Manx Express launched into Dumfries finishing straight by stage one winner Luke Rowe
It was third time lucky for Team Sky as it finally managed to deliver Mark Cavendish to the line to take a victory in the 2012 Tour of Britain, on the third stage between Jedburgh and Dumphries. The World champion, who crashed in the closing kilometres of stage one, then misjudged the finish on stage two, was led out in the usual style by his team this time. Luke Rowe - the rider that profited from Cavendish’s misfortune on the opening day - was the the British team’s final lead out man, and the Manxman was able to take a fast, but simple, victory.
Stage two winner Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEdge) finished second behind the World champion, ahead of lead out man Aidis Kruopis, with Rowe taking fourth. Six bonus seconds on the line for Howard meant that the Australian took over the race lead.
“I knew the finish, that it would have a tailwind going downhill, so that meant I could go early, and I had a perfect lead out,” said Cavendish after his victory. "Luke was so fast at the end, and Bernie [Eisel] before him, and Brad [Wiggins] and Jez [Hunt] kept it strung out before that.
“It was a pretty textbook display."
Time bonuses on the line put Cavendish close to the race lead - equal on time with Howard - but the World champion dismissed any suggestion that he was interested in the overall lead. Conversely, with less than two weeks before the defence of his rainbow jersey, the first British man to wear it for almost half a century has no intention of taking it off before he has to.
"I'm here for stage wins, not the GC,’ he said. “Wearing the gold jersey would be an honour but I've worn it before and I've only got the world champion's jersey for a few more days so I want to savour that more than anything."
The break of the day came from Kristian House (Rapha Condor), Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh-GAC), Peter Hawkins (IG-Sigma Sport), Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil-DCM), and Peter Williams (Node4-Giordana), who escaped in the early kilometres. House was looking for points to retake the mountains jersey that he had worn after stage one, while Williams was seeking to extend his lead in the green sprints jersey classification.
The five riders managed to build a lead of up to four minutes across the climbs of the first half of the stage, before being steadily pulled back by the UnitedHealthcare team of yellow jersey Boy van Poppel.
With 25km to go Hawkins and Kreder jumped away from the others, who were quicly caught by the peloton, and with 14km to go Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Sharp) jumped across what was by then a 20 second gap. Hawkins was soon dropped, but Kreder managed to hold on to Vanmarcke’s back wheel; the exhausted Dutchman was not able to come through to work much, and the Belgian winner of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad had to do most of the work.
Team Sky was in control of the peloton however and, with help from Orica-GreenEdge, the two riders were finally caught with just 2.5km to go.
Bernhard Eisel led into the final kilometre, before handing over to stage one winner Luke Rowe and, once Cavendish had opened up his sprint, he was able to sit up a long way before the line to take his first stage of the race.
The break goes across the hills again as the rain comes down
The 152.6km stage began with Rowe taking the first sprint - after just 10.6km - ahead of van Poppel, to move back up alongside the Dutchman in the virtual standings, and shortly afterwards House, Sulzberger, Hawkins, Kreder, Williams escaped.
The five riders were able to build up a lead of four minutes as they crossed the 1st category climbs of Roberton and Turner Cleuch Law, after 22km and 40.9km respectively. UnitedHealthcare came to the front of the peloton at this point, with heavy rain falling on the race, and began to slowly reel them in.
As Sulzberger led over the Grey Mare’s Tail after 63.3km the gap was still 3’10” but, as the course flattened out in the second half - as it had done the previous day - it was down to 2’12” as Williams led over the second intermediate sprint with 45km to go.
Team Sky then joined the chase and the gap began to fall faster; it began to rain again as the leaders entered Dumfries and, as Williams led across the finish line to start the 30.5km finishing loop, the gap was down to just 1’10”.
With 25km to go the five riders had just 40 seconds in hand and began to look at one another. After some brief attacks from the others, Hawkins and Kreder escaped; the three others were soon swept up by the peloton that was now led by Team Sky, but the two leaders were still 32 seconds ahead. Wiggins himself came to the front and began to string out the peloton behind him.
With 20km to go though, the Tour de France winner sat up and left the pace to UnitedHealthcare once more, and the two leaders’ advantage began to rise. With 18km to go it was up to 47 seconds but, with both riders tiring after a long day up the road, this was down to just 28 seconds with 15km to go.
Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) tried to jump across the gap but he was soon pulled back as Team Sky came forward again in force and lifted the pace. As soon as Haas was back in the bunch though, his teammate Vanarcke went himself, and managed to tear himself clear.
Vanmarcke joined the leaders with 12km to go, and Hawkins was dropped soon afterwards; the two leaders still had 18 seconds with ten kilometres to go but, with Team Sky now in full cry, their days looked numbered. With four kilometres to go they still had 14 seconds though, so Orica-GreenEdge came through to help in the chase.
With 2.5km, a big surge from 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt (UK Youth), saw them finally caught as they rode through the streets of the outskirts of town.
Team Sky then began to string the peloton out once more, with Wiggins handing over to Eisel in the final kilometre. The Austrian then handed over to Rowe, who kept the pace so high into the finish that, when Cavendish launched himself with 200 metres to go, the Manxman was several lengths clear before he sat up to see the damage done behind him.
The World champion sat up and cruised across the line, as the rest of the sprinters fought for the places behind him.
Tour of Britain (2.1)
Stage 3: Jedburgh - Dumfries
1, Mark Cavendish (Sky Procycling) at 3 hours 54 mins 30 secs
2, Leigh Howard (Orica - GreenEdge)
3, Aidis Kruopis (Orica - GreenEdge)
4, Luke Rowe (Sky Procycling)
5, Sam Bennett (An Post - Sean Kelly)
6, Russell Downing (Endura Racing)
7, Boy Van Poppel (UnitedHealthcare)
8, Jonathan McEvoy (Endura Racing)
9, Barry Markus (Vacansoleil - DCM)
10, Yanto Barker (UK Youth Cycling)
11, Nathan Haas (Garmin - Sharp)
12, Chris Opie (UK Youth Cycling)
13, Daniel Schorn (Team NetApp)
14, Marco Benffato (Liquigas - Cannondale)
15, Rony Martias (Saur - Sojasun)
16, Ben Grenda (Rapha Condor)
17, Rico Rogers (Node 4 - Giordana)
18, Graham Briggs (Raleigh - GAC)
19, Paolo Longo Borghini (Liquigas - Cannondale)
20, Steele Von Hoff (Garmin - Sharp)
21, Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin - Sharp)
22, Pierre Cazaux (Euskaltel - Euskadi)
23, Mathew Cronshaw (Node 4 - Giordana)
24, Simon Yates (Great Britain)
25, Damiano Caruso (Liquigas - Cannondale)
26, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor)
27, Christopher Jones (UnitedHealthcare)
28, Richard Lang (Rapha Condor)
29, Christian Knees (Sky Procycling)
30, Zak Dempster (Endura Racing)
31, Brett Lancaster (Orica - GreenEdge)
32, Paul Voss (Endura Racing)
33, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Endura Racing)
34, Niklas Gustavsson (UK Youth Cycling)
35, Wouter Sybrandy (IG - Sigma Sport)
36, Dan Craven (IG - Sigma Sport)
37, Daniel Lloyd (IG - Sigma Sport)
38, Ricardo Garcia (Euskaltel - Euskadi)
39, Evan Oliphant (Raleigh - GAC)
40, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel - Euskadi)
41, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp)
42, David Clarke (Node 4 - Giordana)
43, Adrian Saez de Arregui (Euskaltel - Euskadi)
44, Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling)
45, Bartosz Huzarski (Team NetApp)
46, Matthias Krizek (Liquigas - Cannondale)
47, Simon Richardson (IG - Sigma Sport)
48, Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi)
49, Jan Barta (Team NetApp)
50, Jacob Rathe (Garmin - Sharp)
51, Tom Moses (Great Britain)
52, Jérémie Galland (Saur - Sojasun)
53, Bernhard Eisel (Sky Procycling)
54, Michael Northey (Node 4 - Giordana)
55, Alistair Slater (Great Britain)
56, Yannick Talabardon (Saur - Sojasun)
57, Owain Doull (Great Britain)
58, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post - Sean Kelly)
59, Christopher Jennings (Rapha Condor)
60, Liam Holohan (Raleigh - GAC)
61, Marcin Bialoblocki (Node 4 - Giordana)
62, David McGowan (UK Youth Cycling)
63, Michael Cuming (Rapha Condor)
64, Leopold Koenig (Team NetApp)
65, David Le Lay (Saur - Sojasun)
66, Tom Last (IG - Sigma Sport)
67, Mark McNally (An Post - Sean Kelly)
68, Ian Bibby (Endura Racing)
69, Jerome Coppel (Saur - Sojasun)
70, Jacek Morajko (Vacansoleil - DCM)
71, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC)
72, Magnus Backstedt (UK Youth Cycling)
73, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) at 38 secs
74, Ivan Basso (Liquigas - Cannondale)
75, Kai Reus (UnitedHealthcare)
76, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana)
77, Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas - Cannondale) at 41 secs
78, Josh Edmondson (Great Britain)
79, Christofer Stevenson (UK Youth Cycling)
80, Fabrice Jeandesboz (Saur - Sojasun)
81, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) at 46 secs
82, Lachlan Morton (Garmin - Sharp) at 47 secs
83, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post - Sean Kelly) at 54 secs
84, Michael Hepburn (Orica - GreenEdge) at 1 min mins 13 secs
85, Robert Förster (UnitedHealthcare) at 0 secs
86, Russell Hampton (Raleigh - GAC) at 1 min 22 secs
87, George Atkins (Great Britain)
88, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post - Sean Kelly) at 1 min 27 secs
89, Jack Bobridge (Orica - GreenEdge) at 1 min 54 secs
90, Niels Wytinck (An Post - Sean Kelly) at 1 min 57 secs
91, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) at 1 min 59 secs
92, Jeremy Hunt (Sky Procycling)
93, Marc De Maar (UnitedHealthcare) at 3 mins 37 secs
94, Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) at 5 mins 8 secs
DNF:
Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil - DCM)
Blaz Jarc (Team NetApp)
Mountains:
Category 1 climb at Roberton (km 22):
1, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 10 pts
2, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) 9
3, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 8
4, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 7
5, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) 6
6, Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 5
7, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor) 4
8, Niels Wytinck (An Post - Sean Kelly) 3
9, Russell Hampton (Raleigh - GAC) 2
10, Marc De Maar (UnitedHealthcare) 1
Category 1 climb at Fire Stane Edge (km 40.9):
1, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) 10 pts
2, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 9
3, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 8
4, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) 7
5, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 6
6, Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 5
7, Adrian Saez de Arregui (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 4
8, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor) 3
9, Pierre Cazaux (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 2
10, Michael Cuming (Rapha Condor) 1
Category 2 at Grey Mares Tail (km 63.3):
1, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 6 pts
2, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) 5
3, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 4
4, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 3
5, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) 2
6, Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 1
Intermediate sprints:
Hawick (km 10.6):
1, Luke Rowe (Sky Procycling) 5 pts
2, Boy Van Poppel (UnitedHealthcare) 3
3, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 2
4, Chris Opie (UK Youth Cycling) 1
Lochmaben (km 107.5):
1, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 5 pts
2, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 3
3, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 2
4, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) 1
Dumfries (km 122.1):
1, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 5 pts
2, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 3
3, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) 2
4, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 1
Rouleur Combativity Award Kristian House (Rapha Condor)
Teams:
1, Sky Procycling, 11 hours 43 mins 30 secs
2, Orica - GreenEdge)
3, Endura Racing
4, Garmin - Sharp
5, UK Youth Cycling
6, Liquigas - Cannondale
7, Rapha Condor
8, Node 4 - Giordana
9, Team NetApp
10, Euskaltel - Euskadi
11, IG - Sigma Sport
12, Raleigh - GAC
13, UnitedHealthcare)
14, Saur - Sojasun
15, An Post - Sean Kelly
16, Great Britain
17, Vacansoleil - DCM), at 46 secs
General classification after stage 3:
1, Leigh Howard (Orica - GreenEdge) at 13 hours 16 mins 28 secs
2, Mark Cavendish (Sky Procycling)
3, Boy Van Poppel (UnitedHealthcare) at 4 secs
4, Luke Rowe (Sky Procycling)
5, Rony Martias (Saur - Sojasun) at 10 secs
6, Russell Downing (Endura Racing) at 12 secs
7, Steele Von Hoff (Garmin - Sharp) at 16 secs
8, Nathan Haas (Garmin - Sharp)
9, Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin - Sharp)
10, Sam Bennett (An Post - Sean Kelly) at 17 secs
11, Chris Opie (UK Youth Cycling)
12, Yanto Barker (UK Youth Cycling)
13, Paolo Longo Borghini (Liquigas - Cannondale)
14, Ben Grenda (Rapha Condor)
15, Richard Lang (Rapha Condor)
16, Christian Knees (Sky Procycling)
17, Niklas Gustavsson (UK Youth Cycling)
18, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Endura Racing)
19, Zak Dempster (Endura Racing)
20, Jérémie Galland (Saur - Sojasun)
21, Daniel Lloyd (IG - Sigma Sport)
22, Christopher Jones (UnitedHealthcare)
23, Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling)
24, Paul Voss (Endura Racing)
25, Damiano Caruso (Liquigas - Cannondale)
26, Brett Lancaster (Orica - GreenEdge)
27, Jerome Coppel (Saur - Sojasun)
28, Magnus Backstedt (UK Youth Cycling) at 33 secs
29, Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post - Sean Kelly)
30, Daniel Schorn (Team NetApp) at 50 secs
31, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) at 51 secs
32, Ivan Basso (Liquigas - Cannondale) at 55 secs
33, Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas - Cannondale) at 58 secs
34, Marco Benffato (Liquigas - Cannondale) at 1 min 1 secs
35, Barry Markus (Vacansoleil - DCM) at 1 min 14 secs
36, Bernhard Eisel (Sky Procycling) at 1 min 41 secs
37, Leopold Koenig (Team NetApp) at 1 min 46 secs
38, Robert Förster (UnitedHealthcare)
39, David Le Lay (Saur - Sojasun) at 1 min 47 secs
40, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) at 1 min 48 secs
41, Graham Briggs (Raleigh - GAC) at 1 min 49 secs
42, Jan Barta (Team NetApp)
43, Jacek Morajko (Vacansoleil - DCM)
44, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel - Euskadi) at 1 min 51 secs
45, Evan Oliphant (Raleigh - GAC)
46, Wouter Sybrandy (IG - Sigma Sport)
47, Yannick Talabardon (Saur - Sojasun)
48, Simon Yates (Great Britain 1 min 53 secs
49, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp)
50, Pierre Cazaux (Euskaltel - Euskadi)
51, Michael Cuming (Rapha Condor)
52, Bartosz Huzarski (Team NetApp) at 2 mins 0 secs
53, David Clarke (Node 4 - Giordana) at 2 mins 1 secs
54, Matthias Krizek (Liquigas - Cannondale) at 2 mins 5 secs
55, Dan Craven (IG - Sigma Sport) at 2 mins 7 secs
56, Adrian Saez de Arregui (Euskaltel - Euskadi)
57, Marcin Bialoblocki (Node 4 - Giordana) at 2 mins 9 secs
58, Kai Reus (UnitedHealthcare) at 2 mins 29 secs
59, Josh Edmondson (Great Britain 2 mins 32 secs
60, Fabrice Jeandesboz (Saur - Sojasun) at 2 mins 46 secs
61, Christofer Stevenson (UK Youth Cycling)
62, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor) at 2 mins 55 secs
63, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post - Sean Kelly) at 2 mins 56 secs
64, Simon Richardson (IG - Sigma Sport) at 4 mins 14 secs
65, Jonathan McEvoy (Endura Racing) at 4 mins 38 secs
66, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) at 6 mins 33 secs
67, Rico Rogers (Node 4 - Giordana) at 7 mins 39 secs
68, Mathew Cronshaw (Node 4 - Giordana)
69, Michael Northey (Node 4 - Giordana)
70, Owain Doull (Great Britain)
71, David McGowan (UK Youth Cycling)
72, Liam Holohan (Raleigh - GAC)
73, Mark McNally (An Post - Sean Kelly)
74, Tom Moses (Great Britain 7 mins 55 secs
75, Christopher Jennings (Rapha Condor)
76, Alistair Slater (Great Britain)
77, Jeremy Hunt (Sky Procycling) at 8 mins 8 secs
78, Tom Last (IG - Sigma Sport) at 8 mins 9 secs
79, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) at 8 mins 23 secs
80, Ian Bibby (Endura Racing) at 8 mins 25 secs
81, Jacob Rathe (Garmin - Sharp) at 8 mins 34 secs
82, Marc De Maar (UnitedHealthcare) at 9 mins 1 secs
83, Ricardo Garcia (Euskaltel - Euskadi) at 9 mins 2 secs
84, Aidis Kruopis (Orica - GreenEdge) at 9 mins 6 secs
85, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post - Sean Kelly)
86, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) at 9 mins 9 secs
87, George Atkins (Great Britain 9 mins 17 secs
88, Lachlan Morton (Garmin - Sharp) at 9 mins 23 secs
89, Niels Wytinck (An Post - Sean Kelly) at 9 mins 34 secs
90, Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) at 10 mins 22 secs
91, Michael Hepburn (Orica - GreenEdge) at 10 mins 23 secs
92, Jack Bobridge (Orica - GreenEdge) at 11 mins 2 secs
93, Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) at 12 mins 44 secs
94, Russell Hampton (Raleigh - GAC) at 12 mins 50 secs
Points classification:
1, Boy Van Poppel (UnitedHealthcare) 36 pts
2, Russell Downing (Endura Racing) 34
3, Luke Rowe (Sky Procycling) 33
4, Leigh Howard (Orica - GreenEdge) 29
5, Mark Cavendish (Sky Procycling) 29
6, Sam Bennett (An Post - Sean Kelly) 18
7, Rony Martias (Saur - Sojasun) 16
8, Barry Markus (Vacansoleil - DCM) 16
9, Nathan Haas (Garmin - Sharp) 13
10, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 13
11, Aidis Kruopis (Orica - GreenEdge) 13
12, Steele Von Hoff (Garmin - Sharp) 12
13, Jérémie Galland (Saur - Sojasun) 12
14, Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin - Sharp) 10
15, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) 9
16, Paolo Longo Borghini (Liquigas - Cannondale) 8
17, Jonathan McEvoy (Endura Racing) 8
18, Chris Opie (UK Youth Cycling) 7
19, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke (Endura Racing) 7
20, Daniel Schorn (Team NetApp) 7
21, Yanto Barker (UK Youth Cycling) 6
22, Ben Grenda (Rapha Condor) 6
23, Christian Knees (Sky Procycling) 5
24, Graham Briggs (Raleigh - GAC) 5
25, Jerome Coppel (Saur - Sojasun) 2
26, Marco Benffato (Liquigas - Cannondale) 2
27, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 2
28, Richard Lang (Rapha Condor) 1
29, Daniel Lloyd (IG - Sigma Sport) 1
Mountains classification:
1, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) 46 pts
2, Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 41
3, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor) 32
4, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 32
5, Russell Hampton (Raleigh - GAC) 28
6, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 25
7, Niels Wytinck (An Post - Sean Kelly) 23
8, Jack Bobridge (Orica - GreenEdge) 21
9, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 19
10, Matthias Krizek (Liquigas - Cannondale) 18
11, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) 15
12, Rony Martias (Saur - Sojasun) 4
13, Adrian Saez de Arregui (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 4
14, Ronan McLaughlin (An Post - Sean Kelly) 4
15, Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) 4
16, Bernhard Eisel (Sky Procycling) 3
17, Pierre Cazaux (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 2
18, Michael Cuming (Rapha Condor) 1
19, Jeremy Hunt (Sky Procycling) 1
20, Ian Bibby (Endura Racing) 1
21, Marc De Maar (UnitedHealthcare) 1
22, Lachlan Morton (Garmin - Sharp) 1
Sprint classification:
1, Peter Williams (Node 4 - Giordana) 27 pts
2, Rony Martias (Saur - Sojasun) 12
3, Kristian House (Rapha Condor) 10
4, Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare) 7
5, Matthias Krizek (Liquigas - Cannondale) 7
6, Peter Hawkins (IG - Sigma Sport) 6
7, Luke Rowe (Sky Procycling) 5
8, Niels Wytinck (An Post - Sean Kelly) 5
9, Jack Bobridge (Orica - GreenEdge) 5
10, Richard Handley (Rapha Condor) 4
11, Boy Van Poppel (UnitedHealthcare) 3
12, Bernard Sulzberger (Raleigh - GAC) 3
13, Wesley Kreder (Vacansoleil - DCM) 2
14, Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 2
15, Chris Opie (UK Youth Cycling) 1
Teams classification:
1, Garmin – Sharp, 15 hours 50 mins 12 secs
2, Sky Procycling, at 2 secs
3, Endura Racing
4, Saur – Sojasun, at 3 secs
5, UK Youth Cycling
6, Liquigas - Cannondale
7, UnitedHealthcare), at 1 min 31 secs
8, An Post - Sean Kelly, at 1 min 32 secs
9, Team NetApp
10, Rapha Condor, at 1 min 35 secs
11, IG - Sigma Sport, at 1 min 37 secs