Great Britain Cycling Team’s Gabriel Cullaigh retained his top twenty general classification position at Tour de l’Avenir on Tuesday when for a third day in succession a breakaway rider claimed stage victory.
Cullaigh finished in the bunch on stage three while ahead, stage one winner Soren Kragh Andersen of Denmark claimed a second victory at the head of a late breakaway which survived by a handful of seconds.
After two stages which saw breaks escape, the 137-kilometre dash from Champagnole to Tournus was the last chance for the sprinters to assert themselves before four successive days of climbing bring the 2015 edition of the Tour of the Future to its conclusion.
So it came as a surprise when Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria launched a lone attack on the hilly opening section of the parcours. The 21-year-old Etixx Quick Step pro broke away before the day’s first climb, the fourth-category Col de la Percee and built a solo lead of almost four minutes. But after the third category Cote du Chateau-Chalon Gaviria’s countryman Aldemar Reyes and Poland’s Patryk Stosz went clear of the peloton and caught the lone leader with around 60 kilometres to go.
But behind the pace of the peloton had increased and as the race entered its final 50 kilometres their lead was down to less than a minute and after another 15 kilometres of racing at a breakneck 43 kilometres-per-hour average pace, Gaviria’s escape was over.
The early catch led to inevitable counter attacks; first a quartet including stage two winner Mads Pedersen attempted the sucker punch before David Per of Slovenia tried his solo move but the bunch had other ideas.
Not until the talented quintet of Soren Kragh Andersen (Denmark), Mathieu Van der Poel (Netherlands), Johannes Weber (Germany), Katrasnik Gasper (Slovenia) and Marlen Zmorka (Ukraine) broke away with 10 kilometres to go was the die finally cast. Their collective strength was too much for the chasing group and prologue winner Andersen continued Denmark’s impressive showing by taking stage victory ahead of Van der Poel and Weber.
Chris Lawless was the first Great Britain Cycling Team rider to cross the line, finishing 13th in the bunch, seven seconds back on Andersen.
Switzerland’s Tom Bohli retained the yellow jersey, nine seconds ahead of Chile’s Jose Luis Rodriguez while Gabriel Cullaigh clung to his top twenty position, in 19th, one minute and 47 seconds behind Bohli.
Wednesday’s stage four sees the race head for the hills for a 146.7-kilometre stage from Annemasse to Cluses with a double climb of the Col de Chatillon-sur-Cluses in the final third.
