Ben Swift produced a storming sprint on stage three of the Giro d’Italia but was denied victory by the tightest of margins.
Matthews stays in pink as Kittel wins again
Ben Swift produced a storming sprint on stage three of the Giro d’Italia but was denied victory by the tightest of margins as Marcel Kittel made it two wins from two in Dublin.
Swift was thrust into contention after some sterling work in the closing stages from Salvatore Puccio, Bernhard Eisel and Chris Sutton, and once Edvald Boasson Hagen had led him through a tight final chicane, the Yorkshireman flew down the finishing straight but was robbed just inches from the line.
Kittel had latched onto Swift’s wheel and only managed to pass the 26 year old with a last-gasp lunge for the line, and after sealing his victory the Giant-Shimano rider collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.
Swift’s second-placed finish was his joint-highest in a Grand Tour campaign, and his second top-10 spot in the space of two days. Kittel meanwhile, consolidated his grip on the points jersey with his second success in the space of 24 hours.
Although Michael Matthews finished outside the top 10, the Orica-GreenEdge rider extended his lead at the top of the overall standings and now sits eight seconds ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step), with Daniel Oss (BMC Racing) two seconds further adrift in third.
Boasson Hagen buoyed
The fact Boasson Hagen played such a pivotal role in Swift’s lead out was a testament to the Norwegian's resilience as he had fallen in a large crash less than 40km from home.
Immediately after the stage he was able to update us on his condition before talking through a hectic finale which also saw him take sixth place on the stage.
He told us: “I wasn’t hurt so much in the crash and managed to get back in time to do the lead out because there was a headwind, which slowed up the bunch.
“At first I experienced a little pain in my shoulder but that soon wore off and it didn’t affect me in the finish. I managed to get a good line through that s-bend in the last 300m and both me and Swifty went full gas from there.
“Swifty got second place, which was good, and it’s a pity he couldn’t quite hang on for the win. As a team, we produced a really good lead out, so everyone’s happy, and I’m sure Swifty will be challenging for victories again soon.”
Wet and wild
Once again, the rain poured throughout much of the stage, but Maarten Tjallingii’s spirits clearly weren’t dampened as he made the breakaway again with four other accomplices and the Belkin rider extended his lead in the King of the Mountains classification by pacing them over two early categorised climbs.
The break saw their advantage max out at almost six minutes before they were gradually reeled back in, with Orica-GreenEdge and Giant-Shimano taking the lion’s share of the chase duties.
The wet and wild conditions led to a number of crashes - Boasson Hagen, Matthews and Michele Scarponi (Astana) among the big-names to hit the tarmac – but the peloton was largely as one as they approached the Irish capital and Giorgio Cecchinel (Neri Sottoli - Yellow Fluo) was the final breakaway rider to be caught inside the last 7km.
Once that had occurred, several teams vied for supremacy at the front of the bunch but it was Team Sky who took control in the final kilometre and despite Swift’s best efforts it was Kittel who swept to victory on his 26th birthday.
Cioni pleased
Back at the hotel, Sports Director Dario Cioni was full of praise for the team's performance but admitted Swift had simply been beaten by one of the best in the business.
He said: "Swifty needed a new bike in the last 20km but Salva [Puccio] did a great job to get him back in the peloton and then they all performed brilliantly at the end as well.
"We'd looked at the finish in some detail and they carried out our plan to the letter - only a super Kittel could deny Ben the win.
"He was a little disappointed after the stage but he can be proud of himself today, everyone can. They will relax a bit this evening now and then we fly over to Italy in the morning."
