ENECO Tour, stage 3 – Martin Elmiger – I came very close to the perfect day, but hey … that’s cycling”

THE EXLAMATION

From Martin Elmiger: “I came very close to the perfect day, but hey … that’s cycling.”

THE EXPLANATION

Again from Martin Elmiger: “I managed to get into the right breakaway, and so was able to grab some bonus seconds in the intermediate sprints. I had already reached my objective for the day, but then given the size of the gap that the break had, I really went for it. Unfortunately, in the end, everyone wanted to play his own card. That made it possible for the peloton to catch us before the line. With a clear head now I tell myself that I ought to have tried to go all out in the last two kilometers.”

THE FACT OF THE DAY

The breakaway of five riders that included IAM Cycling’s Martin Elmiger was caught within 100 meters of the finish line after having been in the lead for more than 185 kilometers.

THE INFO

Though the stage was won by Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), Martin Elmiger held on for 7th place, and took 9 bonus seconds away with him to move up the general classification to 5th place overall, just 14 seconds behind leader Rohan Dennis (BMC).

THE ANALYSIS

From Lionel Marie, directeur sportif for IAM Cycling: “Martin Elmiger remains a fighter and an exemplary road captain at 37 year old. He was asked to get into the break this morning in the team meeting, and to take as many bonus seconds as he could in order to move up the GC. He succeeded in doing that, and then on top, he almost snuck away with the victory on this third stage. I really just want to say congratulations and to take my hat off to him.”

THE LUCKY ONE

Oliver Naesen. Though he suffered a crash early in the stage, the recent winner of the Bretagne Classic in Plouay escaped the incident unscathed and even unscratched.

THE MENU FOR THE DAY

For the 202 kilometers that the pack will cover between Aalter and Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, the riders will face three côtes that they will cover twice in the 32 kilometer circuit. And with the final three kilometers including 20 meters (!) of altitude gain, the punchy riders will perhaps have an advantage over the sprinters.

Pictures – BettiniPhoto