Blackpool success is 19th season win for German HTC rider
HTC Columbia’s Andre Greipel thundered to victory on today’s opening stage of the Tour of Britain, out-speeding the other riders in a big bunch sprint to the line in Blackpool. The German went head to head with Manuel Belletti (Colnago-CSF Inox) and former team-mate Greg Henderson (Team Sky) on the famous promenade, pulling ahead in the final metres and netting what is a remarkable nineteenth win this season.
His success was all the more notable as he punctured with eight kilometres to go and had to battle to get back into contention.
“It’s always something special to win the first stage because you get the leader’s jersey as well,” he said in the post-race press conference. “This was our main goal…to win the stage, and we achieved it.
“Of course the weather was not the best today, one time it was warm and another time it was cold, then raining, but I’m happy the sun came out for the finish. It was a good day for us.”
The 132.2 kilometre stage began in Rochdale under grey skies and much of the early part was marked by heavy rain. Just over two kilometres after the drop of the flag, Greipel showed his speed early on when he beat Russell Downing (Team Sky) to win the first intermediate sprint.
Soon after, Richie Porte (Saxo Bank), Wout Poels (Vacansoleil) and Jack Bauer (Endura Racing) clipped away and set about establishing a rapidly-growing lead. Irish road race champion Matt Brammeier tried to get across, but crossing the gap solo was an impossible task for the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly rider.
After 22 kilometres, the trio had over four minutes advantage over the peloton, and raced onto the slopes of the third category Deerplay Moor climb. Poels was first to the top, taking maximum points ahead of Porte and Bauer. The order remained the same at the summit of the second category Trough of Bowland climb, 67.9 kilometres into the stage, and at the top of the equally-ranked Westfield Towers climb (km 78.3). However, Bauer was dropped before that final climb, meaning that the break was down to two riders.
The peloton kept increasing the pace behind, perfectly aware that a bunch sprint was on the cards. Team Sky did the bulk of the work in order to set things up for a possible victory on home soil, and hauled Bauer back just after he picked up third place in the second intermediate sprint. Poels led Porte over the line there at Cockerham (km 92), and again at Stalmine (km 106).
Porte then clipped away with 25 kilometres remaining, giving everything to try to hold on out front. The sprinters’ teams were ruthless, though, and reeled him in five kilometres later. Team Sky, High Road and Skil Shimano kept the momentum going to dissuade further attacks, ensuring a bunch gallop. Once that ensued, Greipel showed that he had lost none of his speed in chasing back on after his puncture, grabbing his nineteenth victory of the year.
HTC Columbia sport director Brian Holm said that the success was due to the riders all pulling together. “The puncture made it all a bit more difficult, but we came through ok thanks to some great teamwork,” he explained. “We pulled back a break, but then André punctured with eight kilometres to go. I got almost everybody to stop, and Marco [Pinotti] gave him his wheel. Then Tony Martin took André back up to the bunch and he got there three kilometres from the finish.”
The Dane said that it was a close call, as if the incident had happened any later, Greipel would have been unable to regain contact. “There’s a 90 degree turn on this stage just a little later where the road turns onto the beach and where the bunch always gets strung out,” he said. “But we got him back in time, and we got our first win and the lead too.”
Now it’s a case of defending it. HTC Columbia won last year with Edvald Boasson Hagen, who picked up four stages en route to the final yellow jersey. Greipel could in theory end up as the final winner of the race, but he will have to perform well on tough terrain and against some determined squads.
“I think there are a couple of good teams here,” he said, when asked about his chances. “For sure they will want to drop me on the climbs…maybe they will, or maybe they won’t!”
As for Porte, he ended the day in the jersey of sprint classification leader and said that he was happy to have given it a go. “It was good fun, I thoroughly enjoyed myself out there today.
“If I want to ride [for] classification it’s the only way I can do it, to go up the road and take some time. We had a nice group of the front and worked well together. To wear the jersey tomorrow is an honour.”
Poels also had reason to feel that he had accomplished something good despite his recapture, netting the first King of the Mountains jersey.
The 2.1 ranked race continues tomorrow with a 160.8 kilometre stage starting and finishing in Stoke on Trent. It heads into the Staffordshire Moorlands and will scale the Ramshorn, Hollinsclough Moor and Gun Hill climbs. The last of those is sufficiently far away from the line to point towards a likely bunch sprint. Number twenty for Greipel? Nobody would rule it out, but Team Sky will do its utmost to land a home win.