Gent-Wevelgem - Sagan finally wins in rainbow jersey

Peter Sagan took his first win in the world champion's jersey, outsprinting three other riders who broke clear to take his second win in the Gent-Wevelgem.

The 2013 winner had taken eight second places so far this season, leading many to bring up the supposed "Curse of the Rainbow Jersey", but it was dispelled emphatically as Sagan produced the sprint finish he was lacking two days ago in the E3 Harelbeke.

The race began without a potential threat in Alexander Kristoff (KAT), who was unable to start due to illness, along with Ian Stannard (SKY) and Alexis Gougeard (ALM).

A break of four riders were allowed several minutes clear from the start of the race, Pavel Brutt (TNK), Josef Cerny (CCC), Jonas Rickaert (TSV) and Lieuwe Westra (AST), who were joined by Simon Pellaud (IAM) just over 20km into the race.

As wind and rain battered the riders, the break continued on, extending their lead to well over ten minutes as the peloton split into three because of the weather. By the halfway mark, that lead had shrunk to just one minute, and they were caught by the front group, of around 20 riders including favourites Sagan, Fabian Cancellara (TFS) and Niki Terpstra (EQS) shortly afterward.

Dimension Data, spearheaded by Tyler Farrar, drove the group forward, but they were closed down by the chasing group, swelling the leading pack to around 60. Over the Kemmelberg and Monteberg climbs, the group was thinned back out again, the weaker riders dropping off the back.

Approaching the second and final climb of the Kemmelberg, there were several attempted attacks, with Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (KAT) timing his best, opening up a lead of close to a minute. Several attempts were made to catch him, particularly from Classic specialists Etixx-QuickStep, but only one group was successful.

Cancellara, Sagan and Sep Vanmarcke (TLJ) made the jump across to Kuznetsov on the descent, as the gap had shrunk to 10 seconds, and with the Russian's help they reopened the gap to 35 seconds, despite Etixx-QuickStep's best efforts.

With riders from Tinkoff and Katusha disrupting the chase, the four would remain clear, and indeed extended their lead to 45 seconds inside the last kilometre. With the quartet able to afford to jockey for position, the peloton was looming into view on the finishing straight.

Kuznetsov was first to launch, Sagan and Cancellara close behind, but as Cancellara faded, Sagan remained in Kuznetsov's slipstream, surging past 100m from the line to comfortably take the win, as Vanmarcke slipped past into second.

Tim de Waele

Race winner Peter Sagan (TNK):
“I’m very happy I won finally in this rainbow jersey.

“We played with group a little. Then in the finale there was a strong wind and we did full gas all day. We went slow near the finish because we had a lot of time on the group. Today I was very, very good and so the win came.”

Race results

1. Peter Sagan (TNK)

2. Sep Vanmarcke (TLJ)

3. Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (KAT)

4. Fabian Cancellara (TFS)

5. Arnaud Demare (FDJ)

6. Fernando Gaviria (EQS)

7. Jurgen Roelandts (LTS)

8. Jacopo Guarnieri (KAT)

9. Greg van Avermaet (BMC)

10. Michael Morkov (KAT)

Volta a Catalunya Stage 7 - Quintana secures GC as Tsatevich takes stage

Nairo Quintana and his Movistar team held on to his seven second lead coming into the final stage to confirm his overall victory in the Volta a Catalunya.

Aleksei Tsatevich (KAT) won the final stage having been in the break all day with second placed Primoz Roglic (TLJ), as the hilly final circuits meant that the peloton's attention was solely on the GC classification.

12 riders made the early break to open up a lead of over 3 minutes, although not before the first intermediate sprint, where Dan Martin (EQS) picked up another second in the GC standings, to move him onto the podium as it stood.

Movistar always kept Quintana at the front of the peloton, well protected by two or three teammates, ready to counter any attacks, which began in earnest as soon as they reached the circuits around Barcelona's Olympic Park.

The hills and tight corners were ripe for attacks, and so it proved, with Fabio Aru (AST) and then Chris Froome (SKY) showing their teeth for the first time after fairly anonymous weeks. Despite them both needing to pick up over a minute, neither was allowed to get too far clear, and were swiftly reeled back in.

Alberto Contador, needing only to pick up a handful of seconds, either by gapping Quintana or in bonus seconds, and he made his move on the penultimate lap, breaking a few lengths clear, but Quintana always had him covered.

With all the attempted attacks and counters, the breakaway, while dwindling in size with every lap, was able to remain clear. It was just two riders by the end, with Tsatevich winning the sprint, although Roglic almost caught him as Tsatevich celebrated.

Behind, a group of just under 20 elite riders had broken away, as Contador, Froome, Martin and others all attempted to make last-gasp escapes, all of which were stopped by a now isolated Quintana. The group all came across the line together, with Jarlinson Pantano (IAM) leading them across, as Quintana rolled home safely to win the Volta a Catalunya.

Jon Herranz

Stage results
1. Aleksei Tsatevich (KAT) 3:13:33
2. Primoz Roglic (TLJ) + :00
3. Jarlinson Pantano (IAM) + :14

General Classification final standings
1. Nairo Quintana (MOV) 30:50:19
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :07
3. Dan Martin (EQS) + :17
4. Richie Porte (BMC) + :17
5. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :27
6. Romain Bardet (ALM) + :31
7. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :42
8. Chris Froome (SKY) + :46
9. Hugh Carthy (CJR) + 1:01
10. Rigoberto Uran (CPT) + 1:16

Volta a Catalunya Stage 6 - Cimolai denies the breakaway

Lampre-Merida's efforts to catch the breakaway were rewarded as Davide Cimolai took a dramatic win in Vilanova i la Geltru for stage 6 of the Volta a Catalunya.

The break, led by Cam Meyer (DDD) had remained in the lead under the flamme rouge, and Meyer was only overhauled inside the last 100m, cruelly denying a rare breakaway success.

A contributing factor to the break's near success may have been its late escape. It took 65km before a group was allowed clear, 11 riders, including Meyer, Ryder Hesjedal (TFS), Laurens ten Dam (TGA) and Petr Vakoc (EQS), opening up a five minute gap to the peloton.

With so many in the break, they had a serious chance of success, but the majority of the peloton seemed unconcerned. Perhaps the lack of urgency was due to the combination of many teams having riders up front, coupled with the arguably lesser sprinters, and with them, the 'B' sprint teams, less used to bossing a peloton.

It was Lampre-Merida who eventually began to hunt them down, as they would for the rest of the stage, gaining little help from other teams, as everyone looked to each other. Tinkoff went up front in the hope of creating a split to win Alberto Contador some seconds back on the leader Nairo Quintana (MOV), but to no avail.

As the finish drew closer, the lead group had dwindled to four, with Meyer, Vakoc, Bertjan Lindeman (TLJ) and Rudy Molard (COF) remaining optimistic and the gap wavering around 15 seconds inside the final 6km.

Meyer was the one most regularly driving them on, having upped the pace 15km from home which broke the group from nine to four, and was evidently looking the most comfortable. The peloton loomed into view 3km from the finish, but still there few teams willing to really drive the chase.

The group stayed clear under the 1km banner, and even with the group just a few seconds behind, it was never certain that they'd be caught. Round the final corner, Cam Meyer attacked as the other three were gradually swallowed up, the front of the peloton completely single file as far back as 30 or 40th.

Meyer gritted his teeth, and was just 80km from the line as he was caught first by Vakoc and Lindeman. As they swept past on his left, however, Davide Cimolai came around all three, maintaining a bike length's lead through the last few metres to take victory. It was one Lampre-Merida richly deserved, although so did each member of the breakaway quartet, Meyer ultimately the lowest placed of the four in 13th.

Jon Herranz

With the race all - eventually - finishing together, Quintana's lead remained seven seconds over Contador, although Dan Martin took three seconds from the intermediate sprint to close to within 18 before tomorrow's final stage, which ends with eight fairly hilly circuits around Barcelona's Olympic Park in Montjuic.

Stage results
1. Davide Cimolai (LAM) 4:35:13
2. Nikias Arndt (TGA) + :00
3. Tosh van der Sande (LTS) + :00

General Classification
1. Nairo Quintana (MOV) 23:01:19
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :07
3. Richie Porte (BMC) + ;17
4. Dan Martin (EQS) + :18
5. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :27
6. Romain Bardet (ALM) + :31
7. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :42
8. Chris Froome (SKY) + :46
9. Hugh Carthy (CJR) + 1:01
10. Rigoberto Uran (CPT) + 1:16

Mountains Classification
1. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 117
2. Boris Dron (WGG) 81
3. Pieter Weening (ROO) 66

Sprint Classification
1. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 12
2. Dan Martin (EQS) 6
3. Koen Bouwman (TLJ) 6

E3 Harelbeke - Kwiatkowski beats Sagan to win

Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) won his first cobbled classic by outsprinting world champion and former E3 winner Peter Sagan (TNK) to round off a great day for Team Sky.

With Wout Poels' win in the day's stage of the Volta a Catalunya, it was a welcome double for the team, who were also defending champions in the race after Geraint Thomas' win last year.

It was chasing wins such as this that drew "Kwiato" to Sky over the winter, and you wonder if he would have been able to win had he been working with his former Etixx-QuickStep teammates today.

The race was one rider light at the start, with Greg van Avermaet pulling out due to illness. With one potential winner missing, a group of eight made the initial break, which morphed into a group of ten 75km from the finish, including record five time winner Tom Boonen (EQS), three time winner Fabian Cancellara (TFS), last year's runner up Zdenek Stybar (EQS) and former Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra (EQS).

Clearly Etixx-QuickStep were throwing a lot of high quality riders at the race, and continued to push hard when Fabian Cancellara suffered a mechanical, which he would recover from to rejoin the ever-changing lead group, by then around 20, but perhaps put in too much effort too soon.

With only the most elite riders left in the lead group 30km from the line, on the Karnemelkbeekstraat Sagan and Kwiatkowski attacked, and none of the other riders in the group were able to go with them. Their lead opened to 38 seconds 15km from the line, and remained sizeable into the final stages.

Etixx-QuickStep attempted to work together to bring the gap down, seemingly in favour of Matteo Trentin, but Kwiatkowski and Sagan worked together to maintain the gap. 2km from the line they still had 17 seconds, and despite Boonen driving the chasers forward, still 11 under the flamme rouge.

As they entered the finishing straight, both the leaders were looking round to see where the chasers were, and as Sagan looked round 350m from the line, Kwiatkowski saw his chance. He attacked, and Sagan did not have the legs to respond, trailing home 4 seconds behind the 2014 world champion.

@petosagan

Race winner Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY):
“I tried to go more than 300m before the finish and that worked out. I didn't look back, I just went full gas to the finish.”

“Being one of the leaders for the cobbled Classics is an amazing feeling, to be so protected, and to finish like that even after not doing any Classics before, it's more than I dreamed about.”

teamsky.com

Race results
1. Michael Kwiatkowski (SKY) 4:49:34
2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :04
3. Ian Stannard (SKY) + :11
4. Fabian Cancellara (TFS) + :11
5. Jasper Stuyven (TFS) + :11
6. Lars Boom (AST) + :11
7. Tiesj Benoot (LTS) + :11
8. Sep Vanmarcke (TLJ) + :11
9. Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC) + :11
10. Daniel Oss (BMC) + :11

Volta a Catalunya Stage 5 - Poels takes solo win

Sky's Wout Poels won stage 5 of the Volta a Catalunya in Valls, attacking out of the breakaway to win by 11 seconds from Dario Cataldo (AST).

The stage looked set to be one for the sprinters, but Poels had other ideas, timing his attacks to perfection, leaving the peloton trailing.

The breakaway did not get clear until well over halfway through the stage, with Poels, Cataldo, Jan Polanc (LAM), Tosh van der Sande (LTS) and Carlos Verona (EQS) forming the quintet at the front.

With such a late break, the GC leaders were free to contest the first intermediate sprint, aiming to collect some bonus seconds on Nairo Quintana (MOV). Former leader Dan Martin (EQS) took the win, and all three seconds, while second placed overall Alberto Contador (TNK) took third, and one second, closing to within 7.

The break had increased to eight riders by the time they reached the final climb, the Alt de la Lilla. He burst clear of the seven other members of the group, cresting the mountain 26 seconds ahead.

Poels gave it everything on the descent, and while the gap closed, he never really looked under threat as the chasing group fell away down to just three, with Cataldo leading Gaetan Bille (WGG) and Kanstansin Siutsou (DDD) home 11 seconds behind Poels.

The peloton, left fighting for scraps from 5th downwards, still contested the sprint, with Simon Gerrans coming home first of the main group. All the GC contenders came home in that same group, meaning that aside from the bonuses from the sprint, the time gaps remained the same as overnight.

Jon Herranz

Tomorrow's stage into Vilanova i la Geltru could give Alberto Contador more chance to close the 7 seconds to Nairo Quintana, but with only two categorised climbs and a long, largely downhill section towards the end of the stage, he will have his work cut out.

Stage winner Wout Poels (SKY):“I knew the climb from the race last year and that it wasn’t too hard but that it would be my only chance to attack. In the last two kilometres I got a bit nervous when it all began to get a bit closer together but the corners helped me stayed away, it was better than when you had those long straights like immediately before.”

Stage results
1. Wout Poels (SKY) 3:59:03
2. Dario Cataldo (AST) + :11
3. Gaetan Bille (WGG) + :11

General Classification
1. Nairo Quintana (MOV) 23:01:19
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :07
3. Richie Porte (BMC) + ;17
4. Dan Martin (EQS) + :21
5. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :27
6. Romain Bardet (ALM) + :32
7. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :42
8. Chris Froome (SKY) + :46
9. Hugh Carthy (CJR) + 1:01
10. Rigoberto Uran (CPT) + 1:16

Mountains Classification
1. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 117
2. Boris Dron (WGG) 81
3. Pieter Weening (ROO) 66

Sprint Classification
1. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 12
2. Koen Bouwman (TLJ) 6
3. Aleksei Tsatevich (KAT) 4

Volta a Catalunya Stage 4: de Gendt goes solo as Quintana takes lead

Lotto-Soudal's Thomas de Gendt survived the early break, as the Belgian rode to scoop a solo win atop the Port Aine, with Nairo Quintana's (MOV) second place catapulting him ahead in the overall standings.

The queen stage always promised to be the defining stage of the Volta and, as expected, all the big guns were firing on the final climb. But it was the early breakaway that provided the stage winner.

Joining de Gendt in the first attack was Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Imanol Erviti (MOV), Ruben Plaza (OGE), Laurens ten Dam (TGA), Kristijan Durasek (LAM), Pieter Weening (ROO), Boris Dron (WGG), Alexey Tsatevich (KAT) and Ben Swift (SKY).

After 80km, the group had worked a lead of 10:30 but that began to be whittled into by the peloton, headed by race leader Dan Martin's Etixx-QuickStep team.

By the 50km to go mark, the lead group had began to break up, with de Gendt and Erviti taking the lead up the penultimate climb and were joined by Weening before the summit.

The leaders maintained a lead of six minutes on the descent into the final climb, whilst Woult Poels (SKY) attacked from the front of the peloton, managing to catch up to team-mate Swift before on the approach to the Port Aine.

Poel's attack sparked Etixx to up their efforts, followed by Alberto Contador (TNK), who sought to replace Dan Martin as race leader.

Erviti was the first of the leading trio to strike out, briefly creating a gap, before he was caught and passed by Weening, who managed to open up a lead of a minute over Erviti and the returning de Gendt.

Further down the race, the peloton started to fragment and Martin soon found himself with only Carlos Verona in support. The chasing group caught up to Poels with 5km to go and Sky team-mate Mikel Nieve instantly made an acceleration which was soon copied by Robert Gesink (TLJ) and Miguel Lopez (AST).

Tejay van Garderen (BMC) was the next to break clear, before Contador attacked the remnants. Martin, Porte (BMC) and Quintana kept the wheel but a second attack from the Spaniard put paid to Martin's efforts as the rest of the quartet caught up to van Garderen.

Meanwhile, de Gendt and Erviti had caught up to Weening, before de Gendt proved the freshest, leaving him and Erviti behind with 2km to go to bag the stage win.

Contador and Quintana soon split from the BMC men, overhauling Erviti and Weening in the process. Contador had a fleeting glimpse of the race lead, before one final surge from Quintana snatched it away.

Jon Herranz

Stage results:

1. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 4:52:04

2. Nairo Quintana (MOV) + :01:08

3. Richie Porte (BMC) + :01:23

General Classification:

1. Nairo Quintana (MOV) 19:01:43

2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :08

3. Richie Port (BMC) + :17

4. Daniel Martin (EQS) + :24

5. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :27

6. Romain Bardet (ALM) + :32

7. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :42

8. Chris Froome (SKY) + :46

9. Hugh Carthy (CJR) + :01:01

10. Rigoberto Uran (CPT) + 01:16

Volta a Catalunya Stage 3 - Dan Martin upstages the favourites

Ireland's Dan Martin (EQS) punched clear of a group of the sport's elite riders to take victory in today's stage of the Volta a Catalunya, as well as the overall lead.

Martin attacked out of esteemed company, leaving Alberto Contador and Romain Bardet trailing behind as he surged up the final hill to La Molina, for his first WorldTour win since Il Lombardia two years ago.

The day began with the overall leader Nacer Bouhanni (COF) abandoning. Bouhanni complained of food poisoning yesterday, dropping back to the medical car at one point in stage 2, which he ultimately one. He took the start today, but almost immediately began to fall back, eventually bowing to his body's demands when he was seven minutes down halfway through the stage.

That left Ben Swift (SKY) in the effective lead of the race, but he was never likely to feature at the front of today's stage, with four category 1 climbs ensuring that only the cream of the climbing crop were at the front by the end of the stage,

A group of around 40 riders formed the main group as the race came into the final stages, first hunting down Peter Weening (ROO) who had soloed downhill to overtake what remained of the breakaway, and then Louis Vervaeke (LTS) who did the same to Weening before he to was caught 9km from the line.

Wout Poels made the first bid for the win after a great run through the corners before the final climb from Sky, but was reeled back in. Quintana faked an attack, before Richie Porte (BMC) attacked next, leading a group of the favourites up the hill.

They all crested together, and it was Quintana who looked to have caught them napping, breaking clear before Dan Martin countered, taking a lead of three bike lengths around 500m from the line as Quintana could only look on. Contador, Bardet and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) gave chase, but Dan Martin had enough left in his legs to maintain his gap to win by two seconds from Contador.

Tim de Waele

Tomorrow's queen stage from Baga to Port Aine is likely to be a decisive day in the race, but after his strong showing today over three category 1 climbs, Dan Martin will feel in with a shout of retaining his lead, while the question of whether Froome and Quintana were holding back today may well be answered.

Stage results
1. Dan Martin (EQS) 5:00:27
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :02
3. Romain Bardet (ALM) + :02

General Classification
1. Dan Martin (EQS) 14:08:18
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :06
3. Romain Bardet (ALM) + :08
4. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :12
5. Richie Porte (BMC) + :19
6. Davide Formolo (CPT) + :21
7. Chris Froome (SKY) + :22
8. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :22
9. Geraint Thomas (SKY) + :28
10. Rigoberto Uran (CPT) + :28

Volta a Catalunya Stage 2 - Bouhanni repeats to extend his lead

Nacer Bouhanni repeated his win from stage 1, taking today's stage in Olot in similarly decisive fashion from Gianni Meersman (EQS).

Bouhanni's Cofidis teammates gave him the perfect leadout, as they were by far the most organised team in the last few kilometres.

Perennial attacker Thomas de Gendt (LTS) grabbed what headlines there were in the early stages, beating his three break companions Maxime Bouet (EQS), Boris Dron (WGG) and Kamil Gradek (VAT) to the intermediate sprints to pick up six bonus seconds.

Dron took the lead in the climber classification after being first up Alt dels Angels, the day's only category 1 climb. After that peak, the break began to disintegrate, with de Gendt the last surviving member to be caught, some 15km short of the finish.

With 7km to go, the peloton was still going at a relatively slow pace, allowing as many as ten teams to share the lead of the peloton. The pace did eventually quicken as a slight incline was crested, with Sky and Movistar always prominent.

After a couple of sharp turns in the last kilometre shredded most of the teams' trains, Cofidis came out of the final turn in control. Bouhanni held third wheel and, despite some weaving over the road from Etixx-QuickStep, he remained in the slipstream of his leadout man, Geoffrey Soupe.

Etixx-QuickStep's Meersman surged past them both as he launched an early sprint, but Bouhanni always had it in hand, securing the win and extending his GC lead.

@PhotoGomezSport

Tomorrow sees the race head into the mountains, and hopefully should provide the first time this year to see Chris Froome (SKY), Nairo Quintana (MOV), Fabio Aru (AST) and Alberto Contador (TNK) do battle together on the slopes, and should give some early indications for whose early season form is looking strongest.

Stage results
1. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 4:39:10
2. Gianni Meersman (EQS) + :00
3. Philippe Gilbert (BMC) + :00

General Classification
1. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 9:07:41
2. Ben Swift (SKY) + :14
3. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) + :14
4. Daryl Impey (OGE) + :16
5. Philippe Gilbert (BMC) + :16
6. Maxime Bouet (EQS) + :16
7. Louis Vervaeke (LTS) + :17
8. Javier Moreno (MOV) + :18
9. Ruben Fernandez (MOV) + :19
10. Aleksei Tsatevich (KAT) + :20

Volta a Catalunya Stage 1 - Bouhanni bounces back

Nacer Bouhanni went some way to putting the disappointment of Milan-San Remo behind him, by taking the first stage and the leader's jersey in the Volta a Catalunya.

The Cofidis rider comfortably outpaced Ben Swift (SKY) on the slightly uphill finish in Calella to win by two bike lengths. It was a win many felt he could have taken two days ago, had his chain not dropped in the last stages in San Remo.

The day's break consisted of just three riders, Boris Dron (WGG) and Lluis Mas (CJR) joined by Dimension Data's Cameron Meyer, with the aim of making it over the day's five climbs to take the King of the Mountains jersey. They were caught part way through the race on the category 1 Coll Formic, but Meyer had already accrued enough points to secure the red jersey for day 2.

Once the break had been caught, a group of almost 40 riders separated themselves from the main peloton, with Louis Vervaeke (LTS) punching clear of those to claim the intermediate sprint, but his attempt at taking the stage was quashed by Team Sky, dragging the race back together.

Sky were clearly working to get Ben Swift, second in Milan-San Remo, well placed in this comparatively weak sprint field, with only one genuinely flat stage of the week's seven to draw the sprinters to Catalunya.

Despite that, Sky still had to work hard, along with Orica-GreenEDGE working for Daryl Impey, and Cofidis for Bouhanni. Impey's team looked best placed initially, before Ben Swift launched with 200m to go.

Bouhanni had perfectly read who his main threat was, however, and kept in Swift's slipstream, surging past 150m from the line to win convincingly over the British rider, with Impey close at hand in third.

Jon Herranz

It will be a particularly sweet win for Bouhanni, who had originally considered not racing this week as he struggled to cope with his disappointment in Italy on Saturday. He may yet get further success this week, with his superb recent form coupled with a few stages which look to suit the Frenchman.

Stage winner Nacer Bouhanni (COF):
“It’s great to have this win and the Volta is a great race, but it doesn't make up for the disappointment of San Remo.

“It was a very hard finish, but we worked well with Movistar on the last big climb. There are maybe three or four opportunities for me in total, including tomorrow, and we’ll work in all of them as best we can.”

Stage results
1. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 4:28:51
2. Ben Swift (SKY) + :00
3. Daryl Impey (OGE) + :00

General Classification
1. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 4:28:41
2. Ben Swift (SKY) + :04
3. Daryl Impey (OGE) + :06
4. Louis Vervaeke (LTS) + :07
5. Javier Moreno (MOV) + :08
6. Ruben Fernandez (MOV) + :09
7. Cameron Meyer (DDD) + :09
8. Enrico Gasparotto (WGG) + :10
9. Aleksei Tsatevich (KAT) + :10
10. Carlos Barber (CJR) + :10

Mountains Classification
1. Cameron Meyer (DDD) 28
2. Boris Dron (WGG) 27
3. Lluis Mas (CJR) 17

Milan-San Remo - Demare picks his way through chaos to win

FDJ's Arnaud Demare picked up the biggest win of his career in the 107th Milan-San Remo, taking advantage of a late crash involving Fernando Gaviria (EQS) in the late stages.

Gaviria, fresh from a stage win last week in the Tirreno-Adriatico, was hotly tipped for success in the Monument on the Italian Riviera. As he moved for a better position when well placed with a few hundred metres left, he clipped the wheel of Greg van Avermaet (BMC), sending the Colombian tumbling, and holding up several others, including Peter Sagan (TNK).

The race took place in the fine Italian sunshine, unlike in recent runnings of the race, although Mother Nature did have a trick up her sleeve, a landslide around Arenzano necessitating a detour at short notice.

Several crashes occurred throughout the race, with Marco Haller (KAT) Julien Vermote (EQS) and Federico Zurlo (LAM) all hitting the floor in individual crashes on the Capo Mele. Another involved Demare, Peter Kennaugh (SKY) and the in-form Michael Matthews (OGE), and looked to have kiboshed the hopes of Demare and Matthews.

As the peloton came down the final descent, Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) made a bid for a solo victory, but was reeled in, thanks largely to the efforts of Fabian Cancellara (TFS). Cancellara attempted to break away himself, but there were too many sprinters around him to allow a break.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (DDD) led into the final stretch as the sprinters played cat and mouse, Gaviria's crash was the trigger for the sprint, with Nacer Bouhanni first to make the move, looking to have a clear run before losing his chain, robbing him of any chance, and leaving him pounding his handlebars as he coasted home.

Instead it was Demare who popped out from the slipstream of Jurgen Roelandts (LTS), outsprinting Sky's Ben Swift to take a massive win.

milanosanremo.it

As well as a personal triumph for Demare, the win was also historic for his FDJ team, who had never won a Monument since its inception in 1997. Coincidentally 1997 was the last year a Frenchman won a Monument before today, with Laurent Jalabert's win at Il Lombardia.

Race winner Arnaud Demare (FDJ):“This is incredible. There are days like this one in which everything works despite the occasional hiccup, like crashing at the bottom of the Cipressa. I made it across at the bottom of the Poggio and the entire way I felt fantastic. I'm delighted to win Milano-Sanremo. This is a big one and has been running for over a century. It's extraordinary. I'm extremely happy.”

Race results
1. Arnaud Demare (FDJ) 6:54:45
2. Ben Swift (SKY) + :00
3. Jurgen Roelandts (LTS) + :00
4. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) + :00
5. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) + :00
6. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) + :00
7. Heinrich Haussler (IAM) + :00
8. Filippo Pozzata (STH) + :00
9. Sonny Colbrelli (BAR) + :00
10. Matteo Trentin (EQS) + :00

Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 7 - van Avermaet just pips Sagan and the clock

Fabian Cancellara (TFS) stormed to victory in the individual time trial, and final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, as Greg van Avermaet found just enough to take the overall title.

BMC's van Avermaet held the lead going into the ITT, and despite a strong time from 3rd placed Peter Sagan (TNK), van Avermaet managed to post a time seven seconds slower than Sagan, but crucially, not enough to overhaul his overnight lead of eight seconds over the Slovakian.

In contrast with early-race time trials being fairly sedate affairs, with many riders unwilling to extend themselves too much, this final stage TT meant that every rider knew they could leave everything on the road, especially those in the hunt for overall victory, making it a fittingly dramatic finish to an unusual edition of the Tirreno-Adriatico.

The time trial specialists all rode early on, Johan Le Bon (FDJ) setting an early time of 11 minutes 21, that proved to be a very strong one. Former world champion Tony Martin (EQS) was only able to go second behind Le Bon, two seconds down. 

Cancellara set off around mdiway through the day, and Spartacus set off at a good pace and never looked back. He passed two riders in the 11:08 it took him to finish the course, crossing the line some 13 seconds ahead of the impressive Le Bon, setting a time that never looked remotely under threat.

@MarcoColedan

With all other jerseys already secured, the race for the GC's maglia azzurra became the focus. Vincenzo Nibali was the first of the top 10 to go, and effectively set the benchmark for the GC contenders. He set a solid 11:34, but one unlikely to trouble the podium. FDJ's two riders in contention, Sebastien Reichenbach and Thibaut Pinot, both set 11:35s, which left them on the same overall time, and with Reichenbach in the virtual lead with five left to finish.

Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) never really troubled the timekeepers, but his teammate Bob Jungels was tipped by many as having a real chance to take the overall win. A competent time triallist, he was only able to set a disappointing 11:41, still enough to go ahead of the FDJ duo, but needing everyone ahead of him to go over 12 minutes to remain top.

Longtime Zdenek Stybar obliged, clocking a 12:02 that dropped him below Nibali, while Peter Sagan, who went before Stybar, came out all guns blazing for an unlikely GC win, finishing in 11:32, the best of the last 19 riders.

Setting off just 4 minutes after Sagan, van Avermaet was already a third of the way along the course when Sagan finished. The initial time gap showed him as 2 seconds behind, but another few km later he was 5, then 6 seconds off, with just 8 in hand.

As he entered the final stretch, van Avermaet was clocked 7 seconds behind, but managed to just match Sagan's pace, crossing the line in 11:39, enough to win the General Classification by a solitary second. 

@TirrenAdriatico

Stage results

1. Fabian Cancellara (TFS) 11:08

2. Johan Le Bon (FDJ) + :13

3. Tony Martin (EQS) + :15

General Classification final standings

1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 20:42;22

2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :01

3. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :23

4. Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ) + :24

5. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :24

6. Vincenzo Nibali (AST) + :29

7. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) + :33

8. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :39

9. Bauke Mollema (TFS) + :45

10. Roman Kreuziger (TNK) + :48

Climber Classification final standings

1. Cesare Benedetti (BOA) 11
2. Federico Zurlo (LAM) 10
3. Valerio Conti (LAM) 8

Points Classification final standings
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 36
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 22
3. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 20

1. 

Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 6: van Avermaet goes blue as Sagan misses out

BMC's Greg van Avermaet beat world champion Peter Sagan into second place to the win the penultimate stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico in Cepagatti.

Following yesterday's cancelled stage 5, the sixth stage saw the Dutchman win a sprint from a small group that included Sagan (TNK), Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) and race leader Zdenek Stybar (EQS).

The group broke away on the penultimate lap of the finishing circuit, when Tinkoff's Daniele Bennati and Oscar Gatto led Sagan out for the intermediate sprint, and didn't look back, eventually being joined by Avermaet, Stybar and Kwiatkowski, along with Stybar's Etixx-QuickStep teammates Fernando Gaviria and Matteo Trentin.

The break built up a lead of 35 seconds before Orica-GreenEDGE, Movistar and Trek put their foot down in an effort to close the gap. The peloton managed to bring the difference down to 7 seconds but were ultimately unable to catch the lead group.

As the break passed under the flamme rouge, Kwiatkowski upped the pace, with only Sagan and van Avermaet able to stay in touch, and it was van Avermaet who proved the freshest in the sprint, taking the stage win and, with it, the blue jersey and a 7 second lead over Stybar.

tirrenoadriatico.it

Now only tomorrow's 10km time trial remains, but with just eight seconds separating the top 3, and some high quality time triallers still in contention, van Avermaet's lead, and even place on the podium, are far from secure.

Stage winner Greg van Avermaet (BMC):
“I knew I could win such a sprint slightly uphill. It was a stage similar to the one I won last year: I was aiming for winning a second stage win at this race so I wanted to go for this one. The parcours of Tirreno-Adriatico is always very nice. It’s a preparation for the classics but also winning here is a confidence booster.

"We’ll see how far I can go tomorrow. This is my only chance to win this race I’ve always liked. I hope to take this nice trophy home”

Stage results
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 4:34:14
2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :00
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :02

General Classification
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 20:30:43
2. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) + :07
3. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :08
4. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :21
5. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) + :21
6. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :28
7. Sebastian Reichenbach (FDL) + :28
8. Roman Kreuziger (TNK) + :30
9. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :31
10. Vincenzo Nibali (AST) + :34

Climber Classification
1. Cesare Benedetti (BOA) 11
2. Federico Zurlo (LAM) 10
3. Valerio Conti (LAM) 8

Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 36
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 22
3. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 20

Paris-Nice Stage 7 - Thomas clings on to take overall win

Geraint Thomas dug deep to reel in an attack from Alberto Contador to hold on to his lead in today's final stage of the Paris-Nice, to claim overall victory by just four seconds.

Tim Wellens (LTS) took the stage win from a group of three, including Contador and Richie Porte (BMC), a well-deserved win having been out in front all day.

Wellens was part of a group of 19 riders who attacked early on, containing Thomas de Gendt (LTS) and Antoine Duchesne (DEN) who were set to duke it out over the remaining King of the Mountain points.

The Canadian Duchesne was in no mood to relinquish his 21 point lead in the standings, and took the first four summits, each time ahead of de Gendt. With those points, he was confirmed as the King of the Mountains, hard earned after three days in the breaks.

With two category 1 climbs remaining, there were still opportunities for Contador to make inroads into the 15 second deficit to Geraint Thomas, and he made his move on the first, the Côte de Peille. A response was not immediately forthcoming, as Contador eventually settled into a group in between the breakaway, which had dwindled to six, and the main group, including Thomas' Team Sky.

Contador was joined by two teammates from the lead group, at which point Sky sensed the danger, upping the pace to reel Contador back in, which they eventually did after he had been out front for 30km.

The Spaniard was not willing to let it sit at that, attacking twice more on his own with no success. A third time he was joined by Romain Bardet (AGR), Richie Porte (BMC) and his Tinkoff teammate Rafal Majka, and managed to put a small gap into Geraint Thomas.

On the climb up the final category 1, the Col d'Èze, Contador and Porte had gone out themselves and caught the leader Wellens. Attention, however, turned to the peloton, as it appeared that Thomas had cracked. The Welshman dropped back to over half a minute behind Contador et al as Sky teammates dropped back to try to drag him back.

As they descended, Thomas' tactics became more clear, as the higher gear he had chosen for just such a downhill chase gave him every chance of closing the gap. From 30 seconds at the summit, halfway down the 16km descent the gap had fallen only to 25, but he kept pushing, as Wellens, Contador and Porte forged on out front.

The gap had dropped to 10 seconds by the 3km to go mark, as Thomas had bridged the gap to a chasing group with the help of Sergio Henao, who then worked together to close. In the leading trio, Contador knew every place mattered as well as seconds, as the time bonuses could swing the race one way or another.

With a couple of hundred metres left, Wellens found some extra energy despite leading for so long, leaving Contador and Porte scrapping for second as he crossed the line. Contador had just enough to beat Porte to second, but there was not long to wait to find out who the ultimate winner was, as Thomas' group crossed the line just five seconds behind.

Those five, coupled with Contador's six bonus seconds, meant Geraint Thomas won the General Classification by just four seconds from the Spaniard. Had Contador managed to win the stage, those four seconds would have brought Contador level with Thomas, at which point the race would have been decided on the fractions of a second recorded in the prologue.

ASO/G. Demouveaux

Just how much the abandoning of stage 3 changed the overall race will have to be left to debate, but it is certain that without it, we were treated to a classic final two stages. It is also hard to argue against Geraint Thomas being a worthy winner, showing incredible determination to claw back every one of Contador's attacks over the last two days.

Stage winner Tim Wellens (LTS):
"It was my luck today to be with Contador and Porte. I knew they wanted to take time and they had not time to waste to fool around. I knew I could ride full gas with those two and stay in the front. It's a great victory."

GC winner Geraint Thomas (SKY):
"When Alberto went, we took it calmly at first but then on Col d'Eze, I must admit my legs gave way and I really thought it was over even for the podium. But then in the descent, I must really thank Sergio, this yellow jersey also belongs to him.

"This is amazing. It's definitely the greatest win in my career so far. To win ahead of Alberto, who is one of the greatest stage racers ever, and Richie, who won almost every race he entered last year, I can hardly believe it. I'm over the moon."

Stage results
1. Tim Wellens (LTS) 3:16:09
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :00
3. Richie Porte (BMC) + :00

General Classification final standings
1. Geraint Thomas (SKY) 27:26:40
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :04
3. Richie Porte (BMC) + :12
4. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :20
5. Ion Izaguirre (MOV) + :37
6. Sergio Henao (SKY) + :44
7. Simon Yates (OGE) + :44
8. Tony Gallopin (LTS) + :51
9. Romain Bardet (AGR) + 1:00
10. Rui Costa (LAM) + 1:07

King of the Mountains final standings
1. Antoine Duchesne (DEN) 78
2. Jesus Herrada (MOV) 51
3. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 49

Points Classification final standings
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 53
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) 23
3. Ben Swift (SKY) 22

Paris-Nice Stage 6 - Zakarin sweet as Thomas puts the G in GC

After an enthralling final few kilometres, as the GC contenders attacked and counter-attacked all the way up to La Madone d'Utelle, Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) timed his final push to take the stage win, just ahead of the new GC leader, Geraint Thomas (SKY).

Thomas had the full support of his team up the climb, with Sergio Henao with him until the final few hundred metres, and the energy saved was put to good use as he matched and held off Alberto Contador's best efforts.

With a climb just a few kilometres into the stage, the peloton stayed relatively together over the Côte de Gattières
, Thomas de Gendt (LTS) leading polka dot jersey holder Jesus Herrada through the first of seven King of the Mountain peaks.

The Lotto-Soudal rider was in combative mood, joining a break after that first summit in a bid for the overall polka dot jersey. Antoine Duchesne (DEN) had other ideas, tracking de Gendt over the next three peaks to take a trio of second places, and the virtual lead of the climber standings, as well as virtual yellow at the feed zone.

Duchesne hung on out at the front until the final descent of the day, those two extra point hauls securing the polka dot jersey for himself and his Direct Énergie team.

As the breakaway splintered, Tinkoff drove the peloton hard. The flourescent-clad team were working for Alberto Contador, 37 seconds down in GC, although Rafal Majka was also in contention. Orica-GreenEDGE meanwhile were keeping race leader Michael Matthews in the hunt.

On the climb up the Côte Duranus, Matthews' determined grip on the yellow jersey faltered, as he fell back from the main group. His resistance had lasted from the prologue until the sixth of seven climbs in the sixth of seven stages, still a hugely impressive achievement, but as he cracked, the pre-race favourites saw their chances open up.

Sky were first to move, as soon as they finally passed Duchesne they stepped up the pace on the descent, stringing the peloton out and creating gaps. When the pace settled back down as the road flattened, a lead group of around 30 was left a minute clear.

Team Sky remained at the front, dropping Roche after a long day at the front but still with five riders, including Geraint Thomas. Other teams had no more than three riders each, with principles Alberto Contador (TNK), Tom Dumoulin (TGA), Richie Porte (BMC), Romain Bardet (AGR) and Luis Leon Sanchez (AST) all in the group.

At the 10km banner, Rafal Majka and Alberto Contador upped the pace, leaving two of Sky's riders for dead and immediately shattering the lead group down to just 16, with the rest strung along the French hillside, but all the key protagonists remained, albeit with little or no support.

With 6km left, as the gradient hit 9%, Majka pushed briefly before peeling off for Contador to take over, and it was only Sergio Henao (SKY) and Thomas that could stay with him briefly, although they were trailing a few yards behind the great Spaniard. Porte reacted slower but caught the trio, as did Ilnur Zakarin of Katusha.

The quintet worked together to stay clear, although Simon Yates (OGE) managed to bridge the gap from the chasers. As they went past the flamme rouge, Porte made an unsuccessful attack, although a second from Porte did manage to drop Yates and Henao back from the group.

As the final climb approached, Contador attacked, but as they passed the 300m boards, Thomas surged past. leading Zakarin up the hill with Contador a few bike lengths back. As the line came into view, Zakarin found just enough to overtake the Welshman, taking a hard-fought win by a couple of metres.

ASO/G. Demouveaux

Thomas was visibly disappointed as he crossed the line, but was soon cheered by the confirmation that he took the lead of the GC standings, by 15 seconds from Alberto Contador. It's a gap large enough that Contador should be able to be kept at bay in tomorrow's bumoy stage around Nice, with Contador either needing every time bonus or to gap Thomas to prevent a first WorldTour stage race win for the Sky rider.

Stage winner Ilnur Zakarin (KAT):"I prepared this race at altitude. The team was super. They protected me all day and I just had to give my best in the final climb and it worked."

GC leader Geraint Thomas (SKY):
"It's unbelievable. The boys were incredible today. Thankfully I had the legs and I was able to respond to Contador's attacks. Sergio was really great and I've really got to thank him because he was fully committed to me. I'm disappointed not to win the stage.

"It's by no means finished. They won huge races. There's still a hell of a long way to go. Hopefully we can defend the jersey."

Stage results:
1. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) 4:45:11
2. Geraint Thomas (SKY) + :00
3. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :00

General Classification:
1. Geraint Thomas (SKY) 24:10:26
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :15
3. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :20
4. Richie Porte (BMC) + :21
5. Tom Dumoulin (TGA) + :32
6. Ion Izaguirre (MOV) + :37
7. Sergio Henao (SKY) + :39
8. Simon Yates (OGE) + :44
9. Tony Gallopin (LTS) + :51
10. Romain Bardet (AGR) + 1:00

King of the Mountains:
1. Antoine Duchesne (DEN) 56
2. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 35
3. Jesus Herrada (MOV) 33

Points Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 53
2. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) 26
3. Ben Swift (SKY) 22

Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 4 - Cummings goes off-plan to win

Steven Cummings switched up his plans to take a solo win in Foligno, counter-attacking a disorganised group of six in the last few kilometres to beat Sky's Salvatore Puccio by 13 seconds.

Dimension Data had originally set Cummings to work to benefit Edvald Boasson Hagen, but he went out alone when it became obvious that plan wasn't coming to fruition, to claim just his third stage win at WorldTour level.

Rain had been forecast, but it was the same clear skies as yesterday that greeted the riders at the start. Four riders made the early jump, Cesare Benedetti (BOA), Francesco Bongiorno (BAR), Valerio Conti (LAM) and Ricardo Vilela (CJR).

The four riders were allowed to stay clear by the peloton, the first half of the stage holding no lure for the peloton, only containing two intermediate sprints. Towards the start of the first of two circuits from Montefalco, the group remained three minutes clear, with Conti attacking and leading the way over the summit.

With a flat finish after the four climbs, sprinters were still looking at the finish as a possibility if they could hang on up the hills, but it was not to be as Dimension Data's Mark Cavendish, as well as yesterday's runner up and third placed  Caleb Ewan (OGE) and Elia Viviani (SKY) were dropped.

With 35km to go, Conti's continued attacks had devastated the breakaway group, and the peloton picked the pace up to reel him in 30km from the finish, on the run up to Trevi, the penultimate climb of the day.

On the final climb, the second to Montefalco, several riders looked to get themselves into place for a strong descent, including Greg van Avermaet (BMC), Peter Sagan (TNK) and Vincenzo Nibali (AST), but due to several failed attacks, none of the big names were able to take control.

It was a scrappy descent towards the finish, Matteo Montaguti (AGR) and Giovanni Visconti (MOV) the first two to get any daylight to the peloton. Dimension Data sent Steve Cummings out to bring them back, with a mind to setting up Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Montaguti tried again when they were reeled back in, along with Salvatore Puccio (SKY). Cummings went with them again to try to disrupt, but when they were chased down by another three riders 4km from the finish, it dawned that it was likely that one of those six would be the stage winner.

Switching to plan B, Cummings pulled the pin, the other five riders left expecting each other to make the chase, and no-one willing to do so, least of all Cummings' teammate Natnael Berhane. With no challenge to his lead, Cummings had a comfortable finish, rolling across the line well clear of Puccio and Berhane, sealing two top three places for Africa's team.

Back in the main peloton, Peter Sagan won an almost meaningless sprint to take 7th and a haldful of sprint points, while overall leader Zdenek Stybar finished safely, with no more time gaps to his closest rivals and retaining his 9 second lead over the BMC trio of Damiano Caruso, van Avermaet and Tejay van Garderen.

ciclismo.sportgo.it

Later in the afternoon, the Tirreno-Adriatico race organisers announced that tomorrow's stage 5, which was expected to be the one to shake up the GC order, will not take place due to heavy snowfall. With the loss of the race's queen stage, there are just two stages remaining, a largely flat stage 6 and the individual time trial of stage 7, which will completely change the nature of this race.

Stage winner Steve Cummings (DDD):"We were trying to do a stage for Edvald Boasson Hagen, we thought that he was the best chance for today. I was there as the policeman but it came to 3km and normally I can do 3km alone. I tried to do that strategy. I don’t know if that was ok but it seemed to work out."

Stage results:
1. Steve Cummings (DDD) 6:04:49
2. Salvatore Puccio (SKY) + :13
3. Natnael Berhane (DDD) + :13

General Classification: 
1. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 15:56:32
2. Damiano Caruso (BMC) + :09
3. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) + :09
4. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :09
5. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :11
6. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) + :11
7. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :14
8. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :18
9. Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ) +:18
10. Roman Kreuziger (TNK) + :20

Points Classification:
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 21
2. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 13
3. Fernando Gaviria (EQS) 12

Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 3 - Gaviria keeps Etixx-QuickStep on the podium

Fernando Gaviria (EQS) took his first WorldTour stage victory in Montalto di Castro, adapting best to a short punch uphill before the finish to keep Caleb Ewan (EQS) behind him, while the bunch sprint kept Gaviria's teammate Zdenek Stybar in the overall lead.

The race was held under classic Italian spring skies, with crisp sunlight shining on the riders all day. At the flag, five riders immediately made up the breakaway, Italians Simone Andreetta (BAR), Giorgio Cecchinel (AND) and Davide Villella (CPT) joined by wildcard riders José Gonçalves of Caja Rural-Seguros and Adrian Honkisz of CCC-Sprandi Polkowice. They were only allowed just over four minutes before the sprint teams stopped the gap growing, eyeing up the uphill finish.

The break was threatened from within a couple of times. First Andreeta cried enough, not feeling up to two full days of breakaway riding. Cecchinel also had a worry 76km from the finish, as he had a mechanical issue that forced him to stop for a new bike, but within a minute he rejoined the group.

Villella took the day's only intermediate sprint points, beating Gonçalves into second. The two finished in the same order over the only categorised climb in Scansano, and aside from a brief neutralisation due to a tight turn with a fountain in the middle of the road, little drama unfolded until the late stages.

Orica-GreenEDGE, Movistar and Katusha were among the teams driving the peloton forward towards the finish, but the breakaway had still not beencaught as they passed the 10km banner, the quartet working together all day to share the load and prolong their lead. That lead stayed around 30 seconds inside the final kilometres, as several teams looked to each other at the front of a flat-fronted peloton.

The peloton finally caught on to the danger with 4km to go, as the lead was still 23 seconds, but the four riders at the front were also beginning to believe in themselves. They came within clear sight of the peloton 2.5km from the finish, and the brave resistance was finally caught just before the flamme rouge, with Dimension Data the first team to drive past them.

As they rounded a corner with a few hundred metres to go, it looked like Daniele Bennati was set to perfectly deliver his Tinkoff teammate Peter Sagan, but Sagan got boxed in and didn't have the legs to respond, eventually just beaten to third by Elia Viviani (SKY).

Etixx-QuickStep's Fernando Gaviria surged past, doing just enough to hold off the fast-finishing Caleb Ewan (OGE) to take the win, his first at WorldTour level and following from a stage win in the Tour de San Luis in January.

Stage winner Fernando Gaviria (EQS):
"It’s been a complicated sprint. All teams were positioning their sprinter. Most of them were tired while Etixx–QuickStep was still able to do a phenomenal job for me. They even led me out too fast. I was touched by someone on my left but fortunately I had the legs to finish it off.

"I’ve worked hard to reach this level and get my first WorldTour victory today just after I won the omnium at the Track World Championship even though it was not a goal for me. My training plans were only built for road racing at WorldTour level."

Tim de Waele

Stage results
1. Fernando Gaviria (EQS) 4:17:28
2. Caleb Ewan (OGE) + :00
3. Elia Viviani (SKY) + :00

General Classification: 
1. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 9:51:18
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) + :09
3. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :09
4. Damiano Caruso (BMC) + :09
5. Daniel Oss (BMC) + :09
6. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) + :11
7. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :11
8. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :14
9. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :18
10. Sebastian Reichenbach (FDJ) + :18

Climber Classification:
1. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 5
2. Davide Villella (CPT) 5
3. Federico Zurlo (LAM) 5

Points Classification:
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 18
2. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 12
3. Fernando Gaviria (EQS) 12

Paris-Nice Stage 5 - Lutsenko solos to victory, but not yellow

A superbly timed late attack allowed Alexey Lutsenko (AST) to blast clear of the peloton and claim stage 5 of the Paris-Nice by over 20 seconds, but his efforts were not quite enough to prevent a determined Michael Matthews (OGE) from wearing the yellow jersey for a sixth day.

Lutsenko broke away, past the only remaining member of a group that had led over the day's five categorised climbs, his sights set on closing the gap to Matthews, an admirable and unlikely aim that sadly for him fell a few seconds short.

A large group of eight made the breakaway for the day, including such eminent names as Lars Boom (AST), Edward Theuns (TFS), Wouter Wippert (CPT), Matthias Brandle (IAM), Jesus Herrada (MOV) and Stijn Vandenbergh (EQS), although Brandle was dropped after the first category 3 climb.

The trip part way up the legendary Mont Ventoux, albeit only as high as Chalet Reynard, was enough to throw some big gaps into both the peloton and the break. Three riders attacked the break on the climb, looking to pick up King of the Mountains points over extending time over the peloton.

Herrada was ultimately first over the crest for the second time of the day, a pair of victories which secured him the polka dot jersey, followed by Arnaud Courteille (FDJ) and Antoine Duchesne (DEN). Boom and Vandenbergh caught the trio on the way down, leaving a reduced group of five some 5 minutes clear.

Mont Ventoux proved a big problem for several riders. AG2R's Alexis Gougeard and Lotto-Soudal's Andre Greipel both abandoned on the climb, while Jose Joaquin Rojas crashed heavily on the descent, being carried away with a knee injury and leaving his Movistar team one rider light. Frank Schleck was also forced to abandon, failing to recover from a crash in the mountains.

A group of sprinters, including Nacer Bouhanni, Marcel Kittel and Alexander Kristoff were also hanging off the back of the peloton, trying to stay in touch for the flatter end of the stage.

More dropped away as Tinkoff ramped up the pace, hunting down the increasingly spread out breakaway, catching most with just over 30km remaining. Duchesne continued alone for another 15km before being replaced by Alexey Lutsenko of Astana, making a brave solo bid to overhaul the yellow jersey.

The chase did pick the pace up, but a roundabout splintered the front of the peloton enough to give Lutsenko some breathing space, as he looked to overhaul the 33 second deficit to race leader Michael Matthews.

Under the flamme rouge his lead remained 25 seconds, just enough with the bonus seconds available, and a final kick saw him take the stage win, a magnificent solo performance. Attentions turned to the clock as Kristoff, having worked so hard to stay with the peloton in the mountains, was only able to take second in the stage despite winning the sprint.

Crucially for Lutsenko, the chasing group came in 21 seconds behind, not quite enough to put the gutsy Kazakh in yellow for tomorrow, especially since Matthews came in third behind Kristoff, saving himself four bonus seconds in the GC standings he has led all week.

ASO/G. Demouveaux

It is likely that Matthews will finally be removed from the yellow jersey after tomorrow's mountain stage, containing no less than five category 2 climbs, and a pair of category 1s, including a final summit finish up to La Madone d'Utelle. With the final day's expected bunch sprint, barring an exceptional resistance from the Australian, it should be a smash and grab for overall victory.

Stage winner Alexey Lutsenko (AST)
"I attacked in the last climb. I managed to take some 40 seconds and I rode the last 25 kilometres solo. It's my second World Tour victory after a stage on the Tour of Switzerland last year. But it's my best victory of the season, for me and for the team. Tomorrow, we will see."

GC leader Michael Matthews (OGE)
"I was hoping we could get rid of the sprinters along the way but as we didn't, we sat back and let the other teams do the work. The priority was then the yellow jersey more than the stage win. I'm not going to say I can win Paris-Nice but I'm going to give it everything I have. It's already over for the green jersey, I won it, so now it's all for the yellow."

Stage results:
1. Alexey Lutsenko (AST) 5:00:26
2. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) + :21
3. Michael Matthews (OGE) + :21

General Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 19:24:58
2. Alexey Lutsenko (AST) + :06
3. Tom Dumoulin (TGA) + :18
4. Patrick Bevin (CPT) + :23
5. Ion Izaguirre (MOV) + :23
6. Geraint Thomas (SKY) + :23
7. Lieuwe Westra (AST) + :28
8. Dries Devenyns (IAM) + :29
9. Rafal Majka (TNK) + :31
10. Richie Porte (BMC) + :31

King of the Mountains:
1. Jesus Herrada (MOV) 28
2. Antoine Duchesne (DEN) 24
3. Arnaud Courteille (FDJ) 18

Points Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 53
2. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 33
3. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) 26

Paris-Nice Stage 4: Bouhanni gains redemption in Romans-sur-Isere

Cofidis' Nacer Bouhanni made amends for his stage 2 relegation by taking a clean sprint win, ahead of Edward Theuns (TFS) and André Greipel (LTS).

Tommy Voeckler (DEN) spearheaded the early breakaway and was quickly joined by Matthew Brammeier (DDD), Florian Vachon (FVC) and Evaldas Siskevicius (DPM), although the peloton kept the group at arms length ahead of the second category climb of the Cote de Saint-Uze, 32 km from the end.

As the breakaway hit the climb, Voeckler attacked and jumped clear of the other riders. Meanwhile, a crash in the main field ended up with a number of riders hitting the deck, including Geraint Thomas (SKY), while Alexander Kristoff (KAT) suffered a mechanical and Marcel Kittel (EQS) and Arnaud Démare (FDJ) were dropped, with Demare eventually abandoning.

Nathan Haas (DDD) tried to attack over the top of the climb, only to end up in a field after misjudging a corner.

Sylvain Chavanel (DEN), Sep Vanmarcke (TLJ) and Delio Fernandez Cruz (DPM) caught up to, and then left behind, Voeckler, and had 15 seconds on the peloton with 7 km to go.

With 2 km remaining, Katusha and Cofidis took charge at the head of the group and put their foot on the gas in an effort to catch the trio out front. The breakaway was stubborn, though and resisted the catch until under a kilometre to go.

Bouhanni timed his sprint to perfection and never looked like being pipped to the line as the Frenchman took the stage.

Overall leader Michael Matthews (OGE) finished in fifth, to maintain his 14-second lead over Tom Dumoulin (TGA).

ASO/G. Demouveaux

Stage winner Nacer Bouhanni (COF): "I'm really glad to have won, especially after the work done by my teammates. My form is growing little by little and Paris-Nice is the ideal preparation for my big objective, which is Milan-San Remo."

GC leader Michael Matthews (OGE): "Today was about saving energy. I was really tired after yesterday. It was only 100 km but they were really tiring.

"Tomorrow is another hard day but I think I can get over the Ventoux. If that's the case and there's a few sprinters left, I'll be among those who stand a good chance. Between the GC and another stage win? I'm really going to take it day by day."

Stage results:
1. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 4:42:29
2. Edwaed Theuns (TFS) + :00
3. André Greipel (LTS) + :00

General Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 14:24:15
2. Tom Dumoulin (TGA) + :14
3. Patrick Bevin (CPT) + :19
4. Ion Izaguirre (MOV) + :19
5. Geraint Thomas (SKY) + :19
6. Lieuwe Westra (AST) + :24
7. Dries Devenyns (IAM) + :25
8. Rafal Majka (TNK) + :27
9. Richie Porte (BMC) + :27
10. Tim Wellens (LTS) + :28

King of the Mountains:
1. Evaldas Siskevicius (DPM) 15
2. Thomas Voeckler (DEN) 9
3. Ion Izaguirre (MOV) 4

Points Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 44
2. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 33
3. Ben Swift (SKY) 22

Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 2: Stybar's solo steals blue

Etixx-QuickStep directeur sportif Davide Bramati loves it when a plan comes together, and come together it did, as Zdenek Stybar won the second stage in Pomerance, having been tipped pre-race by Bramati, gaining the blue jersey from Daniel Oss.

Oss' BMC team were happy to let a sextet of riders breakaway at the start of the stage; with Giorgio Cecchinel (AND), Simone Andreetta (BAR), Cesare Benedetti (BOA), Luis Mas Bonet (CJR), Nikolay Mihaylov (CCC) and Federico Zurlo (LAM) built a lead of six minutes.

With 100 km to go, Taylor Phinney and Jempy Drucker increased their efforts at the front of the peloton and, by the time the escapees reached the Val di Cecina, the gap was decreasing.

Zurlo was the first over the Pian di Forno, the first categorised climb of the stage, while a trip through the Valle de Diavolo saw riders fall out the back of the peloton.

The break was finally caught inside the 9 km mark as Giovanni Visconti (MOV) attempted a quickly quelled attack on the 18% climb of Il Cerreto.

Another attack by Mirko Selvaggi (AND) was brought under control with 4 km to go, as Peter Kennaugh (SKY), then Diego Ulissi (LAM) trading rapid assaults, with the GC contenders staking their places at the front of the peloton.

It was Ulissi's attack that caused the most damage to the peloton, leaving a group of 20 riders remaining at the head of the race. As the pace of the group fell, thanks to a reluctance for anyone to take control, Stybar seized his chance to shoot off, over the summit and go clear on the descent.

Davide Formolo (CPT) and Oscar Gatto (TNK) tried to reel in Stybar, but to no avail, while Vincenzo Nibali (AST) also failed with a solo chase in the final kilometre, as Stybar took the win.

Nibali was caught by the remnants of the pack with 100m to go, with Peter Sagan (TNK) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (DDD) taking second and third, respectively, one second down.

Stybar's ten-second time bonus, for the stage win, sees him take the overall lead, putting him nine seconds ahead of BMC's Greg van Avermaet and Tejay van Garderen.

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Stage winner and GC leader Zdenek Stybar (EQS):
"We planed it a little bit two and a half weeks ago with Bramati that this could be a stage for me, so I was pretty focused for this stage.
"I knew the last two or three kilometres were very technical, which is good for me. I tried to go. I didn't really plan to go there but I saw the opportunity, the space, and I thought 'ok, the bunch will slow and I'll go with everything I have.'"

Stage Results:
1. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 5:10:03
2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :01
3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (DDD) + :01

General Classification:
1. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 5:33:50
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) + :09
3. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :09
4. Damiano Caruso (BMC) + :09
5. Daniel Oss (BMC) + :09
6. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) + :11
7. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :11
8. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :14
9. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :18
10. Sebastian Reichenbach (FDJ) + :18

Climber Classification:
1. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 5
2. Federico Zurlo (LAM) 5
3. Davide Formolo (CPT) 3

Points Classification:
1. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 15
2. Simone Andretta (BAR) 10
3. Peter Sagan (TNK) 10

Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 1: BMC open Tirreno-Adriatico with team time trial win

World team time trial champions, BMC, led the way in the opening stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, tackling the 22.7km Lido de Camaiore course in 23 mins 55 secs; putting their man, Daniel Oss, in blue.


The BMC team contained four members of their World Championship winning team, and Oss, van Garderen, Taylor Phinney and Manuel Quinzato demonstrated their prowess as they took the the lead away from the Tony Martin-powered Etixx-QuickStep, who finished two seconds down.


Thibaut Pinot's FDJ team turned in an impressive performance, finishing in third place, nine seconds back, giving Pinot a good launchpad to mount a challenge for the blue jersey.


Tinkoff, containing world champion Peter Sagan, ended the day in fourth place, 11 seconds behind BMC, with IAM Cycling rounding out the top five a further second down.


It was a disappointing day for Orica-GreenEdge, however, as they could only manage to sneak into the top 10, finishing 9th, with a 25 second gap to the leaders.


The big losers, however, were Cannondale, who had three riders - including Rigoberto Uran - crash early on, finishing in last place, with a deficit of 2:03.

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Stage winner and GC leader Daniel Oss (BMC): “It’s amazing,” said Oss as he waited to receive the blue jersey. “It was one of the objectives for the team win the first stage because we have an amazing team for the TTT. But we also have some amazing climbers like Tejay for the GC, so this is a good start.”



Stage Results
1. BMC Racing Team 0:23;55

2. Etixx-QuickStep + :02

3. FDJ + :09



General Classification

1. Daniel Oss (BMC) 00:23:55

2. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) + :0

3. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) + :0

4. Taylor Phinney (BMC) + :0

5. Manuel Quinziato (BMC) + :0

6. Damiano Caruso (BMC) + :0

7. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) + :02

8. Yves Lampaert (EQS) + :2

9. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :2

10. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) + :2