Thwarted on stage one when Mark Cavendish was pipped on the line by Sky’s Elia Viviani, Etixx-QuickStep bounced back in the best way as Petr Vakoc produced an impressive solo performance to take victory in Colne and with it the leader’s yellow jersey.
One of an eight-man group that formed after the first-category climb of Bleara Moor with 55km remaining, the young Czech struck out on his own 19km from the finish as the peloton began to close in. Although his advantage only reached a maximum of 30 seconds, the 23-year-old managed to maintain his cushion through the twisting Lancashire lanes and up the long drag to the finish.
A much-reduced peloton was led across the line by Movistar’s Juan José Lobato, bashing his bars with frustration having failed to overhaul Vakoc, with MTN-Qhubeka’s Edvald Boasson Hagen in third.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It was a really hard day, but I had really good legs," said Vakoc. "I gave it my best and it paid off. It’s one of the biggest victories of my career. I wasn’t sure I would be able to stay away after the long ride at the front on my own."
The Etixx-QuickStep rider said he is looking forward to the challenge of defending the yellow jersey, starting on Tuesday’s third stage between Cockermouth and Kelso. "But it’s going to be hard to do that with just six riders and with six stages still to go."
How it unfolded
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://ift.tt/1LfuRgn
No comments:
Post a Comment