Nick Nuyens (Quick.Step-Innergetic) (Image credit: AFP)
Nic Nuyens (Quick Step) has taken his second win of the year and Quick Step's second of the Tour de Suisse with victory on stage 3 to Arlesheim. A very happy Nuyens also took the leader's yellow jersey in the process and said after the finish it has provided him with the motivation to do well during the week and into the Belgian national championships. "I'm in good form at the moment. At the national championships I'll be giving my all for Boonen but if the occasion arises, I'll certainly go for a victory," he said.
Earlier in the day the stage script had been written by a breakaway after 56km, as Marcel Strauss (Gerolsteiner) and Alan Perez Lezaun (Euskaltel) went clear before being reeled in with subsequent ascents of the Ziegelschüren. It was then time for Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) to go clear after good work from Jan Ullrich. The young German was then joined by Ullrich, David Canada and Koldo Gil (both Saunier Duval), Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step), Fränk Schleck (CSC), Giampaolo Caruso and Jörg Jaksche (both Würth) and Cadel Evans (Davitamon). Out of this group Gerdemann and Jaksche emerged to lead with 18 km to go before they were soon joined by Gil and Nick Nuyens (Quick.Step).
With the scene set for an interesting finale, it was Nuyens who best read the conditions and used his superior strength to dominate in the final kilometre to take the win. "I am really pleased with this win," said the Belgian after the finish. "It certainly wasn't a dull race today; during the last section, about 20 kilometres from the finish line, Bettini made a move taking with him a group of nine riders, then Gerdemann and Jaksche made a move getting away from the other seven," he explained. "After a short while myself and Gil caught up with them - we were able to pull away from the others, gaining about 30 seconds, and this advantage enabled us to get to the finish line and battle it out for the win."
