Boasson Hagen takes final stage victory

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Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) sealed overall victory in the Eneco Tour in resounding fashion by winning the final stage in a bunch sprint ahead of Manuel Cardoso (RadioShack) and Lars Boom (Rabobank).

The Norwegian coolly negotiated the sharp final bend at Sittard-Geelen and emerged unscathed from the crashes in front and behind that eliminated Jurgen Roelandts (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Taylor Phinney (BMC) from contention.

Unfazed by the carnage that surrounded him, the perfectly-positioned Boasson Hagen launched a devastating sprint to surge comfortably clear in the finishing straight. He even had time to sit up and savour his twin conquest of stage and overall honours, while Cardoso, Boom and Grega Bole (Lampre-ISD) did battle for the placings behind.

“Everyone went too fast around the corner and they crashed in front of me,” Boasson Hagen explained calmly after the finish. “I luckily came out without crashing. I also won the stage, so I’m really happy with that, even though I’m sorry for the guys who crashed.”

With just 12 seconds in hand over Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) on Sunday morning, Boasson Hagen knew beforehand that he needed to be vigilant on a stage over Amstel Gold Race terrain. The anticipated Gilbert offensive never fully materialised, however, bar a brief sortie with 70km to go, and once the final climb had been negotiated 4km from the line, Boasson Hagen could turn his mind to capping his Benelux triumph with a stage win.

The rapid run-in to Sittard-Geleen saw Lars Bak (HTC-Highroad) make a bold bid for glory that was only shut down in the final kilometre, and Boasson Hagen singled out his teammate Geraint Thomas for particular praise.

“Geraint Thomas did the longest lead-out ever I think. He was on the front for the last 3km,” Boasson Hagen said. “I’m really thankful to the team. It’s really great.”

Flecha in the early move

Mindful of the need to protect Boasson Hagen’s scant buffer, Sky sent Juan Antonio Flecha up the road in the day’s early break on sentry duty. The move ghosted off the front of the peloton just 2km into the stage, and indeed the last survivors from the initial 12-man group would remain in the lead until the final 5km.

“We had a good plan today. Juan Antonio went in the break and we didn’t have to ride behind,” Boasson Hagen said.

Mechanical trouble caused Flecha fall out of the leading group with a shade under 70km to go, and a war of attrition on the climbs of the Fromberg, Doodeman and Cauberg would leave Matt Wilson (Garmin-Cervélo), Frederik Veuchelen (Vacansoleil-DCM), David Tanner (Saxo Bank-Sungard), Matteo Trentin (Quick Step) and Julien Fouchard (Cofidis) out in front.

Back in the main peloton, meanwhile, David Millar (Garmin-Cervélo) injected life into the overall battle with an attack on the Doodeman with 70km still to race, and he was joined on the offensive by Philippe Gilbert and later Lars Bak, but Boasson Hagen was quick to shut down the move.

Thereafter, Gilbert’s Omega Pharma-Lotto team was a prominent presence at the head of the peloton, with André Greipel in particular putting in a sterling shift, but the remaining escapees still had 1:45 in hand with 45km to go.

At that point, Bernhard Eisel (HTC-Highroad) sensed an opportunity, and took advantage of a lull in the pace of the peloton to jump clear and impressively close the gap to the breakaways ahead. In spite of the presence of an extra pair of legs in the move, however, their advantage would gradually begin to tumble in the final run-in to the finishing circuit, as Omega Pharma-Lotto again seized the initiative.

With 7km to go, Jelle Vanendert strung out the bunch on a short climb in a bid to set up a move from his leader Gilbert, but ultimately his efforts did nothing other than help reel in Matt Wilson, who had attacked from the break as the bunch began to breathe down their necks.

At the foot of the final sharp rise of the day, Gilbert found himself too far back to attempt to put Boasson Hagen on the defensive, and instead it was Lars Bak who scorched clear of the peloton with 5km still to race. The Dane was never able to put daylight between himself and the peloton, however, and he was swept up inside the final kilometre.

Jurgen Roelandts led out the sprint, but was too eager in his entry to the final bend, while Galimzyanov and Taylor Phinney also hit the deck after miscalculating the treacherous finale. There were no such problems for the masterful Boasson Hagen, however, and he highlighted his class by showing a clean pair of wheels to the remainder of the peloton.

After opening half of the season plagued by injury, Boasson Hagen has finally hit his stride in the wake of his sparkling Tour de France showing, and given his aptitudes and the races still to come on the calendar, the Norwegian should be a protagonist all the way through the Autumn.

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