Briton takes over race lead from Gilbert
Team Sky rider Steve Cummings took an unexpected stage win in the Volta ao Algarve, beating the highly promising young American rider Tejay Van Garderen (HTC Highroad) and defending champion Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) to the summit finish of Alto do Malhão.
He was quickest in a five-man sprint to the line, with the Estonia Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) and German time trial ace Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) also making the select group. Overnight race leader Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma – Lotto) found the going too tough on the 2.7 ramp up to the finish and slipped back, conceding his jersey to Cummings.
The Briton holds a six second lead over Contador heading into the final two stages. With a concluding 17.2 kilometre time trial he will be wary of the Spaniard, and equally so of Martin (ten seconds back) and Van Garderen (twelve seconds down).
His directuer sportif Sean Yates praised the performance, recognising it as probably his best result to date. “It’s a big win for Steve. Today was a hard stage with plenty of tough climbs, especially the final one up to Alto do Malhão. When you look at the riders who were around him, to pull out more against them is a fantastic achievement and a very, very impressive performance. He timed his finish to perfection and just jumped them at the end.”
Aside from the stage win, he also takes over the leader’s jersey and so his attention is going to be even more focussed tomorrow. “With Gilbert getting dropped on the climb it means Steve is the new race leader,” said Yates. “We’ll do our utmost to defend that but there will be plenty of other teams who will also feel they are in with a big chance.”
The 179.2 kilometre stage was the first big showdown for the GC riders. As expected, the early part saw a breakaway group go clear, with Garmin-Cervélo’s Martijn Maaskant (Garmin-Cervelo), Ruben Martinez (Caja Rural), Will Clarke (Leopard Trek), Anthony Ravard (AG2R La Mondiale), Jarl Salomein (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) and Jesse Sergent (RadioShack) all trying their luck just over ten kilometres after the start. Salomein picked up the KOM primes. They built a maximum lead of four minutes, with Martinez eventually slipping back.
The remaining five riders kept pushing onwards, trying to build a big enough buffer before the climb, but they were caught with approximately 30 kilometres left on the clock.
Team RadioShack then drove the pace in a bid to set up Tiago Machado, who impressed last year. Contador’s Saxo Bank SunGard team were also focussed and they too moved to the front and started whittling down the peloton.
The bunch exploded on the climb, with Gilbert heading south and the five who would fight it out for the win pushing onwards. Contador did what he could to try to nab victory and underline he was back, but Cummings and Van Garderen were both very strong and would beat him to the line.
It was an important moment for both, with Cummings grabbing a morale boosting win for himself and his Sky Procycling team, and 22 year old Van Garderen receiving further indications that a very bright future is in store.
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Volta ao Algarve (2.1), Feb 16 – 20:
Stage 3, Feb 18: Tavira – Malhao (179.2km)
1, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling)
2, Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad)
3, Alberto Contador Velasco (Saxo Bank Sungard)
4, Rein Taaramae (Cofidis)
5, Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) all same time
6, Tiago Machado (Team RadioShack) at 6 secs
7, Simon Gerrans (Sky Procycling) at 16 secs
8, Roman Kreuziger (Pro Team Astana)
9, Andreas Klöden (Team RadioShack)
10, Ryder Hesjedal (Team Garmin-Cervelo) all same time
General classification:
1, Stephen Cummings (Sky Procycling) 14 hours 30 mins 47 secs
2, Alberto Contador Velasco (Saxo Bank Sungard) at 6 secs
3, Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) at 10 secs
4, Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad) at 12 secs
5, Rein Taaramae (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne) at 18 secs
6, Andreas Klöden (Team RadioShack) at 26 secs
7, Ryder Hesjedal (Team Garmin-Cervelo)
8, Simon Gerrans (Sky Procycling) both same time
9, Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 30 secs
10, Tiago Machado (Team RadioShack) at 31 secs