Tour of Beijing

Stage 3:  Men Tou Gou to Yong Ning Town, 162km/101mi

By Cathy Mehl

Team RadioShack riders were in solid form for stage 3 in the Tour of Beijing on Friday.  An early attack by team rider Jani Brajkovic showed good legs from the Slovenian rider, and later Irishman Philip Deignan attacked on the final climb to fight for the win with fellow countryman Nicolas Roche of Ag2r.  Deignan just missed the win to Roche with Chris Froome (Sky) crossing for third one-second later.

“I was a bit sad to be so close and then lose the victory,” said second place finisher Deignan.  “I started my sprint a bit too early.  It’s nice that we’re two Irishmen in the front, but I would have preferred to take the win myself.” With 15k to go Deignan initiated the move on the final climb, leaving other contenders to look at each other to follow his lead.  It was Froome and Roche who finally responded, with Froome in the best position to take over the leader’s jersey, but race leader Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) had enough in the tank to respond and hold on to his race lead since the opening time trial on Wednesday.  Martin leads David Millar (Garmin-Cervelo) by 17-seconds and holds 26-seconds over Froome.

In the young riders classification The Shack’s Ben King holds a slim 2-second lead over Bart De Clercq of Omega Pharma-Lotto. 

Two stages remain in the inaugural Tour of Beijing.  Stage 4 on Saturday is 189.5km starting in Yan Qing Gui Chuan Square and ends at Shunyi Olympic Rowing Center. 

Top Ten Results

1              Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale   3:53:15     

2              Philip Deignan (Irl) Team RadioShack                        

3              Christopher Froome (Gbr) Sky Procycling   0:00:01             

4              Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - ISD                        

5              Nick Nuyens (Bel) Saxo Bank SunGard                     

6              Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team                         

7              Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team                              

8              Simon Clarke (Aus) Pro Team Astana                       

9              Michael Barry (Can) Sky Procycling                            

10            Luke Roberts (Aus) Saxo Bank SunGard

Team RadioShack Results

23           Benjamin King (USA)       

24           Jani Brajkovic (Slo)

26           Tiago Machado (Por)

42           Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)

55           Nelson Oliveira (Por) 0:02:11

59           Markel Irizar (Spa) 0:03:10

138         Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) 0:13:29

General Classification after Stage 3

1              Tony Martin (Ger) HTC - Highroad  7:10:19  

2              David Millar (Gbr) Team Garmin - Cervelo    0:00:17  

3              Christopher Froome (Gbr) Sky Procycling  0:00:26  

4              Stephen Cummings (Gbr) Sky Procycling   0:00:35  

5              Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Omega Pharma - Lotto  0:00:39  

6              Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team   0:00:41  

7              Jean Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La mondiale    0:00:43  

8              Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Pro Team Astana                      

9              Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step Cycling Team                          

10            Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick Step Cycling Team   0:00:46

Team RadioShack on General Classification

12           Benjamin King (USA)   0:00:50    

18           Jani Brajkovic (Slo)   0:00:55        

24           Tiago Machado (Por)  0:00:59     

28           Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)  0:01:08

31           Philip Deignan (Irl)

53           Nelson Oliveira (Por)   0:03:02    

59           Markel Irizar (Spa)  0:04:19          

120         Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)   0:14:44