Jesse Sergent wins fourth stage as Boasson Hagen retains overall lead in Eneco Tour 2011
RadioShack team’s Jesse Sergent showed a brilliant effort in the fourth stage of Eneco Tour 2011 in Roermond on Friday, August 12. Edvald Boasson Hagen takes overall leader’s yellow jersey.
The stage was affected due a heavy rain, although the rain stopped by the time the favourites competed but the roads remained wet which created problems for the cyclists and added an element of risk as well.
The 23-year-old Sergent took the total of 17 hours, 55 minutes to cover the distance of 14.7 kilometres and took his first victory in the World Tour.
Sergent was really surprised after winning the stage and said, “I did not expect this at all, after my seventh place in the opening prologue, my confidence was up and I was hoping for a top-five today. But my back luck of yesterday became my good luck today.”
In the previous stage he faced a puncture in the final kilometers and due to this he failed to join the peloton and grabbed 98th place with 8 minutes and 25 seconds down to Gilbert.
Recently, Sergent won the overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and prologue stage. He also took runner-up spot in the seventh stage of Tour of Austria.
He further added, “It’s hard for me to say what kind of time trial I prefer, I was excellent in the Tour of Austria on a 30 K flat course without corners. But today was very technical and I won, so I don’t know.”
Alex Rasmussen (HTC-Highroad) was runner-up 14 seconds and Jurgen Roelandts of Omega Pharma-Lotto finished third with 20 seconds down to Sergent.
Sky Procycling team’s Boasson Hagen took the overall standing with the timing of 13 hours, 49 minutes and 6 seconds. Philippe Gilbert was in second place with 12 seconds down to Hagen.
David Millar (Garmin-Cervelo) was in third place with the difference of 18 seconds ahead of Taylor Phinney (BMC). The stage winner, Jesse was in 91st place with the difference of 7 minutes and 57 seconds.
The second last stage will start in Genk and all the cyclists will cover the distance of 189.2 kilometres.
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