Rasmussen reaps further reward at Dunkirk

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Saxo Bank's Alex Rasmussen took his second stage win and regained the overall lead of the 4 Days of Dunkirk with an unusually-styled victory over the morning's leader, Danilo Napolitano (Katusha), in Ypres.

The Danish track specialist looked more like Chris Hoy winning a keirin than a sprinter winning a road stage, and never even got out of the saddle as he powered to the line with an incredible turn of speed.

Napolitano, the sting removed from his sprint by the three trips up the Kemmelberg, crossed the line on Rasmussen's wheel for second, while Caisse d'Epargne's Jose Joaquin Rojas out-paced Rafai Chtioui (Acqua & Sapone) for third.

”Actually, I was dropped in the cross wind close to the finale but I managed to reach the rear end of the pack in the head wind," said Rasmussen. "I simply continued riding and don't stop until I caught the Napolitano's back wheel shortly before the sprint. Here, I just gave it everything I had and it turned out to be enough.

"I don't think it's realistic to defend the jersey on tomorrow's stage as it is simply too hilly but naturally I don't give up without a fight."

The third stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk took place entirely in Belgium, with the start in Menin and three circuits, each of which included a trip over the Kemmelberg, before the finish in Ypres.

Overall leader Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) tried to pad to his lead with a win in the first sprint bonus after an active start to the day. Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil) stretched his legs with a second place on the line ahead of Jimmy Casper (Saur-Sojasun).

With cool, overcast conditions and a strong headwind, the frequent attempts at a breakaway were nullified, and it wasn't until well into the second hour of racing that a group was able to go free.

Mathieu Drujon (Caisse d'Epargne), Pierre Cazaux (Fra) Française Des Jeux, Kevin Neirynck (Landbouwkrediet), Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator), Jens Mouris (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team), Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur - Sojasun) and Reinier Honig (Acqua & Sapone) were the lucky seven able to break free of the peloton.

Neirynck took advantage of his position in the escape as he claimed the first two primes at the top of the Kemmel, while Drujon siezed his own opportunities to take the two intermediate sprints in De Klijte

The breakaway's lead maxed-out at 3:55 over the bunch, but began to plummet on the final circuit as the sprinters' teams began to assemble for the chase.

As the race entered the final 20 kilometres, the peloton began to get anxious and attacks flew over the hilly terrain as the opportunists sensed that the run-in would be a difficult one.

Greg Van Avermaet (Omega Pharma-Lotto) put in a dig with 18 kilometres to go, but was brought back after a brief escape. He was countered by Jaroslaw Marycz (Saxo Bank) who was also re-joined by the peloton a short time later.

The activity had brought the lead group back within one minute, and sensing the inevitable catch, Engoulvent decided to leave his companions behind and try to go solo to the finish.

The Frenchman resisted repeated surges in the peloton. Aided by the wind, many small hills and turns on the route to Ypres he managed to stay clear for nearly 10 kilometres.

The Landbouwkrediet team was determined to get a stage win and sent two riders in pursuit of Engoulvent, but with 4 kilometres to go he was still out of sight around the next bend.

Inside the last 4km, four riders bridged up to Engoulvent - one each from Euskaltel-Euskadi, Landbouwkrediet, Saxo Bank and Francaise des Jeux - but the five could never establish the kind of cooperation necessary to hold off the Katusha-led peloton.

With two kilometres to go, the peloton had at last come back together with Napolitano nestled nicely at the front. It seemed like a sure win for the powerful Italian, but with 500 metres to go Rasmussen hit the front and unleashed such a furious pace that Napolitano was washed away.

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