Tony Martin wins second consecutive Tour of Beijing

Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) secured his second successive Tour of Beijing victory with a minimum of fuss in Pinggu, while Stephen Cummings took the stage honours on a day that was marked by an aggressive showing from Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp).

While the first category climb to Si Zuo Lou failed to provide the anticipated pyrotechnics in the battle for general classification, it was the site of a resolute bout of forcing from Hesjedal, who had forged his way across to the day’s early break on the previous ascent. Only Cummings could follow the Canadian’s tempo, and the pair had a lead of 35 seconds over the chasing peloton at the summit, with 30km to go.

1:30 behind in the general standings as the day started, Hesjedal was an outside threat to Martin’s red jersey, particularly as the chase initially struggled to organise itself behind, but once the gap drifted back down beneath 30 seconds in the finale, it soon became apparent that the German would take his second successive win.

“It’s a fantastic feeling. I’m really so proud of the team again today, without them we couldn’t have made it. This success is for the whole team,” said Martin, who maintained his 40-second lead over Francesco Gavazzi (Astana) in the final overall standings.

While Martin was happy to keep the advantage pegged as part of a significantly reduced peloton, Hesjedal and Cummings were complementing each other perfectly at the head of the race to stay clear. Hesjedal’s mountain biking instincts were to the fore as he led on the descent, while Cummings’ pursuit pedigree was instantly apparent on the fast, flat run-in to the line in Pinggu.

The pair’s neatly dovetailing objectives also helped their ad hoc alliance, with Hesjedal convinced to the last that he could spring an upset and divest Martin of the red jersey. “We had a very little information about the gaps, and given that we had 35 seconds at the top of the last climb and a few seconds of time bonuses on offer at the finish line, I thought I was going for final victory,” Hesjedal said.

The eventual two-up sprint was scarcely a contest, with Cummings easily coming around Hesjedal to take his second win of the season. The Briton had been part of the initial 12-man move that had gone clear before the 50km mark, and was the only man with the wherewithal to match Hesjedal when he jumped across on the climb to Tai Hou Village.

“It was a big breakaway initially, so it was difficult for them to chase behind,” said Cummings, who correctly guessed that the final climb would whittle down the chasers behind. “When you have a climb like that in the final, you only have so many people left to pull. After the descent, I was with Ryder and he was strong, and we did a good job together to hold them off.”

“I have no regret about the final sprint,” Hesjedal said. “Steve was going more for the stage victory and actually he was pretty strong and smooth on the flat.”

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) led the red jersey group home 17 seconds later, and the time bonus he picked up for third was enough to see him leapfrog Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) in the general classification to claim the final step of the podium.

“Third place would have been a bonus because I knew that Edvald would be there at the end for the time bonuses,” said Martin, who had the consolation of retaining his hold on the king of the mountains jersey.

Schleck abandons

Friday night brought news that RadioShack-Nissan had finally opted to part company with Johan Bruyneel, faced with the full weight of evidence against the Belgian accumulated by USADA in its investigation of doping practices at his former US Postal Service team.

Andy Schleck and company opted not to make any declarations on the overnight development, with the Luxembourger keen to focus on his ongoing comeback from the pelvis fracture he sustained in June. Already the lanterne rouge coming into Saturday’s final stage, Schleck abandoned 40 kilometres in after being distanced by the peloton on the second climb, but he will doubtless be pleased to face into the winter with at least some racing in his legs after spending the summer on the sidelines

With Dan Martin keen to ensure possession of the king of the mountains jersey, Garmin-Sharp kept a tight rein on proceedings at the head of the peloton for the first 50 kilometres as the Irishman picked up maximum points on both Hei Shan Zhai and Tuo Ling Tunnell.

Shortly afterwards, the break of the day sallied clear, featuring Cummings, Jussi Veikkanen (FDJ-Big Mat), Mikhail Ignatyev, Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha), Grega Bole (Lampre-ISD), Enrique Sanz (Movistar), Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Maarten Wynants (Rabobank), Kenny Dehaes (Lotto Belisol), David Tanner (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Nissan) and Frederik Veuchelen (Vacansoleil-DCM).

Although the group collaborated smoothly and posed no general classification threat, they struggled to press their advantage above two minutes on the flat run along the northern extremity of greater Beijing, with Omega Pharma-QuickStep continuing to police the peloton.

After 80 kilometres of through and off, the group splintered on the climb to Tai Hou Village, while Hesjedal seized his opportunity to jump off the front of the peloton and bridge across. “Ryder’s attack wasn’t planned, but we didn’t know what the other teams would do,” said his teammate Dan Martin. “With the final climb so far from the finish, it was going to be hard for me, and my legs weren’t so good after my earlier efforts in the stage.”

Hesjedal continued to push on once he joined the remnants of the break, and midway up the final climb – the first category Si Zuo Lou – he had only Cummings and Jan Bakelants for company at the front. Two kilometres from the summit, Bakelants would also yield to his forcing, leaving Hesjedal and Cummings to fight out the stage honours. “I knew it would be very hard to get to the finish, but then Hesjedal came and that was it,” Bakelants said. “He was really strong and he put a real strong pace and gradually the group just got smaller.”

The only frisson in the chase group on the climb came when Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) launched a stinging attack near the summit, but Tony Martin was quickly across to his wheel, which seemed to discourage any other attempts on his red jersey.

“It’s a really special win for me because I think there was a little bit of pressure on me as a lot of people were expecting for me to win again,” Martin said. “But there was no time trial, so I had to try something else. I’m really proud of myself.”

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