CyclingQuotes.com uses cookies for statistics and targeting ads. This information is shared with third parties.
ACCEPT COOKIES » MORE INFO »

Every day we bring you more pro-cycling news

Trying to lead out Greipel for the sprint, Henderson takes a surprise victory ahead of Farrar and his German teammate; Kittel is not in the mix but defends his overall lead

Photo: Sirotti

ANDRÉ GREIPEL

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

GREGORY HENDERSON

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

LOTTO-DSTNY

TEAM PROFILE
|
NEWS

MARCEL KITTEL

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

STER ZLM TOUR

RACE PROFILE
|
NEWS

TEAM SUNWEB

TEAM PROFILE
|
NEWS

TYLER FARRAR

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS
20.06.2014 @ 18:06 Posted by Emil Axelgaard

Greg Henderson (Lotto Belisol) was expected to play his usual role as a lead-out man in today’s third stage of the Ster ZLM Toer but the Kiwi did so well that he ended up taking the win. He held off Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) and his team captain André Greipel while Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) finished back in 22nd but defended his overall win.

 

Greg Henderson is known as the final lead-out man for André Greipel in the very strong Lotto Belisol train and rarely gets his chance to chase personal success. Today he was expected to be given the chance either but ended up taking a surprise win in the third stage of the Ster ZLM Toer.

 

Going into the final kilometres, all was set for another big bunch sprint and like yesterday it was a fierce battle between Giant-Shimano, Lotto Belisol and Omega Pharma-Quick Step for control. Yesterday the Giant train had won the battle but today it was their Belgian rivals from Lotto that did everything right.

 

Lotto Belisol hit the front in the finale and everything seemed to be going according to the pre-race plan until Henderson got a surprising gap when he tried to lead out Greipel. The Kiwi held his advantage all the way to the line to take a hugely unexpected victory.

 

Moments later Farrar beat Greipel in the sprint for second, taking his second consecutive runner-up spot, while there was no glory for race leader Kittel who rolled across the line in 22nd. As none of the three riders in the top 3 were any danger for his overall lead, however, the German could console himself by keeping the leader’s jersey.

 

After yesterday’s flat stage, the second legs was held on a tougher 190.5km course starting and finishing in Buchten. The first part was loaded with climbs known from the Amstel Gold Race but as the second half was a downhill and flat run back to a flat finishing circuit in Buchten, another bunch sprint was expected.

 

That didn’t dampen the attacking spirit as a lot of riders wanted to make use of the hilly terrain to attack. The first part of the stage was raced at an impressive speed as riders kept going off the front on the many climbs.

 

After a 4-rider group had briefly had a gap, things exploded when the peloton split in two on one of the climbs. The first group was made up of Tjallingii, Van Emden, Maes, Meersman, Vermote, Kittel, Timmer, Gilbert, Hermans, Bak, Debusschere, Wellens, Van Baarle, Salomein, De Troyer, Minnaard, Pfingsten, Van Zandbeek, Ruijgh, Van Aert, Teunissen, Tusveld, M.Lammertink, Vermeer, Asselman Van Goethem, Vermeersch who managed to build a 50-second gap at one point.

 

Androni had missed the move and chased hard to get back in contention, dropping several riders in the process. Graeme Brown and a sick Theo Bos were some of the first to fall off, with both later abandoning the race.

 

The efforts paid off for Androni and when they got some assistance from Topsport Vlaanderen to close the final small bit of the gap, things came back together. This opened the door for Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) to attack and he was joined by Yannick Eijssen (BMC), Johnny Hoogerland (Androni), Marco Minaard (Wanty), Ronan Van Zandbeek (De Rijke) and Dries Hollanders (Metec) to form the break of the day.

 

The peloton briefly slowed down but Giant-Shimano was in no mood to let the break get too much leeway. The gap reached a maximum of 2.40 before the peloton started to reel them in

 

Giant got some assistance from OPQS and with 25km to go, they had the escapees in sight, with the gap down to less than 25 seconds. Van Zandbeek, Hollanders and Hansen tried to attack but just after the 20km to go mark, Hollanders was the final rider to get caught.

 

Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) beat Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Tim Wellens (Lotto) in the final intermediate sprint to score important bonus seconds. Later Sjoerd Kouwenhoven (De Rijke) and Piotr Havik (Rabobank) both tried late attacks but the sprinters were not to be denied.

 

In the finale, Androni took control but had to battle for position with Lotto Belisol, OPQS and Giant-Shimano and in the end it was the former that took the win with Henderson.

 

Kittel takes a five-second lead over Meersman and Farrar into tomorrow’s third stage which is the queen stage of the race. After a hilly start that includes the Cote de la Redoute, the stage ends with two laps of a difficult finishing circuit around La Gileppe and an uphill sprint that suits the puncheurs.

MORE NEWS:

VIEW SELECTED

Bycykling 101: Navigering i byens gader og cykelvenlige... 27.11.2023 @ 12:11The Best Danish Cyclist To Bet On At 2022 Tour De France 13.01.2022 @ 15:262022 Upcoming Tournament Overview 03.01.2022 @ 09:45Best Place to Find Stand-Up Paddleboards 16.06.2021 @ 08:16What are Primoz Roglic’s Chances to Win 2021 Tour de Fr... 17.03.2021 @ 08:37Amazing victory by young champion Sarah Gigante 04.02.2021 @ 14:21Three reasons why cycling is one of the best ways to ex... 28.09.2020 @ 12:03Why do businesses use meeting room managers? 14.09.2020 @ 13:42Five things that you can do, if you want to gain more f... 20.08.2020 @ 15:38One for the road 09.06.2020 @ 15:25List of CyclingQuotes previews 07.05.2020 @ 13:20Blue Energy: room for all interests 26.08.2019 @ 12:56Get your daily dose of exercise at home 08.07.2019 @ 10:443 good advice to be able to afford your favorite bike 25.02.2019 @ 12:32Cycle through gorgeous landscapes 22.10.2018 @ 21:41Balance Your Economy and Diet and Start Saving Money 08.10.2018 @ 11:18Stay Safe: 3 Helmets That Can Keep Your Head Protected... 20.07.2018 @ 07:59Planning to bet on Tour De France - Bet types and strat... 24.05.2018 @ 14:18Basics of cycling betting 25.10.2017 @ 13:10Bauer moves to ORICA-SCOTT 28.08.2017 @ 10:45End of the road for CyclingQuotes 08.01.2017 @ 16:00Rui Costa confirms Giro participation 07.01.2017 @ 12:55Van Avermaet: I am not afraid of Sagan 07.01.2017 @ 09:45Unchanged course for E3 Harelbeke 07.01.2017 @ 09:32Jenner takes surprise win at Australian U23 Championships 07.01.2017 @ 08:53No replacement for Meersman at Fortuneo-Vital Concept 06.01.2017 @ 19:14Barguil with two goals in 2017 06.01.2017 @ 19:06More details about French Vuelta start emerges 06.01.2017 @ 14:16Kristoff to start season at Etoile de Besseges 06.01.2017 @ 14:10Ion Izagirre announces schedule for first year at Bahrain 06.01.2017 @ 12:40JLT Condor optimistic for Herald Sun Tour 06.01.2017 @ 09:19Haas leads Dimension Data trio in fight for Australian... 06.01.2017 @ 09:15Sagan spearheads Bora-hansgrohe at Tour Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:12Henao and Thomas lead Sky Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:09Bauer crowned New Zealand TT champion 06.01.2017 @ 08:33Van der Poel ready to defend Dutch title 05.01.2017 @ 21:00Pantano ambitious for first Tour with Trek 05.01.2017 @ 20:41Landa with new approach to the Giro 05.01.2017 @ 20:36Sunweb Development Team sign Goos and Zepuntke 05.01.2017 @ 20:27Dumoulin confirms Giro participation 05.01.2017 @ 20:19Bauer targets victories in Quick-Step debut 05.01.2017 @ 20:16Gaviria and Boonen lead Quick-Step in San Juan 05.01.2017 @ 20:13Team Sunweb presented in Germany 05.01.2017 @ 20:09ASO take over major German WorldTour race 05.01.2017 @ 11:01Team Sunweb unveil new jersey 05.01.2017 @ 10:54Reactions from the Australian TT Championships 05.01.2017 @ 08:27Dennis defends Australian TT title 05.01.2017 @ 08:21Scotson takes back to back U23 TT titles in Australia 05.01.2017 @ 08:15Utrecht on track to host 2020 Vuelta 04.01.2017 @ 18:28Pre-season setback for Talansky 04.01.2017 @ 17:56Kristoff: It's not impossible for me to win in Rou... 04.01.2017 @ 17:49Boom close to first cyclo-cross win in LottoNL debut 04.01.2017 @ 17:40UAE Abu Dhabi make late signing of Arab rider 04.01.2017 @ 17:36UAE Abu Dhabi unveil new jersey 04.01.2017 @ 17:30BMC unveil race schedule 04.01.2017 @ 17:21

Currently no news in this list

Heinrich BERGER
39 years | today
Ryan CAVANAGH
29 years | today
Evgeniy KRIVOSHEEV
36 years | today
Matic VEBER
28 years | today
Katherine MAINE
27 years | today

© CyclingQuotes.com