Vuelta a España stage winner Robert Forster (United Healthcare) was second while Dene Rogers (Giant Kenda) was third. Malaysian favourite Anuar Manan (Terengganu ProAsia Cycling) had previously been closest to Guardini in terms of finishing speed in this race but he was boxed in today, placing only 24th. As a result, he has lost the blue points jersey he was wearing during the stage.
Guardini changed tactics today, realising that Manan tended to be fast in the intermediate sprints but then not as rapid as him at the end of the stages. As a result he and his team were content that a break went clear, and they didn’t try to bring them back until much closer to the end.
“I have decided not to race for hotspot sprints anymore and keep all my strength for the finish,” he said. “Thanks to the breakaway, no hotspot sprint was contested [by the peloton] so Anuar was not able to take more points on the way. I have a comfortable lead but it's not over yet for the blue jersey.”
He and the rest of the riders had anticipated a different type of finish, and were surprised to see how things turned out. Fortunately he was able to adjust and it didn’t affect his chances. “It was a different sprint from the previous days, because not many people expected such a finish,” he said afterwards. “Looking at the road book, it was a false flat uphill, but in reality the last 2 kilometres were downhill. But I handled the situation, I took the corner in 5th position…that was ideal, and I did 300 metres finishing flat out.”
Race leader Libardo Nino Corredor (Le Tua) had a relatively quiet day in the saddle and his slender two second lead wasn’t really threatened at any point by closest rival Jonnatha Monsalve (Androni Giocattoli). He’s now a day closer to the race finish in Kuala Lumpur, where the 42 year old could become the oldest-ever winner of the event.
“This stage has been little bit difficult for me because my team is not very strong,” he said. “However it went without problems. The circumstances of the race helped me because other teams have worked strongly and there were riders away to catch the bonuses.”
Monsalve said afterwards that the team made the decision to wait until the finale, then try to take back the two seconds to yellow. However the same confusion about the finish which was mentioned by Guardini also applied to him, and he didn’t have his chance.
“We thought today was a good day to take the yellow jersey because the road book showed an uphill finish,” he stated. “That's why we let a breakaway go, because we thought I could take the yellow jersey with that uphill to the line. Unfortunately the finish was downhill and there was nothing to get.”
Three days now remain in the race, and while the points jersey contest looks more certain this evening due to Manan’s misfortune, the battle for yellow is still very much a close one.
How it happened:
A total of 123 riders lined out on the 149.5 kilometre race from Banting to Tampin. The stage was run off under cooler temperatures and there was little sun. There were many attacks inside the first ten kilometres, with a group of four eventually going clear and being joined at kilometre 14 by another quartet.
The break comprised Manuele Caddeo (Colnago CSF Inox Pro), Maxim Jenkins (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling), Kihong Yoo (Korea National Team), Loh Sea Keong (Malaysia National Team), Othman M. Adiq (Drapac Professional Cycling Team), David McCann (Giant Kenda), Deon Locke (Team Champion Systems) and Bradley Potgieter (MTN Qhubeka).
Five kilometres later, the octet had a 50 second advantage over the bunch. Recognising that this was most likely the break of the day, Ebrahim Javani (Suren Cycling Team) set off in pursuit but struggled to get on terms. He was caught by the bunch after 34 kilometres of racing, by which time the break was two minutes 40 seconds clear.
Caddeo took the first sprint in Sungai Pelek (km 44.6), beating Potgieter, Loh and Jenkins. The riders covered 46 kilometres of racing in the first hour, and the gap here was three minutes 15 seconds. This had increased to four minutes 25 seconds by the sprint in Port Dickson (km 82), where Potgieter, Locke, Caddeo and Loh were first across the prime line.
It began to rain soon afterwards and this spurred the bunch into action, with several attacks going clear and the pace picking up. The acceleration had the expected effect on the break’s advantage and by the second KOM prime at Linggi (km 105.7), the lead was just over two minutes. Locke beat Adiq and Caddeo to the summit there.
Potgieter was again first in the next intermediate sprint. He passed the line in Chembong (km 124.7) ahead of Caddeo, Jenkins and Adiq, but it was looking less and less likely that he or the others would get to use their sprint at the finish. The peloton was just 20 seconds back with five kilometres to go, and they were caught soon afterwards. Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar) then clipped away two kilometres from the line, but he couldn’t prevent a big bunch finish and the fourth victory of Andrea Guardini.
Next up is a 156.5 kilometre race from Kuala Pilah to Jasin. After a bonus sprint at Bahau, two fourth category climbs come in the first third of the stage and should help those keen to try their chances in a break. Later on, two intermediate sprints precede the final rush for the line.
