The Classics

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Astana's quartet of contenders are represented in the day's early break by Alexey Lutsenko, a man who, like Matej Mohoric, knows what it takes to conquer the Cauberg. Lutsenko triumphed in the under-23 road race at the Valkenburg Worlds in 2012,

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Danish dynamo Jakob Fuglsang lines up as part of a stellar Astana squad today. The team had a quiet cobbles campaign, even by their standards, and will be looking to improve on those results during the Ardennes. The big question is whether there are too many cooks in the Kazakh kitchen, with 2012 Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner Maxim Iglinskiy, 2012 Liege runner-up Vincenzo Nibali and 2012 Amstel Gold winner Enrico Gasparotto also in the team.

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185 kms to roll

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Over the first ascension of the Cauberg, the break had a lead of some 14:41 over the main peloton, and they still hold at least twelve minutes of that advantage as they head towards the Wolfsberg, the day's eighth climb.

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Cunego had a few rather lacklustre seasons. However, the Lampre-Merida man showed distinct signs of form at the Tour of the Basque Country and arrives in Limburg nurturing hopes of at least being a factor in Amstel Gold Race, which he won six years ago.

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“I did a very good Tour of the Basque Country, so I’m feeling very confident, I got some good results [fourth in Amstel, fifth in Fleche] here last year as well so that’s another good reason to be motivated.”

 

Kwiatkowski

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Omega Pharma-QuickStep and Katusha have joined BMC is setting the tempo on the front end of the peloton, and the break's lead is at a slightly more manageable 12 minutes.

 

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170 kms to roll

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J Rod out due to a crash, according to race radio

 

:-(

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Chapeau!!

 

Last year's podium

 

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Nicki Soresen (Tinkoff-Saxo) has also been forced out of the race after crashing on the Schweiberg, while Andy Schleck (Trek Factory Racing) has also gone down but we understand that he remains in the race.

 

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158 kms to roll

 

The break's advantage being controlled by the peloton

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Meanwhile, the pace has shot up once again in the main peloton, and another minute has been shaved off the break's lead after the Camerig, the day's 11th climb. The gap now stands at 11:00.

 

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149 kms to go

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"Today we have Max and Gaspo as team leaders but we have Nibali and myself in free roles as well. We’ll see how it goes but we have a strong team. We need to make sure we play our cards right though and turn this to our advantage instead of just waiting. For me Amstel is a really nice race but in the end Liege suits me the best. We’ll see what the legs are like but Fleche is the one I hate from the three. That finish on the steep, steep final…it’s normally the entire bunch finishing together."

 

Astana's Fuglsang

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The break is past the midway point of the race, and our ten leaders - Christophe Riblon (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Rory Sutherland (Tinkoff-Saxo), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Matej Mohoric (Cannondale), Pim Ligthart (Lotto Belisol), Manuel Belletti (Androni Venezuela), Pirmin Lang (IAM Cycling), Preben Van Hecke (Topsport Vlaanderen), James Vanlandschoot (Wanty Gobert Groupe) and Nicola Boem (Bardiani CSF) - retain a margin of 10:20 over the bunch.