Thor Hushovd powered to victory on stage four of the Tour de Suisse on a testing uphill sprint finish.
Cunego maintains race lead
Thor Hushovd powered to victory on stage four of the Tour de Suisse on a testing uphill sprint finish.
Peter Sagan (Liquigas) struck out with 200 metres to go with Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) the only man strong enough to follow in the wheel of the young Slovakian on the tough drag up to the line in Huttwil.
The victory marked the first win this season for the World Champion on a finish that suited the Norwegian who just had enough to edge out Monday’s stage winner on the line.
The duo finished two seconds and several bike-lengths clear with Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil) rounding out the podium places on a stage that suited the strong men.
A fast pace on a tough finishing circuit saw a number of pre-stage favourites distanced with two third category climbs proving too tough to tame for the likes of Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad).
The sprint played into the hands of overnight leader Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) who was able to maintain his 54-second advantage over Mauricio Soler (Movistar) at the head of the race.
Uncertain finish
An undulating parcours greeted the riders on a day that looked set to provide an intriguing finish en route to Huttwil.
A group of three riders forced their way clear in the early going, with Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r), Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) and Cesare Benedetti (NetApp) building up a margin that bordered on five minutes before being pegged back.
Mondory was able to maintain his grasp on the sprints jersey but the move was never likely to pose a threat as sprinter’s teams quickly came to the fore in a bid to instigate a bunch kick.
Omega Pharma-Lotto were the first squad to seize the initiative on the front with Garmin-Cervelo, Team Sky and HTC-Highroad all taking turns to chase down the escapees.
With the pace high in the bunch the Team Sky led the peloton across the line with one lap to go following a long drag up to the finish.
With the three men swept up with 17km remaining huge turns from Ian Stannard and Mathew Hayman looked to string out the bunch with an impressive display of power
With just a shade over 12km remaining Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil) darted clear on the final climb and was immediately followed by Jan Bakelandts (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Daniel Oss (Liquigas).
The plucky trio were quickly shut down by a determined peloton with a number of riders including Jens Voigt (Leopard Trek) also chancing their arm with counter attacks on the fast run for home.
