Tour of Beijing: Gilbert wins stage 2

Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing) claimed a shortened stage 2 of the Tour of Beijing on Saturday, sprinting clear of Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Giant Shimano) and Rui Costa (Lampre) on the uphill finish.

The Belgian’s win was enough to move him into the race lead, after overnight pacesetter Luka Mezgec (Giant-Shimano) struggled to finish with the leaders.

"I was waiting because I knew in a finish like this that I am really strong," Gilbert said. "So I was just waiting for someone else to take the lead. I did not want to go first. So when Van Rensburg went, it was perfect. I think he wanted me to go on the inside and close me out. But I just went on the corner on the left. There was a lot of space and I didn't take any risks."

The stage had been altered earlier in the day due to smog and poor air quality in Beijing and the surrounding area, with the finish line moved back from the 147.5 kilometres mark to 111 kilometres.

Earlier in the stage a four man group had formed, with Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Laurent Mangel (FDJ), Fabio Silvestre (Trek Factory Racing) and Julian Alaphilippe (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) building up a lead of around two minutes.

Alaphilippe returned to the peloton soon after with Silvestre struggling to match Gougeard and Mangel as Katusha, BMC and Giant Shimano led the chase.

With 10 kilometres remaining the leaders held a slender 45 second advantage on the field but they were swept up inside the final five kilometres, as Team Sky controlled the field in the closing stages, and neutralized a dangerous attack from Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff Saxo) on the final climb.

Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) lifted the pace as the climb began to ramp up towards the line but it was Reinardt Janse Rensburg who opened his sprint first. With Gilbert on his wheel it was only a matter of time before the Belgian kicked, and he duly came around the Giant Shimano rider to take his first win since June.

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