 2010 Vuelta a España, he hadn’t topped a podium.
He is now up two places to eleventh overall, and will try to gain the two seconds he needs to move into the top ten.
Overnight race leader Tony Martin (HTC Highroad) finished safely in the main bunch, crossing the line 21st and retaining his red leader’s jersey. David Millar (Garmin-Cervélo) remains second overall, 17 seconds back, while Froome remains 26 seconds off Martin’s time but moves up a place to third.
With two mainly flat stages remaining in the race, the German rider is looking increasingly likely to hold on until the finish on Sunday. His HTC Highroad team showed today that they were up to the task of policing the contenders, with Froome being the most dangerous but gaining no time.
It is the last-ever WorldTour stage race for the American squad, and it is aiming to lead it from start to finish.
Breakaway forms day’s early action:
The queen stage of the race began in Men Tou Gou, with the 162 kilometre run to Yong Ning being punctuated by four categorised climbs. After 19.5 kilometres the second category Dong Fang reared up, then 23.5 kilometres later the riders would hit the summit of the first of three category one ascents, Gao Oin. After intermediate sprints at Hezi Jian (km 60), Liucun (km 83) and Chanping Stadium (km 100.5), the two remaining climbs reared up to make the final 50 kilometres the most testing of the race. Xiezishi was the first of those, topping out 133 kilometres from the start and 29 from the finish, then the four kilometre ascent of Erpuliang would take the riders to within 12 kilometres of the finish. Whomever was clear at the summit would have a chance of holding on until the end.
The first attack came from RadioShack’s Dmitriy Murayev, but he was quickly reeled in. Soon afterwards Adriano Malori (Lampre) Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi) surged ahead and these had opened a two minute lead by the top of the first climb, which was won by Malori.
After approximately 30 kilometres of racing, Vacansoleil team-mates Martijn Keizer and Lieuwe Westra clipped away and set off in pursuit. They caught the lead group after 41 kilometres, two kilometres before Mondory took the second climb. The quintet was riding well together and was two minutes 50 seconds ahead of the bunch at kilometre 55.
One of the tipped riders for the stage, Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank SunGard) succeeded in bridging across at kilometre sixty, using his climbing strength to close the gap down. Westra beat Keizer to take the first intermediate sprint there.
The break had a three minute lead at kilometre 67, although this had dropped to two minutes 40 seconds by the time Keizer finished ahead of Westra and Mondory to win the second intermediate sprint. Seventeen kilometres later, the same trio would take the top places in the day’s final intermediate gallop.
Soon after passing the Ming Dynasty tomb, the location of the 2008 Olympic triathlon, Keizer pushed ahead. Behind, Sky Procycling took over the pace-setting from Martin’s HTC Highroad team, ramping up the pace and stringing the bunch out on the climb up to Xiezishi.
Multiple attacks in finale as riders seek to find right moment:
Out front, Sorensen pushed ahead on that penultimate climb, seeking to build a stage-winning lead. Igor Anton (Euskaltel Euskadi) jumped across and took the KOM points ahead of him, with Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack) also coming out of the main bunch and joining them out front.
The Slovenian raced down the descent but nearly wiped himself out on a corner, only being kept upright by some fencing. He was able to continue onwards in the small lead group. Irishman Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) was feeling good and also got across to the front, beckoning other bridging riders to work, but a lack of cooperation saw Katusha’s Egor Silin forge ahead alone.
The road was mainly downhill at this point but a brief rise interrupted the descent. The chasing group behind Silin eased back, looking indecisive, and this prompted Sorensen to jump ahead and try to get across to Silin. However he was reabsorbed before he could get bridge.
Instead, Juan Manuel Garate (Rabobank) darted across to the Katusha rider as the descent recommenced. The duo were then joined by Matteo Carrera (Vacansoleil) and Brajkovic, forming a four man lead group. However the peloton was closing and with Peter Velits and Michael Albasini driving the pace, race leader Martin was looking secure.
The leading quartet was finally caught with approximately 20 kilometres to go, setting things up for a big showdown on the final climb. First to make his move was Moldovan national champion Alexandr Pliuschin, who powered ahead and held a lead of approximately five seconds at the start of that last ascent, sixteen kilometres from the end of the stage.
Very soon afterwards, Christophe Riblon (Ag2r La Mondiale) surged and caught Plusckin. He was joined by Philip Deignan (RadioShack), who moved to the front and then pushed clear alone. Behind, other riders tried to break the elastic but didn’t get far.
Deignan has had some difficult periods since winning a stage and placing ninth overall in the 2009 Vuelta a España, but the Irishman seemed back to his strong climbing form. His efforts to build a big lead on the final ascent were hampered a little by the gradient, which was little more than a power climb, but his high-cadence style succeeded in opening a gap of approximately fifteen seconds.
Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) then joined his countryman near the summit, with Vuelta a España runner-up Chris Froome (Sky Procycling) also getting across. The trio went over the top together and continued the momentum down the descent, with each being fully committed.
Behind, a sudden gust of wind believed to have been caused by the TV helicopter knocked over some advertising banners. These brought down BMC Racing Team’s Yannick Eijssen, who suffered facial injuries including a fracture above his teeth.
The long, straight roads heading towards the finish meant the break was visible to those behind, who were coming back steadily. They looked like they were about to be caught, with the gap between it and a small chase group dropping to approximately five seconds with three kilometres to go, but the trio’s stubborn persistence and a small lull behind earned them a little more breathing space.
That was enough for them to stay clear until the town of Yong Ning, where Roche used his strong sprint to narrowly beat Deignan. “In the home stretch, I saw the bunch coming back. I had a knot in my stomach and I thought: no, not today, I cannot lose!” he said, describing how close the break was to being caught. “I have not always lived up to the results that I would have liked and it is a good way to say thank you [to the team].”
The duo finished one second ahead of Froome, who was caught but not passed by Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-ISD), Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank SunGard), Paul Martens (Rabobank) plus the rest of a 48-man front group.
Martin calmly finished in this peloton, knowing that he had successfully limited the gains of all of his rivals. In fact he strengthened his position, with Alex Dowsett, third overall at the start of the stage, losing eight minutes. His Sky Procycling team-mate Froome moved up into that podium slot instead, 26 seconds off the lead.
Two stages now remain in the race, namely tomorrow’s 189.5 kilometre stretch from Yan Qing Gui Chuan Square to Shunyi Olympic Rowing/Canoeing Centre and Sunday’s 118 kilometre concluding leg from Tian An Men Square to Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium.
Both lack major climbs and with bunch sprints predicted for each, Martin is now increasingly confident that he can hold on at the top. Millar and Froome are seventeen and 26 seconds back respectively; it will be difficult to make up that time, but both are likely to try anyway.