Great Britain’s Gabriel Cullaigh remained in the top 20 on general classification at Tour de l’Avenir on Monday but lost significant time after a tough stage which saw the peloton desperately chase a strong seven-man break.
Cullaigh finished in the main bunch, one minute and 43 seconds down on stage winner Mads Pedersen of Denmark, while breakaway companion, Switzerland’s Tom Bohli, claimed the general classification lead.
Stage two looked on paper to be a sprinters’ parcours, the 193.5-kilometre route from Avallon to Arbois having just two fourth-category bumps on the way, the Cote du Suze at 64.8 kilometres and the Cote du Ivry-la-Montagne at 91.8 km.
Almost from the gun the break was formed, comprising Bohli, Pedersen, Imanol Estevez (Spain), Jose-Luis Rodriguez (Chile), William Barta (USA), Daniel Lehner (Austria) and Aksel Nommela (Estonia).
Of the escapees, Bohli had the most to gain, just six seconds behind overnight leader Soren Kragh Andersen of Denmark.
With a lone breakaway rider surviving on the previous day’s stage, the teams of the sprinters were keen to not miscalculate and with around 80 kilometres remaining the breakaway’s lead, which had stretched to over five minutes, began to be checked.
Top work by the boys today @Tourdelavenir ! Managed to split it in the wind but it wasn't to be. Peloton together and break stayed away
— Chris Lawless (@ChrisLawless95) August 24, 2015
With around 50 kilometres to go the peloton fragmented in the wind after accelerations and crashes and the gap to the leaders began to tumble. But the bunch reformed as the race entered the final 25 kilometres, by which time the breakaway lead had diminished to around a minute and a half.
But a calming in the group allowed the lead to stretch again to over two minutes and as the finale approached it became clear that once again the bunch sprint had been thwarted.
Stage victory went to Mads Pedersen ahead of Nomella and Rodriguez. However it was Swiss rider Bohli who took over from Kragh Andersen in the overall standings.
The reshuffle of the overall ranks saw Gabriel Cullaigh drop to 18th overall, the Yorkshireman one minute and 47 seconds behind Bohli.
Cullaigh's teammates Alex Peters and Chris Lawless also finished safely in the main group but it was a tough day for the remaining Great Britain riders. Mark Stewart lost two minutes and 50 seconds while Jake Kelly lost over four. Steve Williams however was worst off, losing over 17 minutes to the stage winner.
The race continues on Tuesday with stage three, 137 kilometres from Champagnole on the edge of the Jura mountains to Tournus in the Bourgogne region, with another finish likely to favour the sprinters.
