Earle gets his wish with stage win at Taiwan

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Pre-race favorite Nathan Earle of Huon Salmon-Genesys Wealth Advisers met expectations as he won stage 2 from Tainan City Hall to Guanzling Scenic Area, but he missed taking the leader's jersey by three seconds from stage 1 winner Kirill Pozdnyakov (Synergy Baku Cycling Project) who finished fifth on the day, six seconds back. The 25th Tour de Taiwan remains wide open after what was considered the queen stage.

It was a 1-2 for Tasmania as Bernard Sulzberger (Drapac) finished second, followed by Oddbjørn Klomtsen Andersen (Team Frøy-Bianchi) in third. Hong Kong's Choi Ki Ho, the current Asia Tour leader, led out the sprint with 300 metres to go but the talented 21-year-old faded to fourth at the finish.

"It's just happiness and relief," said Earle after crossing the line. "The boys of my team did a great job taking me to the climb with the bunch all together as we wanted it to be. With one kilometer to go I was in 15th position and I thought I delayed it a bit too much but the key to succeed was to not get too excited too early. When a Japanese rider attacked with 800 metres to go, that was no worries."

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Earle's ride up the mountain went exactly according to the plan, unlike some of his adversaries. Choi sustained a flat tyre with 8km to go but he got a quick wheel change from his 19-year-old teammate Leung Chun Wing, the junior world champion for the points race and another big talent coming from Hong Kong. Ho Burr awaited Choi to bring him back to the bunch.

Pozdnyakov's hiccups occurred closer to the finish. "In the last corner going uphill, a rider took me too far to the right," the Russian said. "I had to pull my brake, so I made some mistakes. Otherwise I would have made the top three rather than the top five. I was feeling very good on that climb."

It was a very fast, aggressive race from start to finish. Fabian Schnaidt (Champion System) was the first man in action just after the flag dropped at the start of the stage. He was joined at the front by Shotaro Iribe (Shimano Racing) and Max Walsleben (Nutrixxion-Abus) but their largest lead extended to only 34 seconds. A very active peloton brought them back after 31 kilometres of racing.

The next major breakaway group was comprised of 13 riders after 60 kilometres of racing: Mart Ojavee (Champion System), Gordon McCauley (Drapac), Pat Shaw (Huon), Benjamin Sydlik (Nutrixxion), Andreas Muller and Benjamin Edmuller (Arbo), Louis Meintjes (MTN-Qhubeka), Christophe Schweizer (Baku), Bradley White (UnitedHealthcare), Morten Sandvik (Froy), Benjamin Giraud (La Pomme-Marseille), Ho Burr (Hong Kong) and Anuar Manan (Baku).

Shaw and Edmuller attacked the break and a re-shuffling at the front of the race took place as their 11 former breakaway companions were caught, but 12 other riders bridged up to the two leaders: Adiq Hussainie (Champion System), Floris Goesinnen (Drapac), Shotaro Iribe (Shimano), Grischa Janorschke (Nutrixxion-Abus), Thomas Vaubourzeix (La Pomme-Marseille), Yoshimitsu Hiratsuka (Aisan), Jacques Janse van Rensburg (MTN-Qhubeka), Hui Zhang (Max Success), Okho Shimizu (Japan), Rizuan Zainal (Malaysia), David Clarke (Baku) and Ryan Sherlock (Polygon). It became a front group of 19 riders with the addition of Sulzberger and McCauley (Drapac), Masakazu Ito (Aisan), Meintjes and Tsgabu Grmay (MTN-Qhubeka).

Choi showed that he was maybe too nervous as he bridged the gap together with Robbie Hucker (Drapac). The Huon Salmon-Genesys Wealth Advisers team would never let him go before the climb, so the breakaway was reeled in with the exception of McCauley who, at the age of 41, showed his courage until it all came back together within 10 kilometers to go.

The MTN-Qhubeka team was the most active with a Team Sky-style of riding at the head of the peloton in the final climb leading up to Guanzling Spa Resort, but with a limited benefit. Their 21-year-old Ethiopian rider Tsgabu Grmay, however, looks likely to make his third top ten overall in a big stage race after finishing fifth at the Tropicale Amissa-Bongo and ninth at Le Tour de Langkawi.

Stage 3 in the Changhua county will give Earle another occasion to challenge Pozdnyakov as the short uphill finish in front of the magnificent Baguashan Buddha statue also suits his characteristics.

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