'Dale Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 68km remaining from 166km Giant-Shimano, Lotto-Belisol and Omega Pharma-QuickStep have reached a working agreement in the main peloton, and they each have a rider sitting on the front of the peloton. For the moment, the gap is stable at 4:10.
'Dale Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 59km remaining from 166km The five escapees are continuing to collaborate well and have stretched their lead back out to 4:30. Alex Dowsett, in particular, is pedalling very smoothly indeed as they zip through Perignano.
'Dale Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 There are serene blue skies overhead in Tuscany this afternoon, with temperatures approaching 20 degrees Celsius. Tirreno-Adriatico is often a race blighted by poor weather, but the prognosis appears to be good for the rest of the week, even as the peloton heads into the mountains in Abruzzo.
'Dale Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) started the stage with his left knee heavily strapped, although the full extent of his injury is not quite clear. The Frenchman came through yesterday's team time trial untroubled, but admitted that his knee has been causing him problems when he gets out of the saddle en danseuse.
'Dale Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 47km remaining from 166km The break had 4 minutes as they entered the final 50 kilometres, which seems to have been the signal for the sprinters' teams to pick up the pace another notch or two. The gap is now 3:45.
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 14:17:02 CET Giant-Shimano lead the bunch through the finish line for the first time, 3:21 down on the break. A small group of BMC riders move up along the side of the peloton, trying to keep Cadel Evans in position.
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 Canola is trying to inject some life into the break's efforts, but their advantage is continuing to tumble steadily. The Giant/Lotto/QuickStep sprinters' security council has now pegged the gap back to three minutes.
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 At the rear of the peloton, meanwhile, Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) drops back to his team car. The Italian has been solid but decidedly unspectacular thus far in 2014, but he will be aiming to shine from Milan-San Remo onwards.
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 Alex Dowsett claimed the three bonus seconds at the first intermediate sprint with 50km to go, and he jumps away from the break in a bid to add to his tally at the second sprint.
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 Dowsett picks up the bonus seconds in Uliveto Terme and rather than wait for his companions, the Englishman decides to put his head down and keep going.
'Dale Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 It's not always easy to judge accurately from intermittent glances at the front of the peloton, but it seems as though Giant-Shimano are doing most of the legwork in chasing the break for now, but Lotto and QuickStep are keeping a close eye on proceedings.
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 Current situation Break Alex DowsettMovistar TeamChasersat 0:16 Daniel TeklehaymanotMTN - Qhubeka Marco CanolaBardiani-CSF Davide MalacarneTeam Europcar Pelotonat 2:30
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 I'll leave this one for you to finish Dale ;-)
Cav' Posted March 13, 2014 Author Posted March 13, 2014 Omega Pharma-QuickStep's marshalling of the chase is beginning to yield significant dividends. Dowsett's lead is down to 1:11, while the three chasers - Teklehaymanot, Canola and Malacarne - are all but sitting up, resigned to their fate.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now