Today's second stage of the Tour of Britain not only presented the Lake District with adverse weather conditions, but also with a picturesque landscape. The wavy profile played into the hands of the fast rollers in particular.
The riders had to cover 225 kilometers between Carlisle and Kendal before the last 500 meters up to Beast Banks should tickle the remaining energy reserves out of them. For a long time, events were dominated by a leading group, to which the two Tour stage winners Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) caught up about fifty kilometers from the finish.
However, Team Sky, which has one of the big favorites to win the Tour in Bradley Wiggins, was not interested in letting the group go. Their lead never grew to a minute, so that almost twenty kilometers before the finish line, all the drivers were together again. As a result, other drivers tried to outrun the field. Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), for example, or Thomas Lövkvist (IAM). The latter already looked like the certain winner, but the final ramp was to be too long for him. In the end, the Swede had to be satisfied with third place.
After Lövkvist was initially caught by Sam Bennett (An Post-Chainreaction), Ciolek managed to intercept both the Swedes and the Irish with a powerful charge. The man from Pulheim celebrated his fourth win of the season and at the same time took the lead in the overall standings.
//Result
1. Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) 5:01:01
2. Sam Bennett (An Post Chain Reaction) 0:00:00
3. Thomas Lovkvist (IAM Cycling) 0:00:06
4. Simon Yates (Great Britain) 0:00:06
5. Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 0:00:06
//In total
1. Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) 11:05:30
2. Simon Yates (Great Britain) 0:00:20
3. Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 0:00:20
4. Marco Coledan (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) 0:00:23
5. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (MTN-Qhubeka) 0:00:23
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