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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
Nicolas Roche retained his fine fifth place overall in the Tour de Suisse yesterday, finishing in the main bunch on the third stage from Martigny to Aarberg. Stage one winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas Cannondale) triumphed, winning a big bunch sprint to the line after a long break by Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R-LaMondiale), Michael Morkov (Saxo Bank) and Jonas Vangenechten (Lotto-Belisol) was neutralised.
The trio attacked early on and built a large lead, which increased to over eight and a half minutes when the bunch was delayed by a closed level crossing. The peloton had less than 50 kilometres to close this down but worked hard to do so.
Vangenechten was dropped with just over 25 kilometres to go, then the other two were caught approximately 700 metres from the line.
Sagan showed considerable power and composure to come back after he nearly crashed on the final bends. His foot came out of his pedal but he was strong enough to recover and to overtake Baden Cooke (GreenEdge) before the line.
“I can’t really explain what happened or how I didn’t fall off,” the Slovakian said afterwards. “I went fast into the bend so I wouldn’t lose second position, but I lost my grip because the tarmac was wet. I instinctively took my foot off the pedal to stop myself slipping and then carried on to catch Cooke who was getting away.
Stage two winner Rui Costa (Movistar) finished in the bunch with all the other contenders and stays in the yellow jersey. He is eight seconds clear of Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) and a further seven ahead of Roman Kreuziger (Pro Team Astana).
Roche didn’t dispute the sprint, rolling in 40th. He is 21 seconds back in fifth overall heading into today’s stage, six seconds off third. He appears to be in very good shape heading towards the Tour de France.
Tour de Suisse (WorldTour)
June 11, Stage 3: Martigny – Aarberg:
1, Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) 194.7 km in 4 hours 35 mins 32 secs
2, Baden Cooke (Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team)
3, Ben Swift (Sky Procycling)
4, Jacopo Guarnieri (Pro Team Astana) at 3 secs
5, Allan Davis (Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team)
6, Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ-Big Mat)
7, Lloyd Mondory (AG2R La Mondiale)
8, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda)
9, Daniele Colli (Team Type 1 - Sanofi)
10, Marcus Burghardt (BMC Racing Team) all same time
Irish:
40, Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale) same time
General classification after stage 3:
1, Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Movistar Team) 11 hours 6 mins 57 secs
2, Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) at 8 secs
3, Roman Kreuziger (Pro Team Astana) at 15 secs
4, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-Big Mat) at 19 secs
5, Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale) at 21 secs
6, Thomas Löfkvist (Sky Procycling) same time
Mountains classification:
1, Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) 20 pts
2, Ryan Anderson (Spidertech Powered By C10) 20
3, Michael Morkov (Team Saxo Bank) 17
4, Thomas Danielson (Garmin-Barracuda) 15
5, Alessandro Bazzana (Team Type 1 - Sanofi) 15
6, John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) 10
Teams classification:
1, RadioShack-Nissan, 33 hours 23 mins 4 secs
2, Astana Pro Team
3, Movistar Team, at 32 secs
4, Rabobank Cycling Team, at 1 min 25 secs
5, Omega Pharma-QuickStep, at 1 min 38 secs
6, Euskaltel – Euskadi, at 1 min 51 secs
Other:
10, AG2R La Mondiale. at 4 mins 27 secs
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