2006 Tour of Britain (UCI 2.1)
Stage 6, London
Sunday, September 3 | www.tourofbritain.com
STAGE REPORT
More Images & Captions from the stage >>>>
Tom Boonen and the Quickstep team put behind them the controversy of Saturday's stage, where they made few friends with their "protest" and hollow stage victory, to put together a text-book lead-out and sprint win in London at the final stage of the 2006 Tour of Britain.
Tom Boonen finally shows us what he's best at!
Having had a relatively easy day in the saddle, with CSC and T-Mobile doing the majority of the chasing which had to be done, QuickStep formed up with a couple of laps to go and gave Boonen a wonderfully orchestrated lead-out through the last mile or so.
And they had to be good, because Roger Hammond and Mark Cavendish were glued to Boonen's wheel looking for any drop in the pace or tactical mistake - but they waited in vain and the big Belgian looked smooth as he accelerated through the last couple of hundred meters to seal the win.
Martin Pederson comfortably held on to his overall lead to claim the Tour title, though he had a bit of a scare very close to the end when there was a big crash right in front of him.
On a more sobering note, there were reports of two crashes involving police motocycles attending the race - in both cases spectators were apparently injured. We have no more details at the moment.
Returning to the stage, the final day was bathed in a warm early autumn sunshine, a relief after the foul conditions of the mid-week stages and a huge crowd came out to see a big stage race in the Capital city. With the Tour de France due here next summer, it was great to see the race sweeping into the city via list of landmarks, including Tower Bridge. Along the way, Ben Greenwood (Recycling) took the final King of the Mountains points of the week on Highgate Hill, confirming himself as second in that competition.
Once onto the finishing circuit - a 1.4 mile circuit centred on the Mall - the field, which was all together, found itself greeted by crowds up to twenty deep in places. The crowd had already been warmed up by a series of races, culminating in the Bob Chicken GP, which Malcolm Elliott won in familiar sprinting style.
Great to see the race in the heart of tourist London
A couple of breaks formed in the early laps, with Recycling's Evan Oliphant featuring in the first and his team-mate Robin Sharman, Casper Jorgensen (Denmark) and AIS rider James Meadley in the second, which stayed away for over ten laps and went out to almost 20 seconds clear of the chasing field.
However, at the front of the pack, the T-Mobile squad kept the gap under control, with help at times from the other leading teams, including Barloworld and CSC. One mini-drama involved Mark Cavendish who had a puncture, but re-joined after a lap in the pits. Inevitably, with three and a half laps to go the break was caught and the race proper really began.
Again it was T-Mobile controlling things at the front, a great effort bearing in mind that they were down to just four riders. At this point there was a big crash some twenty riders back, but luckily no-one was badly hurt and none of the leading sprinters or overall contenders was involved.
The GB train get things moving as the race moves into the last couple of laps
With still 2 laps to go, GB then went to the front and stretched things out again in an impressive display, led by Geraint Thomas and Ian Stannard. Behind them, Quickstep were noticeably united, gathering themselves for the final sprint and for the first time in the race they really put together the perfect lead-out, leaving Tom Boonen to do what he does best and leaving Roger Hammond and Mark Cavendish with no chance.
Cavendish clinched the Points jersey with his third place and following yesterday's announcement of his T-mobile contract, he can look back on a very satisfactory week, despite narrowly missing out on a stage win on three occasions.
Rider Reaction:
Tom Boonen, stage winner: "It's been special [finishing in London], almost like finishing the Tour de France on the Champs Elysees, yes very special"
Martin Pederson, overall winner: " We just had to take it easy and stay out of trouble. I was just behind the crash and just avoided it, but yes I'm pleased."
Mark Cavendish, points winner: "I'm so excited, it's a dream to ride for T-Mobile. Seeing the amount of public here today, it will stay with me a long time!"
Thanks
A quick word of thanks must go to Graham Harper, who acted as Larry Hickmott's motocycle pilot during the race and to the media bus driver Mike McGarry - both made Larry's week an awful lot easier - thanks chaps!
Stage Results (General Classification >>>>)
1 Boonen, Tom QuickStep-Innergetic 2h00'41"
2 Hammond, Roger Great Britain same time
3 Cavendish, Mark T-Mobile same time
4 Keisse, Iljo Chocolade Jacques-Topsport same time
5 Van Bon, Leon Davitamon Lotto same time
6 Vierhouten, Aart Skil-Shimano same time
7 Downing, Russell DFL-Cycling News-Litespeed same time
8 Roberts, Luke CSC same time
9 Pozzato, Filippo QuickStep-Innergetic same time
10 Tjallingii, Maarten Skil-Shimano same time
11 Lancaster, Brett Ceramica Panaria-Navigare same time
12 Morkov, Michael Denmark same time
13 Sabido, Hugo Barloworld same time
14 Pasamontes, Luis Unibet.com same time
15 Pedersen, Martin CSC same time
16 Ljungblad, Jonas Unibet.com same time
17 Priamo, Matteo Ceramica Panaria-Navigare same time
18 Rooijakkers, Piet Skil-Shimano same time
19 Kroon, Karsten CSC same time
20 Downing, Dean DFL-Cycling News-Litespeed same time
21 Merckx, Axel Phonak iShares same time
22 Rogers, Michael T-Mobile same time
23 Allegrini, Mirko Ceramica Panaria-Navigare same time
24 Clancy, Edward Landbouwkrediet-Colnago same time
25 Greenwood, Ben Recycling.co.uk same time
26 Tschopp, Johann Phonak iShares same time
27 Vandevelde, Christian CSC same time
28 Thijs, Erwin Unibet.com same time
29 Schleck, Andy CSC same time
30 Jennings, Cameron DFL-Cycling News-Litespeed same time
31 Chicchi, Francesco QuickStep-Innergetic same time
32 Nuyens, Nick QuickStep-Innergetic same time
33 Van Summeren, Johan Davitamon Lotto same time
34 Roesems, Bert Davitamon Lotto same time
35 Cretskens, Wilfried QuickStep-Innergetic same time
36 Meadley, James South Australia.com-AIS same time
37 Cox, Ryan Barloworld same time
38 House, Kristan Recycling.co.uk same time
39 Sinkewitz, Patrik T-Mobile same time
40 Barbe, Koen Chocolade Jacques-Topsport same time
41 Willems, Frederik Chocolade Jacques-Topsport same time
42 Garate, Juan Manuel QuickStep-Innergetic same time
43 Clarke, Jonathon South Australia.com-AIS same time
44 Higgerson, Shaun South Australia.com-AIS same time
45 Mattan, Nico Davitamon Lotto same time
46 Cappelle, Andy Landbouwkrediet-Colnago same time
47 Vanlandschoot, James Landbouwkrediet-Colnago same time
48 Oliphant, Evan Recycling.co.uk same time
49 Jorgensen, Casper Denmark same time
50 Barras, Tom DFL-Cycling News-Litespeed same time
51 Veuchulen, Frederik Chocolade Jacques-Topsport same time
52 Lisabeth, Kenny Chocolade Jacques-Topsport same time
53 Thomas, Geraint Great Britain same time
54 Kessler, Matthias T-Mobile same time
55 Tennant, Andrew Great Britain same time
56 Clarke, Simon South Australia.com-AIS same time
57 Degano, Enrico Barloworld same time
58 Lloyd, Mathew South Australia.com-AIS same time
59 Christensen, Mads Barloworld same time
60 Partridge, Rob Recycling.co.uk same time
61 Ten Dam, Laurens Unibet.com same time
62 Sander, Ross Great Britain same time
63 Stannard, Ian Great Britain same time
64 Swift, Ben Great Britain same time
65 Gates, Nick Davitamon Lotto same time
66 Newton, Christopher Recycling.co.uk same time
67 Sharman, Robin Recycling.co.uk same time
68 McCarty, Patrick Phonak iShares same time
69 Rasmussen, Alex Denmark same time
70 Steensen, Andre Denmark same time
71 Weissinger, Rene Skil-Shimano same time
72 Piil, Jakob CSC same time
73 Manning, Paul Landbouwkrediet-Colnago same time
74 Coutts, Alex DFL-Cycling News-Litespeed @ 02'44
General Classification >>>>
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