Thompson gets first victory for Fly V

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With the peloton hot on the heels of the breakaway, Jay Thompson of Fly V Australia sprinted across the finish line, edging out the six riders who had joined him in the break for a hundred kilometres. Despite Thompson’s efforts and his third place on the general classification at the start of the stage, he was unable to rob Kiwi Michael Torckler of the yellow jersey.

From the moment the starter’s flag dropped on the outskirts of Masterston the attacks were on. Stage three is the longest stage of the tour, but one of the kinder stages with no significant climbs.

It was cat and mouse for the first quarter of the race as group after group attempted to ride off the front. The odd group was able to put 10 then 20 second advances on the bunch before being reeled in.

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A group of eight managed a small gap, but were soon joined by a chasing group to increase the size of the bunch 15. They fought the peloton for a while but only managed to obtain a marginal 22 second lead. This group was caught within a few kilometres.

50 kilometres into the race, a break finally managed to wrangle free of the peloton. The break included South Africa Jay Thompson (Fly V Australia), Gordon McCauley (Subway-Avanti), Joseph Lewis (Drapac Porsche) and a strong contingent from Team Solway. Jeremy Yates (Team Solway) worked quickly to seize the opportunity to bridge up to his teammates Scott Lyttle and Westley Gough. By the 90 kilometre mark they had established a 2:40 minute lead.

The breakaway peaked at lead of 3:30 minutes, before the peloton put the pressure on. McCauley punctured, and a slow wheel change and an impatient bunch saw him lose touch of the breakaway. Once he rejoined the peloton his Subway-Avanti teammates drove the chase, adamant to reel in the leaders.

Slowly but consistently the peloton ate into the breakaway’s lead. The Cardno team worked furiously the whole stage driving the peloton to ensure that Torckler’s time lead was protected.

With 10 kilometres to go and the bunch less than 30 seconds behind, attacks in the breakaway began. Gough was the first to test the legs, taking with him Genesys rider Clarke Williams. The lead group was all over the road, launching attacks.

In the last two kilometres it was Lewis and Williams leading. They managed to hold off the fast approaching peloton but had to sprint against their breakaway companions.

Thompson crossed the line seconds ahead of Michael Matthews (Jayco Skins Team) with Kiwi Jeremy Yates (Solway Team) finishing in third. Despite Yates finishing third, it was a disappointing result for Team Solway who had three riders in the break.

Had the race been 500 metres longer, the bunch would have caught the breakaway for a massive sprint finish, but instead the chase wasn’t timed well enough to reel in the leaders.

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