Tour of Britain Stage 3
Stage 3, Yorkshire
Thursday, August 31st | www.tourofbritain.com
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Post Stage Interview
Russell Downing: "the conditions were pretty bad out there. Even though I knew the roads, the first descent before the Strines, there is a corner that I overshot and couldn't slow down quick enough with carbon wheels and brake blocks. It split on the first climb where six or seven of us and Nuyens was starting to round the outside and I told him to slow down because there was a bad corner and he thanked me for that afterwards. To win the Points jersey in London would mean a hell of a lot. That has been the focus of the season to do well here, to move up the ladder and try and get a professional contract for next season."
"I was in a group with Tom Boonen and we caught the one in front. Then it split when CSC put it into the gutter in the lanes. 15 got away and I think I rode across with five including Mark Cavendish and Ian Stannard. Just as we got there, there was some shuffling about as some guys rode off the front including Roger. Then after the feed, Quickstep got organised and it was quite a horrible tempo to be honest then on a little rise, Pozzatto got across and I made an effort myself to do it and then there was a regrouping of the riders in the front. It was then just a matter of waiting for the Strines really."
"Because of what happened on the first descent, we were all riding piano and everyone was waiting for news on the radio to see if anyone was hurt. With Tom crashing, I think they were curious to see how he was. We didn't really ride up the Strines. It was hard, and on Strines Moor, it kept stringing out and got a bit grippy before we dropped down to Ladybower. I think after that CSC just rode hard on the front."
"At the sprint, I was probably a bit too far back to go when Pozzatto attacked but it was still a good day for me. At the start of the day, being in my home town, I wanted a really good day and I wanted to keep the green jersey as well. To be in the front with such a select group, was good for the morale. These guys climb well. I climb okay but to be climbing with them, you have to be going. Knowing the Strines, definitely helped me as well and it was a pity the weather went bad just as we got to the Strines and made it a bit dangerous."
Pre-Stage Interviews
Speaking to Andy Tennant at the start of stage 3, he said he was disappointed not be part of the train that lead out Roger Hammond. He gave an insight into how difficult it can be when the peloton is lined out at 60k an hour, riders and teams are jostling for position, and Andy was trying to make sure he was part of the GB team leadout train.
"I never got up in the end. It is in manic in the last 5k and I just got pushed out by the Unibet team into the middle of the bunch and forced back. I wanted to be there so it was disappointing. This was so different from normal ones where you can use your physical ability to correct a mistake but here, if you make one, you pay for it a lot more."
Geraint Thomas: "yesterday was real good. Coming into the finish it was really good for it come right and showed the pros we deserve to be here and we can race hard. Seeing Quickstep pull back after they tried to come past us was definitely good for morale, for us to hold position and not get pushed about. And the finishing off By Roger was the icing on the cake."
"My role was to take Roger as far as possible and I knew Boonen and Pozzatto were behind me so I didn't want to take them too far so I just went to 500 and left it to them. It was a good 40k out when we started to focus on the sprint and we never had a fixed moment to get together. We were just going to play it by ear and decided when we had to go and it worked out perfect. It started by us letting a few riders in to begin with and Ross kicked it off and then Stannard and Swift went with about two and half to go and then when Swifty swung up, I jumped a few places as I was sat on Roger and that was it. It was quite a tough finish into the head wind."
Robin Sharman. In stage 2, Robin Sharman tried to get the stage win with a late attack and we spoke to him about his big effort before stage 3 started today. "I attacked with about 10k to go with a Danish rider. It was just after the final sprint, and there had been a lot of action up until then with two guys having been brought back 25k out. There was a right flurry of attacks after that, groups getting away and then this Danish guy attacked, and I saw the opportunity to go with him and no-one else chased. There was a bit of a stutter in the peloton and we got 20 seconds pretty quickly but Quickstep wanted to bring it back for a sprint and GB as well so it came back together with about 3k to go. It was a spur of the moment move. I was trying to keep Ben (Greenwood) up there out of trouble and when the Danish guy went, I thought I'd try my luck."
Mark Cavendish: "After two days, I felt a little tired but I have good form." Asked has he been working on his climbing, Mark replied "Yes, I've been training hard because getting a stagiere place with the biggest team in the World, I know I have got to prove myself. I've been in Italy with the lads and training hard on the climbs there and that's helped a lot." Asked if he felt a bit special with the BBC in interviews, autograph hunters, interviews on stage at the start with Hugh Porter, he replied "yeah and I'm not used to it. Its completely different to Germany. Here I'm getting swamped for autographs but I don't mind!"
Michael Rogers, World Time Trial Champion: The Aussie who has won three World TT titles, says he looking for number 4 and took time to talk to British Cycling about how he's helping our boy, Mark Cavendish who has just joined Rogers's T-Mobile team for the end of the season. "I can't teach him much about sprinting but I can pass on a lot of stuff about being a pro. He has fitted in well with the team so far and hopefully he can sign up for next year because I think he'd be a good asset to the team."
It's the second time Michael has been to the Tour and says "although the weather could be better, you can't have your cake and eat it to. I enjoy this race and for our team, one of the sponsors of the race, its an important race. I think today will be a deciding day so we?ll be going for it." On the prospect of a fourth World Title, he says "things are going pretty well. Being able to peak at the right moment comes down to experience and hopefully I can do it again."
A view from the peloton, by Larry Hickmott
Although not strictly in the Peloton, British Cycling's man in the race, Larry Hickmott, has found himself closer to the riders than most this week on the back of a press motorcycle. Here are his thoughts after a monumental stage.
"It was the best stage so far with non stop action the whole way. No sooner were we out of the neutralised section, than riders, including Recycling's Kristain House, were making a break for it."
"More breaks followed, and lots of them. On the motorbike, we are restricted by how much time we can spend in front of them so we go back, take some pictures and then go forward for a few miles before returning to see what's changed. Our first stop was for the King of the Mountains and there we saw Ben Greenwood go for it in a big way and it's a shame he missed the move to get away today as he may well have got more points later on."
"The first KOM was notable because the riders were more stretched there than the riders later on I saw on the Strines. But nothing compared to a moment in the first half when the race split and in one part of it was GB's Geraint Thomas and in the other, many many more including Roger Hammond. Seeing him, teeth gritted, giving it full gas was a real moment of the race. You could sense the panic of the riders trying to get back to the front."
"Then, after that a lot more attacks. Riders I recognised in one was Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard was then in another, followed by Andy Tennant in another. Each time I went back, the break had changed! Then, the final one, with Roger Hammond and Ian Stannard in there for GB as well as Kristian House for Recycling."
"The moment though that ranks second of my best of moments list was seeing Pozzatto leading the break and Tom Boonen, leading the chase group with yet more Brits up to him to make 20 riders in the front! A great sight on British roads!"
"Seeing the riders ride through the huge crowd on the legendary Strines was disappointing for the fact the riders looked so comfortable and as I saw Roger chatting to another rider after the Strines, I expected a group sprint. Pozzotta changed all that! It was an awesome win and we'll have more from him later"
"Road racing can be a very exciting sport to watch and with a seat on a bike just in front of them for many moments during the race, this stage was one of the all time great stages."
