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

Having been led out by Mark Cavendish, Meersman won the final sprint stage of the Tour de l’Ain by holding off Feillu and Duque in the bunch kick; 10 bonus seconds allowed him to extend his overall lead

Photo: OPQS / Tim De Waele

GIANNI MEERSMAN

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

LEONARDO DUQUE

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

ROMAIN FEILLU

RIDER PROFILE
|
NEWS

SOUDAL - QUICK STEP

TEAM PROFILE
|
NEWS

TOUR DE L'AIN

RACE PROFILE
|
NEWS
14.08.2014 @ 18:27 Posted by Emil Axelgaard

Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) proved that he deserved the confidence from his teammate and the support from Mark Cavendish when he won today’s second stage of the Tour de l’Ain in a bunch sprint. The Belgian held off Romain Feillu (Bretagne) and Leonardo Duque (Colombia) and managed to extend his overall lead in the process.

 

Yesterday Mark Cavendish told his Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammate Gianni Meersman that he was not ready to sprint as he was just coming back from the injury sustained in the Tour de France. Hence, he put himself in service of his teammate who was disappointed only to take third in the first bunch sprint of the Tour de l’Ain.

 

Today the sprinters got what is expected to be their final chance in the race and again Meersman had the support from his teammates. This time he didn’t disappoint as he beat Romain Feillu and Leonardo Duque to take his second victory in the race after he won the opening prologue.

 

The stage was held on a completely flat 158.1km route from Bourg-en-Bresse to Saint-Vulbas and unless the wind started to blow heavily, it was expected to be a straightforward day for the sprinters. As the riders took the start in nice conditions, all was set for a bunch kick.

 

Right from the start Quentin Pacher (France Espoirs), Jean-Lou Paiani (Roubaix) and Jerome Gilbert (Wanty) attacked and as everybody expected the stage to be firmly controlled, the peloton was content with the situation. At the 4km mark, they were already 1.35 ahead and after 10km of racing, their advantage was 3.35.

 

As expected, OPQS hit the front and they started to control the situation. They got some assistance from Francis Mourey (FDJ) and the two teams kept the gap stable at around 4.30 for most of the day.

 

Paiani beat Pacher and Gilbert in the first intermediate sprint while the peloton still took it pretty easy. With 80km to go, they started to accelerate and 10km later, they had brought the gap down to just 2.50.

 

The escapees responded well and managed to keep the gap stable at around 3 minutes. With 25km to go, the situation started to change when Garmin-Sharp joined the chase and with 20km to go, OPQS and the American team had brought the gap down to 2 minutes.

 

Pacher attacked in the breakaway and started to gradually distance his former companions. Meanwhile, FDJ also started to chase in the peloton and with 12km to go, Pacher was only 1.10 ahead.

 

Inside the final 10km, Gilbert and Paiani were caught while Pacher did really well to maintain a 30-secon advantage. With 6km to go, he was still 12 seconds ahead but with 3km to go, it was over for the young Frenchman. From there, all was set for a bunch sprint in which Meersman emerged as the strongest.

 

With the win, Meersman extended his overall lead and he goes into stage 3 with a 16-second advantage over his teammate Julian Alaphilippe. Tomorrow, however, the terrain gets a lot tougher on a course that is up or down all day. The riders will tackle four smaller climbs before the hit the category 1 Col de Menthieres. The summit comes just 21km from the finish and they consist of a descent and a gradual 10km rise to the finish.

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

Ludwig FAGERSTRØM
22 years | today
Keisuke NAKAO
34 years | today
Isabelle CARNES
20 years | today
Per SCHYLSTRÖM
38 years | today
Leonardo SCARSELLI
49 years | today

© CyclingQuotes.com