Cycling News

2010 Giro - Weylandt takes chaotic stage 3

Dutch roads claim more victims

They say that death and taxes are life's only certainties; they forgot to mention that a particularly flat stage of a Grand Tour held through the Dutch countryside is always going to end in a sprint. And so that eventuality occurred today, with Quick Step's Wouter Weylandt taking the stage in the Dutch city of Middleburg. But it didn't come in the circumstances expected for a bunch finish. Yesterday's stage was marred by crashes and the final kilometres, and today's journey suffered the same fate, a crash near the last 10 kilometres disrupting the sprinters' plans that were already punctuated by savage crosswinds and a long day in the saddle.

It gave Weylandt the perfect opportunity to take the biggest victory of his career, beating Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and Robert Frster (Milram) to the line. The Belgian had come under fire from team boss Patrick Lefevere earlier this season, but this win may go some way to keeping the sprinter in a job for 2011.

Weylandt benefited greatly from disorder in the final 10 kilometres of racing and the leadout work done by HTC-Columbia for Andr Greipel, who found himself in pole position for victory with the likes of Alessandro Petacchi missing from the front of the race courtesy of the crashes.

Source: CyclingNews.com
Subject: Racing

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