Moreno Hofland wins fifth stage as Rohan Dennis takes overall lead in Tour De L’Avenir 2011
Netherland team’s Moreno Hofland won the first stage of Tour De L’Avenir 2011 on Monday September 5. Rohan Dennis took the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
The race started in Yutz and ended in Luneville. In the final kilometres, the Dutch cyclist showed a tremendous effort and took a total of 4 hours, 12 minutes and 5 seconds to cover the distance of 160.5 kilometres.
The group of seven cyclists made their first breakaway lead and got away in the final 15 kilometres. Hofland out-sprinted the six cyclists and easily beat Romain Bardet. The Italian cyclist Matteo Mammini finished third with the same timing of the sprinter.
Georg Preidler of Austria tried his best to catch the six leading riders but he failed to hold his pace and grabbed seventh place with a difference of 4 seconds ahead of Wouter Wippert and Nikias Arndt.
With 9 kilometres to go, Paris Roubaix winner was the first cyclist who launched an attack with Ramon Sinkeldam (Netherlands) along with the other two cyclists Esteban Chaves (Colombia) and Thomas Moses (Great Britain).
The trio managed to gain a lead of 10 minutes and 8 seconds after 45 kilometres. Sinkeldam took the lead in the first intermediate sprint and dropped Johan Estenban Chaves. With 27 kilometres to go, Sinkeldam managed to hold his pace in the final sprint
and break the lead down to two minutes.
Hepburn launched an attack but failed in the final 16 kilometres and the new group of seven cyclists got away including, Hofland, Mammini, Arman Kamyshev, Rohan Dennis, Georg Preidler, Bardet and David Boily.
In last kilometers, Hofland increased his pace and launched to cross the finish line ahead of the other cyclists.
Rohan Dennis took the overall standing with the timing of 4 hours, 19 minutes and 22 seconds. Michael Hepburn from Australia was runner-up with 22 seconds down to Dennis. David Boily finished third with a difference of 24 seconds ahead of Georg Preidler
and Moreno Hofland.
The next stage will run in Rambervillers and end in Bruyères and all the cyclists will cover the distance of 151 kilometres.
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