Always strong in the second half of the season, Leonardo Duque again put his good condition on show when he sprinted to third in the second stage of the Tour de l'Ain. The result was the culmination of a strong Colombia performance that had seen the team contribute to the chase.

After taking fifth in Tour de l’Ain first sprint, Leonardo Duque moved up a level for Team Colombia in the 2nd stage of the French race, taking third in Saint-Vulbas behind stage winner and overall leader Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and Romain Feillu (Bretagne-Seche). Duque’s placement at the end of the 158 km effort came on the back of the strong team effort to set up into the final 20 km, when the peloton was forced to make a far greater effort than yesterday to shut the day’s breakaway.

Three men animated a sunny day from just after the start in Ekinox de Bourg-en-Bresse: Paiani (Roubaix-Lille), Pacher (France Espoirs) and Gilbert (Wanty-Gobert), stretched their advantage out to 4.35. The peloton looked able to control at first, but the escapees put on a great fight and managed to enter the final 20 km with just less than 2 minutes on the pack.

At that time, Team Colombia itself sent two men – Jonathan Paredes and Edward Diaz – to help the chase from the sprinters’ teams, and Pacher was finally the last man to give up with 3 km to go. Duque relied on the strong set-up byJuan Pablo Valencia, Edwin Avila and Juan Esteban Arango to find his position and catch a good podium spot.

After two stages and the prologue, Juan Esteban Arango is still the best Team Colombia rider in the GC, 19th at 28” to leader Meersman.

“It was a good team effort today, and it was rewarded by Duque’s result," Sports Director Valerio Tebaldi said. "We all know he is very strong at this time of the year, the whole team put great confidence in him and he is not letting us down.”

Tomorrow, Friday, the GC might be set for a major shake after the 3rd stage, on a hilly 130 km route from Lagnieu toLelex-Monts Jura.