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Freire wins stage, Rast keeps Romandie lead
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Three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) won the second stage of the Tour de Romandie on Thursday after a breakaway by teammates Cadel Evans and Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) was stifled just a few kilometers before the finish line.
The Silence-Lotto duo took advantage of the hilly course around northwestern Switzerland to break away on the final climb near the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
But Evans, the 2006 Romandie winner, and Gilbert were reeled in by the peloton led by late entry Alejandro Valverde just four kilometers from the finish.
Czech rider Frantisek Rabon (Columbia-Highroad) was second in a mass sprint to the line after the 162 kilometer stage, while Kazakhstan's Assan Bazayev (Astana) was third.
Swiss rider Gregory Rast (Astana) retained the yellow jersey with a slender five-second lead with most of the race favorites including Valverde lying in wait just behind.
French cyclists Florent Brard and Mathieu Sprick earned consolation prizes as they led a solitary break for more than three quarters of the hilly stage. As a result, Sprick seized climber's jersey.
A number of riders attempted last-ditch attacks within the final two kilometers, however Rabobank’s Laurens Ten Dam set a pace at the front of the peloton for the team’s fast finisher Freier. The Spaniard, who owns three world championships, unleashed his sprint early but was virtually uncontested at the line. Freire took the victory by more than a bike length ahead of Rabon.
For the veteran Freire, the sprint was a return to old ways, while Rast struggled through the climbs to hold on to the yellow jersey.
The third stage on Friday will mark a complete shift in pace, as the 160 riders take on a team trial around the lakeside town of Yverdon.
