Stage 3 - Ajaccio - Calvi
Race time - 3h42min
Average speed - 39.3km/h
There's not a single metre of flat, which means the peloton will get very stretched out, presenting the very real possibility of splits occurring. Let this be a warning to any team leaders who might mistakenly believe they can ride towards the back of the field, especially as, at 145km, this stage is very short! It will give the puncheurs plenty to conjure with.
Mountain pa**es & hills:
Km 12.0 - Col de San Bastiano - 3.4 kilometre-long climb at 4.6% - category 4
Km 58.0 - Col de San Martino - 7.5 kilometre-long climb at 5.4% - category 3
Km 75.0 - Côte de Porto - 2 kilometre-long climb at 6.4% - category 3
Km 132.0 - Col de Marsolino - 3.3 kilometre-long climb at 8.1% - category 2
Intermediate sprints: Km 28.5 - Sagone
Stage Summary:
Five riders jumped ahead of the peloton shortly after the race hit kilometer zero. That group — Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM), Sebastien Minard (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Alexis Vuillermoz (Sojasun), Cyril Gautier (Europcar), and Simon Clarke (Orica) — rode together for almost the entire stage from Ajaccio to Calvi before breaking up late in the race.
The peloton, however, was steaming down the mountain at full speed.
At that point, a four-man lead group consisting of Rolland, Chavanel, Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and Lars-Peter Nordhaug (Belkin) a**umed control of the race. The peloton was somewhere around 10 seconds behind and closing.
The group's lead ended with just over 3km to go when the main field overtook the foursome.
The road then flattened out and the mad dash to the finish was on.
Cla**ifications:
Stage:
Pos./Name/Time
1.GERRANS Simon (AUS) 03h 41' 24''
2.SAGAN Peter (SVK) +00'00''
3.ROJAS José Joaquin (SPA) +00'00''
4.KWIATKOWSKI Michal (POL) +00'00''
5.GILBERT Philippe (BEL) +00'00''
6.FLECHA Juan A. (SPA) +00'00''
7.GAVAZZI Francesco (ITA) +00'00''
8.BOUET Maxime (FRA) +00'00''
9.SIMON Julien (FRA) +00'00''
10.INSAUSTI Gorka (SPA) +00'00''
Overall:
Pos./Name/Team/Time
1.BAKELANTS Jan(BEL) - RADIOSHACK LEOPARD - 12h21'27''
2.SIMON Julien(FRA) - SOJASUN - +00'01''
3.GERRANS Simon(AUS) - ORICA GREENEDGE - +00'01''
4.KWIATKOWSKI Michal(POL) - OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP - +00'01''
5.BOASSON HAGEN Edvald(NOR) - SKY PROCYCLING - +00'01''
6.IMPEY Daryl(RSA) - ORICA GREENEDGE - +00'01''
7.MILLAR David(GBR) - GARMIN-SHARP - +00'01''
8.LAGUTIN Sergey(UZB) - VACANSOLEIL-DCM - +00'01''
9.EVANS Cadel(AUS) - BMC RACING TEAM - +00'01''
10.BARDET Romain(FRA) - AG2R LA MONDIALE - +00'01''
Points:
Pos./Name/Pts
1.SAGAN Peter(SVK) 74 pts
2.KITTEL Marcel(GER) 57 pts
3.KRISTOFF Alexander(NOR) 48 pts
4.KWIATKOWSKI Michal(POL) 41 pts
5.BOOM Lars(NED) 40 pts
6.VAN POPPEL Danny(NED) 39 pts
7.ROJAS J.J.(SPA) 36 pts
8.GERRAN Simons(AUS) 32 pts
9.FLECHA Juan A.(SPA) 32 pts
10.BAKELANTS Jan(BEL) 30 pts
Climber:
Pos./Name/Pts
1.ROLLAND Pierre (FRA) - 10 pts
2.CLARKE Simon (AUS) -5 pts
3.KADRI Blel (FRA) -5 pts
4.NIEVE ITURRALDE Mikel(SPA) - 3 pts
5.GAUTIER Cyril (FRA) -2 ptsFEILLU Brice(FRA) -2 pts
6.BOOM Lars (HOL) -2 pts
7.NORDHAUG Lars-Peter (NOR) -2 pts
8.FEILLU Brice(FRA) - 2 pts
9.VUILLERMOZ ALEXIS(FRA) - 2 pts
10.LOBATO DEL VALLE J.J(SPA) - 1 pts
Team:
Pos./Name/Time
1.RADIOSHACK LEOPARD(LUX) 26h 00' 11''
2.BMC RACING TEAM(USA) +00'01''
3.VACANSOLEIL-DCM(NED) +00'01''
4.LAMPRE - MERIDA(ITA) +00'01''
5.ORICA GREENEDGE(AUS) +00'01''
6.AG2R LA MONDIALE(FRA) +00'01''
7.TEAM EUROPCAR(FRA) +00'01''
8.TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF(DEN) +00'01''
9.MOVISTAR TEAM(SPA) +00'01''
10.ASTANA PRO TEAM(UZB) +00'01''
Combative:
Name/No./Team
CLARKE Simon(AUS) - 183 - ORICA GREENEDGE(AUS)