German sprinter extends his lead after being attentive all day in a wet and aggressive second stage
John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) made it two out of two in the second stage of the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque between Berck-sur-Mer and Montreuil-sur-Mer. The German spinter managed to infiltrate the Omega Pharma-Quick Step lead out on the complicated, wet, cobbled finish, then powered his way past Jérôme Pineau and Zdenek Stybar to hit the line well clear.
Stybar, who was being led out by Pineau, took second, with the Frenchman holding on to third, after the Belgian team had been aggressive for much of the 180.2km stage.
The stage was run under heavy rain for much of its length, and saw a long breakaway from Rony Martias (Saur-Sojasun), Carlos Quintero (Colombia-Coldeportes), Fabien Bacquet (Auber 93) and Franck Vermeulen (Véranda Rideau-Super U).
With Degenkolb’s Argos-Shimano team leading the peloton, the quartet was still 4’35” clear with 70km to go but, as Omega Pharma-Quick Step tried to break things up in the rain and crosswinds of the two 25.9km finishing circuits, the gap closed very quickly. On the second lap Quintero and Vermeulen left their two companions behind but were soon swept up as several teams joined Omega Pharma-Quick Step in their aggression at the front of the peloton.
Despite several attempts, no groups were able to get clear; there was a late attack from Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana), who was allowed to dangle off the front for a few kilometres, but the Kazakh was swept up as Omega Pharma-Quick Step began to wind the pace up into the final kilometre.
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The break goes long again as the rain pours down
Just as on the previous stage, the four-man group of Martias, Quintero, Bacquet and Vermeulen got away early and, in the pouring rain, the peloton allowed them to get away. Bacquet led Quintero over the first climb of La Folie, after 45.3km, but the Colombian took the next one at Embry after 105.2km.
Quintero was also to win the two climbs on Montreuil-sur-Mer later in the stage, to take over the climbers jersey.
Degenkolb’s Argos-Shimano team was leading the peloton at this point but, with around 70km still to ride, and with the rain still coming down, the gap was still 4’35”. It was beginning to close however, as they approached Montreuil-sur-Mer for the first time.
The rain eased off as the breakaway headed towards the finishing circuit, but the cobbles of the final kilometre were still glacial and the four riders took the utmost care as they negotiated the final corners. Across the finish line with two 25.9km laps to go, they led by 3’53”, as the peloton tiptoed over the wet cobbles behind them.
Team Type 1-Sanofi sent a rider forward to help Argos-Shimano, and the speed began to rise a little, and the gap began to close more quickly.
On the long, straight road in the middle of the lap, Omega Pharma-Quick Step took the race in hand and accelerated into the crosswinds. After just a few moments the Belgian team had forced a twelve-man group clear at the front of the peloton, which contained five riders from the belgian team, including Stybar, Pineau and Andy Fenn. Also present was Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), and Degenkolb - who was displaying the canniness that had seen him make the winning break the day before - had got himself into the group.
The group was just 15 seconds ahead of the main field but, with the massive increase in speed, was now just a minute behind the four riders up the road.
There was no concerted chase on the front of the peloton, but the counterattack was steadily closed down and it was all back together as they approached the end of the lap.
The break splits on the final lap as Omega Pharma-Quick Step continues to attack
On the cobbled approach to the line Quintero and Vermeulen escaped the other two and, as the peloton came into the finish, Pineau attacked, and a small group joined him in pursuit. He was joined by a number of riders, including Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ-BigMat), Danilo Napolitano (Acqua & Sapone) and Rob Ruijgh (Vacansoleil-DCM), and they quickly caught and passed Martias and Bacquet. The other two were doing their utmost to hold on but, shortly after Pineau’s group was closed down, they were eventually caught.
Saur-Sojasun, Omega Pharma-Quick Step, FDJ-BigMat and Bretagne-Schuller continued to keep the pace high, threatening to rip another group off the front but, as the peloton headed back towards Montreuil, it looked certain to be heading for a sprint.
Just to make sure however, Voeckler and Degenkolb were both camped out near the front, ready to join any split that might break free.
Florian Vachon (Bretagne-Schuller) did manage to break free on his own, and managed to open up a decent gap over the peloton. The sprinters’ teams were quite happy to leave him out there for a while though, and despite his looking over his shoulder - willing them to catch him and end his pain - it was some time before he was pulled back in.
A lull in the peloton followed, allowing Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana) to be the next rider to try his luck, the Kazakh was also allowed to stew off the front for a while - to have his time in the sun - while the sprinters’ teams organised themselves.
The roads were now drying as Gruzdev ploughed his lone furrow towards the finish but, as he approached the outer walls of Montreuil he was swept up by an acceleration from Omega Pharma-Quick Step. The Belgian team led over the cobbled rise, taking the drier final corner faster than previously; Pineau led into the finishing straight, aiming to lead out Stybar, but Degenkolb threaded his way between them to take his second stage of the race.