Report & Results – Stage 2: Tour of Britain

Leigh Howard roars to victory at Knowsley Safari Park, Boy Van Poppel moves into race lead following Stage Two of The Tour

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Stage 2: Nottingham to Knowsley – 178 km (Monday 10th)

REPORT

The Big Photo Album (Thanks to Nigel Summers for piloting me on the stage to get these pictures)

Australian Leigh Howard narrowly edged Mark Cavendish to take victory in Stage Two of The Tour of Britain at Knowsley Safari Park, as a one second split in the peloton sent the IG Gold Jersey of race leader into the hands of Boy Van Poppel.

Fast on the track and on the road too, Leigh Howard beats the fastest man in the world Mark Cavendish to win stage 2. 

Erstwhile leader Rowe was one place behind a one-second gap at the finish in Knowsley Safari Park, dropping him down to third overall behind Van Poppel and Howard, who remain on the same time.

The Sky and Endura led peloton worked well to bring back a six rider break who had led the race through the Peak District and onto the Cheshire Plain, eventually catching the remnants of the breakaway, including local rider Peter Williams, to set up the bunch sprint within the Safari Park grounds.

Boy Van Poppel (centre) leader of the Overall and Points competitions.

For the second day running the finishing sprint didn’t go to plan for Cavendish, with the reigning World Champion dropping off Rowe’s wheel through the final corners only to find himself swamped and forced to lift off.

The Manxman did his best to force his way into contention, but was edged on the line by Howard, with Van Poppel, Steele Von Hoff and Russ Downing rounding out the top five behind Cavendish.

In addition to the IG Gold Jersey, Van Poppel also takes over the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey, with a three point advantage over Endura’s Downing.

It’s Nottingham so it must the team of Raleigh-GAC on the podium in the shadow of the castle.

Euskaltel Euskadi’s Pablo Urtasun got himself onto the Knowsley podium after sweeping the points in all three Category One climbs in the SKODA King of the Mountains competition, taking a maximum of 30 points to put him ahead of fellow breakaway companions Russell Hampton and Richard Handley.

Orica GreenEDGE’s day was rounded off by Jack Bobridge’s breakaway efforts being rewarded with the Rouleur Combativity Award, for the day’s most aggressive rider.

Stage Three sees The Tour of Britain head to Scotland, for a 153-kilometre leg from Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders to Dumfries in Dumfries & Galloway. On a route reminiscent of the 2011 Tour’s opening stage, Mark Cavendish will be hopefully of repeating his victory from 12 months ago in front of Scottish fans.

Reactions:

“I need to say a big thank you to my team, especially Aidis Kruopis,” said Howard. “I’ve done a few leads outs, and I know it can be a bit disappointing when your hard work doesn’t result in a win from your sprinter. I’m happy to be able to repay the team back for the work they did for me today.”

“Jack did a good job to go into the break,” noted Sports Director Lionel Marie. “In our briefing this morning, I told him to take it easy today and only try something if it felt right. He covered a big group and ended up going up the road to create the breakaway today. He has been away from road racing for four months, so this is especially impressive.”

While Team Sky did the bulk of the pace-making as the peloton surged towards the finish, Kruopis looked after Howard. Three kilometres from the finish, Kruopis brought Howard towards the front of the field.

“It was really nice not to have to think too much with Aidis looking after me,” said Howard. “As a sprinter, he knows where we want to be. I trusted him and followed his wheel during the last 20 kilometers. He had done so much work for so long that he ran out of legs 1.5 kilometers from the line. That’s when I jumped on Cav’s wheel.”

Howard came around Cavendish to open the sprint. “I had to fight hard to get Cav’s wheel, but I did get it,” Howard explained. “I went through the last few corners on his wheel. They were tight turns, so it was single-file coming out of the last corner onto the home stretch.”

“I started my sprint at 250 meters,” Howard continued. “It’s a long sprint, but I’ve learned that I’ve got a bit more length in my sprint from the leads out I’ve done throughout the season.”

Having put himself out front, Howard remained ahead of the other sprinters all the way to the line. “I feel a huge sense of relief,” admitted Howard. “It’s been a long season looking for a win. I’ve tried time and time again. I knew I had made a step forward in terms of my strength this year, and it’s taken this long to finally see the results.”

Luke Rowe: former race leader –  After the finish Rowe talked through the closing kilometres, and the decisions which went into it. “With 600m to go, I led into it with Cav in my wheel,” he explained to ITV4. “He said he wanted to try and let me go and slip a few wheels back. We knew there was a bit of a dip and he’d use the run.”

“Unfortunately on that dip the riders switched from right to left and he got a bit chopped up. Cav’s shown how fast he was in that finish. It’s frustrating but you could see how fast he was coming up at the line.”

Sports Director Servais Knaven admitted it was a shame to come so close to victory but was happy with how the team had approached the stage.

“Cav wanted to let Luke go and leave the gap,” he said. “A few others came through and he was still in a good position. He had to brake in the sprint as a rider moved to the left. He had to check up and start sprinting again. “That’s part of the job but it was a pity as he was fast enough to take the win.”

“We controlled the whole stage and then we got help from Endura at the finish. It was a hard day. There were a lot of twists and turns so it was not easy. The team put together a really good lead-out at the end and we’ll look to do the same again tomorrow.”

 

The jerseys lead the race away through Nottingham for a 25 minute neutralised section. Centre of Nottingham was pretty hilly and I was glad I had a 1600cc motorbike to get up them! 

First attack – Simon Richardson of Raleigh GAC

Awesome ride by Node4 Giordana’s Peter Williams who was in every move of the day until caught by the peloton.

Simon Richardson leads an early move with Mike Cumming (Rapha Condor), Jamie Sparling (Raleigh-GAC) and Joshua Edmondson (GB)

The move fails so Jack Bobridge of Australia goes up the road as Simon Richardson tries to go again.

A group forms including Russell ‘bigpower’ Hampton, Peter Williams and Richard Handley from the British teams. Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel – Euskadi), Matthias Krizek (Liquigas) and Jack Bobridge were the others.

The crowds were not as big as Sundays but still very big for a working day.

Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel – Euskadi) getting the better of Russell Hampton on the final KoM climb of the day.

It was all pretty relaxed in the peleton as Russell Downing (Endura Racing) and Luke Rowe (Sky) have a chat.

As the peloton closed in to within a minute of the break and cars were pulled out from behind them, Bobridge and Williams went off up the road and opened up the gap again causing one team apparently  to complain the blackboard team were giving them duff information… tut tut… a sign of panic perhaps! 

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie – Leigh Howard wins the sprint with a lunge at the line … catching Cav out perhaps?

Stage winner, 2012 Tour of Britain – Leigh Howard (Australia)

Results 

Stage Two, Nottingham to Knowsley, 180.7km

1 Leigh Howard Orica – GreenEDGE 4h 31′ 9”
2 Mark Cavendish Sky Procycling st
3 Boy Van Poppel UnitedHealthcare st
4 Steele Von Hoff Garmin – Sharp st
5 Russell Downing Endura Racing st
6 Sep Vanmarcke Garmin – Sharp st
7 Wesley Kreder Vacansoleil – DCM st
8 Nathan Haas Garmin – Sharp st
9 Sam Bennett An Post Sean Kelly at 0′ 1”
10 Luke Rowe Sky Procycling st
11 Graham Briggs Raleigh – GAC st
12 Rony Martias Saur Sojasun st
13 Peter Hawkins IG – Sigma Sport st
14 Bernard Sulzberger Raleigh – GAC st
15 Richard Lang Rapha Condor st
16 Cesare Benedetti Team NetApp st
17 Chris Opie UK Youth Cycling st
18 Niels Wytinck An Post Sean Kelly st
19 Yanto Barker UK Youth Cycling st
20 Niklas Gustavsson UK Youth Cycling st
21 Leopold Koenig Team NetApp st
22 Robert Förster UnitedHealthcare st
23 Simon Yates Great Britain st
24 Christian Knees Sky Procycling st
25 Ricardo Garcia Euskaltel Euskadi st
26 Zak Dempster Endura Racing st
27 David McGowan UK Youth Cycling st
28 Samuel Sanchez Euskaltel Euskadi st
29 Jérémie Galland Saur Sojasun st
30 Fabio Sabatini Liquigas – Cannondale st
31 Rico Rogers Node 4 – Giordana st
32 Paolo Longo Borghini Liquigas – Cannondale st
33 Jonathan Tiernan-Locke Endura Racing st
34 Bradley Wiggins Sky Procycling st
35 Damiano Caruso Liquigas – Cannondale st
36 Ben Grenda Rapha Condor st
37 Evan Oliphant Raleigh – GAC st
38 Jonathan McEvoy Endura Racing st
39 Liam Holohan Raleigh – GAC st
40 Daniel Lloyd IG – Sigma Sport st
41 Pieter Ghyllebert An Post Sean Kelly st
42 Michael Northey Node 4 – Giordana st
43 Wouter Sybrandy IG – Sigma Sport st
44 Owain Doull Great Britain st
45 Kai Reus UnitedHealthcare st
46 Brett Lancaster Orica – GreenEDGE st
47 Paul Voss Endura Racing st
48 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare st
49 Mathew Cronshaw Node 4 – Giordana st
50 Jonny Clarke UnitedHealthcare st
51 Yannick Talabardon Saur Sojasun st
52 Pierre Cazaux Euskaltel Euskadi st
53 Ivan Basso Liquigas – Cannondale st
54 Mark McNally An Post Sean Kelly st
55 Jan Barta Team NetApp st
56 Josh Edmondson Great Britain st
57 Jacek Morajko Vacansoleil – DCM st
58 Jerome Coppel Saur Sojasun st
59 David Le Lay Saur Sojasun st
60 Bartosz Huzarski Team NetApp at 0′ 12”
61 David Clarke Node 4 – Giordana at 0′ 15”
62 Tom Moses Great Britain at 0′ 17”
63 Alistair Slater Great Britain st
64 Matthias Krizek Liquigas – Cannondale st
65 Adrian Saez de Arregui Euskaltel Euskadi st
66 Christopher Jennings Rapha Condor st
67 Dan Craven IG – Sigma Sport st
68 Gediminas Bagdonas An Post Sean Kelly st
69 Simon Richardson IG – Sigma Sport st
70 George Atkins Great Britain st
71 Ronan Mclaughlin An Post Sean Kelly st
72 Fabrice Jeandesboz Saur Sojasun st
73 Kristian House Rapha Condor st
74 Marcin Bialoblocki Node 4 – Giordana st
75 Christofer Stevenson UK Youth Cycling st
76 Magnus Backstedt UK Youth Cycling st
77 Tom Last IG – Sigma Sport at 0′ 31”
78 Daniel Schorn Team NetApp at 0′ 34”
79 Marco Enfatto Liquigas – Cannondale at 0′ 45”
80 Jacob Rathe Garmin – Sharp at 0′ 56”
81 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil – DCM st
82 Barry Markus Vacansoleil – DCM at 0′ 58”
83 Lachlan Morton Garmin – Sharp st
84 Marc De Maar UnitedHealthcare st
85 Peter Williams Node 4 – Giordana at 1′ 9”
86 Richard Handley Rapha Condor st
87 Bernhard Eisel Sky Procycling at 1′ 25”
88 Aidis Kruopis Orica – GreenEDGE at 1′ 32”
89 Jack Bobridge Orica – GreenEDGE st
90 Michael Hepburn Orica – GreenEDGE st
91 Blaz Jarc Team NetApp st
92 Jeremy Hunt Sky Procycling st
93 Pablo Urtasun Euskaltel Euskadi at 2′ 45”
94 Michael Cuming Rapha Condor at 0′ 1”
95 Ian Bibby Endura Racing at 3′ 47”
96 Russell Hampton Raleigh – GAC at 3′ 50”

IG Gold Jersey, General Classification
1 Boy Van Poppel UnitedHealthcare 9h 22′ 4”
2 Leigh Howard Orica – GreenEDGE st
3 Luke Rowe Sky Procycling at 0′ 1”
4 Rony Martias Saur Sojasun at 0′ 4”
5 Mark Cavendish Sky Procycling st
6 Russell Downing Endura Racing at 0′ 6”
7 Steele Von Hoff Garmin – Sharp at 0′ 10”
8 Sep Vanmarcke Garmin – Sharp st
9 Nathan Haas Garmin – Sharp st
10 Peter Hawkins IG – Sigma Sport at 0′ 11”
11 Sam Bennett An Post Sean Kelly st
12 Chris Opie UK Youth Cycling st
13 Jérémie Galland Saur Sojasun st
14 Richard Lang Rapha Condor st
15 Yanto Barker UK Youth Cycling st
16 Christian Knees Sky Procycling st
17 Niklas Gustavsson UK Youth Cycling st
18 Paolo Longo Borghini Liquigas – Cannondale st
19 Jonathan Tiernan-Locke Endura Racing st
20 Ben Grenda Rapha Condor st
21 Fabio Sabatini Liquigas – Cannondale st
22 Daniel Lloyd IG – Sigma Sport st
23 Bradley Wiggins Sky Procycling st
24 Ivan Basso Liquigas – Cannondale st
25 Jerome Coppel Saur Sojasun st
26 Paul Voss Endura Racing st
27 Damiano Caruso Liquigas – Cannondale st
28 Brett Lancaster Orica – GreenEDGE st
29 Magnus Backstedt UK Youth Cycling at 0′ 27”
30 Gediminas Bagdonas An Post Sean Kelly st
31 Daniel Schorn Team NetApp at 0′ 44”
32 Marco Enfatto Liquigas – Cannondale at 0′ 55”
33 Barry Markus Vacansoleil – DCM at 1′ 8”
34 Bernhard Eisel Sky Procycling at 1′ 35”
35 Zak Dempster Endura Racing at 1′ 36”
36 Christopher Jones UnitedHealthcare st
37 Leopold Koenig Team NetApp at 1′ 40”
38 Robert Förster UnitedHealthcare st
39 David Le Lay Saur Sojasun at 1′ 41”
40 Blaz Jarc Team NetApp at 1′ 42”
41 Graham Briggs Raleigh – GAC at 1′ 43”
42 Bernard Sulzberger Raleigh – GAC st
43 Jacek Morajko Vacansoleil – DCM st
44 Jan Barta Team NetApp st
45 Samuel Sanchez Euskaltel Euskadi at 1′ 45”
46 Evan Oliphant Raleigh – GAC st
47 Kai Reus UnitedHealthcare st
48 Wouter Sybrandy IG – Sigma Sport st
49 Yannick Talabardon Saur Sojasun st
50 Josh Edmondson Great Britain st
51 Cesare Benedetti Team NetApp at 1′ 47”
52 Simon Yates Great Britain st
53 Pierre Cazaux Euskaltel Euskadi st
54 Michael Cuming Rapha Condor st
55 Bartosz Huzarski Team NetApp at 1′ 54”
56 David Clarke Node 4 – Giordana at 1′ 55”
57 Ronan Mclaughlin An Post Sean Kelly at 1′ 56”
58 Fabrice Jeandesboz Saur Sojasun at 1′ 59”
59 Christofer Stevenson UK Youth Cycling st
60 Matthias Krizek Liquigas – Cannondale st
61 Adrian Saez de Arregui Euskaltel Euskadi at 2′ 1”
62 Dan Craven IG – Sigma Sport st
63 Marcin Bialoblocki Node 4 – Giordana at 2′ 3”
64 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil – DCM at 2′ 38”
65 Richard Handley Rapha Condor at 2′ 49”
66 Simon Richardson IG – Sigma Sport at 4′ 8”
67 Kristian House Rapha Condor at 4′ 28”
68 Jonathan McEvoy Endura Racing at 4′ 32”
69 Marc De Maar UnitedHealthcare at 5′ 18”
70 Jeremy Hunt Sky Procycling at 6′ 3”
71 Jonny Clarke UnitedHealthcare at 7′ 30”
72 Niels Wytinck An Post Sean Kelly at 7′ 31”
73 Wesley Kreder Vacansoleil – DCM at 7′ 32”
74 Rico Rogers Node 4 – Giordana at 7′ 33”
75 Mathew Cronshaw Node 4 – Giordana st
76 David McGowan UK Youth Cycling st
77 Pieter Ghyllebert An Post Sean Kelly st
78 Liam Holohan Raleigh – GAC st
79 Michael Northey Node 4 – Giordana st
80 Owain Doull Great Britain st
81 Mark McNally An Post Sean Kelly st
82 Christopher Jennings Rapha Condor at 7′ 49”
83 Tom Moses Great Britain st
84 Alistair Slater Great Britain st
85 George Atkins Great Britain st
86 Tom Last IG – Sigma Sport at 8′ 3”
87 Ian Bibby Endura Racing at 8′ 19”
88 Jacob Rathe Garmin – Sharp at 8′ 28”
89 Lachlan Morton Garmin – Sharp at 8′ 30”
90 Peter Williams Node 4 – Giordana at 8′ 32”
91 Ricardo Garcia Euskaltel Euskadi at 8′ 56”
92 Jack Bobridge Orica – GreenEDGE at 9′ 2”
93 Aidis Kruopis Orica – GreenEDGE at 9′ 4”
94 Michael Hepburn Orica – GreenEDGE st
95 Pablo Urtasun Euskaltel Euskadi at 10′ 16”
96 Russell Hampton Raleigh – GAC at 11′ 22”

Rouleur Combativity Award: Jack Bobridge, Orica GreenEDGE

Chain Reaction Cycles Points Classification

1) Boy Van Poppel, NED, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, 27pts
2) Russell Downing, GBR, Endura Racing, 24pts
3) Luke Rowe, GBR, Team Sky, 21pts
4) Leigh Howard, AUS, Orica GreenEDGE, 15pts
5) Rony Martias, FRA, Saur Sojasun, 15pts

SKODA King of the Mountains Classification
1) Pablo Urtasun, SPA, Euskaltel – Euskadi, 30pts
2) Russell Hampton, GBR, Team Raleigh – GAC, 26pts
3) Richard Handley, GBR, Rapha Condor, 25pts
4) Kristian House, GBR, Rapha Condor, 22pts
5) Jack Bobridge, AUS, Orica GreenEDGE, 21pts

Yodel Sprints Classification
1) Peter Williams, GBR, Node4 – Giordana Racing, 15pts
2) Rony Martias, FRA, Saur Sojasun, 12pts
3) Kristian House, GBR, Rapha Condor, 9pts
4) Jonny Clarke, AUS, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, 7pts
5) Matthias Krizek, AUT, Liquigas – Cannondale, 7pts

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Related Links
— VeloUK.net Home Page for the Tour of Britain (Links to reports & features)
— The Tour of Britain Website

THE 2012 TOUR OF BRITAIN

Stage 1: Ipswich to Norfolk Showground – 199km (Sunday 9th)
Stage 2: Nottingham to Knowsley – 178 km (Monday 10th)
Stage 3: Jedburgh to Dumfries – 161 km(Tuesday 11th)
Stage 4: Carlisle to Blackpool – 156 km (Wednesday 12th)
Stage 5: The Stoke-on-Trent Stage 146 km (Thursday 13th)
Stage 6: Welshpool to Caerphilly – 190 km(Friday 14th)
Stage 7: Barnstaple to Dartmouth 170 km (Saturday 15th)
Stage 8: Reigate to Guildford 147 km(Sunday 16th)

 

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