Frapporti claims Tour of Britain's fifth stage
Italian rider Marco Frapporti launched a successful attack at the end of the Tour of Britain's fifth stage on Wednesday, finishing before seven other breakaway riders.
The Colnago-CSF Inox rider finished 13 seconds ahead of Sky's home favourite Bradley Wiggins, while Saxo Bank's Lucas Sebastian Haedo came third, 32 seconds after Frapporti.
“I was here to ride for Manuel Belletti, so I have been riding in support of my team,” the unlikely winner said after the stage. “But when Manuel got a virus and had to stop, then today I was able to take my own chance, which I did.”
Michal Golas of Vacansoleil and Garmin-Transitions' Daniel Martin were among the other riders in the eight-man breakaway.
Three climbs and a quick finish
Stage 5 from Tavistock to Glastonbury presented the riders with a hilly, 176km-long route. It contained two category-two climbs, the first going up to Merrivale after just under five kilometres, while the ascent up Six Mile Hill began a third of the way
into the stage.
After 105km, the riders had to climb Coombe Hill, which they descended during Tuesday's Stage Four. On Wednesday, it turned into a category-one climb. With the final 70km to Glastonbury going downhill, both escapees and sprinters would be likely to go for
the stage win.
Haedo, Wiggins, Frapporti, Martin and Golas were joined by Iker Camano, Heinrich Haussler and Pieter Ghyllebert in Wednesday's early breakaway, and all but Haussler, who is still recovering from a knee injury, held on until the end of the stage.
Frapporti outlasts Martin in final stretch
Wiggins' attack was challenged by the other escapees, but when Martin saw his chance to break after 166km, nobody but Frapporti was able to keep up. The Irishmen and the Italian battled for the stage win before Frapporti abandoned Martin with five kilometres
to go until the finish.
"With five kilometres to go there was a false flat and I jumped then and Dan couldn’t go with me, and luckily for me I kept away," Frapporti explained. "I didn’t even look back, because the moment you look back then you lose, so I just put my head down and
went.”
The top five riders in the general classification remain the same after Wednesday's stage, with HTC-Columbia's Michael Albasini managing to retain the yellow jersey for another day. Saxo Bank's Richie Porte trails him by one minute and 28 seconds, with Vacansoleil
rider Borut Bozic and Greg Henderson of Sky only seconds the Austrian.
Tags: