Sagan beat into second again; Gerrans wins; Bakelants stays in Yellow and wins the Tour of Corsica

With 92 men within one second of him coming into today's stage the odds were surely stacked against Jan Bakelants staying in the race lead through today's lumpy stage up the west coast of Corsica, but stay in Yellow he did as his Radioshack team kept the days break within touching distance and the teams of the fast men that had managed to stay with the front group brought in any last minute stage hopefuls to force a bunch sprint. Simon Gerrans surprised Peter Sagan with the win but for his two second place efforts, Sagan moves into the Green jersey he'll likely keep until Paris, while Bakelants clings onto Yellow with the number of men within a second of his prize now reduced to a mere 71.

Baring his Radioshack team winning tomorrow's team-time-trial back on mainland France, Bakelants will lose the Yellow jersey but you have to admire him for hanging onto it through today's stage. When previewing this Tour and the opening three days I didn't think the leading group would have been as big as it was by the finish. I knew the big favorites likely wouldn't attack one another but I thought things might split up more.

I guess in the knowledge that there were three more Sunday's worth of racing ahead of them likely reminded a lot of the better riders to hold tight and keep their powder dry until later in the race. The two hilly stages on this most beautiful of islands allowed for plenty of attacking action by men seeking out a stage result, especially by those who might have lost enough time the day before and who wouldn't be a threat to Bakelants Yellow jersey. Still his Radioshack team set the pace for most of the day and the break were never allowed to get far up the road.

I thought we'd be leaving Corsica with Sagan in Yellow and but for the length of two bikes yesterday, we would have, but Bakelants's big effort on Sunday came with a great reward and he comes away as the unofficial and unrecognised champion of the three days Tour de Corsica!



Once again the fastest men, Mark Cavendish, Andre Griepel and Marcel Kittle were blown away by a rugged coast line in a different manor than those of us relaxing in our armchairs at home. We were blown away by it's fascinating scenery and the urge to one day visit that stunning part of the world, while the 35 that finished in the days Autobus some nine minutes behind Gerrans, were blown away by the high pace and hard hills that likely have them not wanting to return again.

Two of the most aggressive men over the three days on Corsica were Sylvian Chavanel and Pierre Rolland. The former I had picked to win stage three so wasn't surprised to see him try his hand, though it was an impressive late effort given he had tried something similar on his birthday the day before. Two tries, two fails, but with three weeks left of this race don't be shocked to see him try again somewhere else down the road and perhaps succeed. As for Rolland, well he's a top ten favorite so it was fun to see him throw a spanner into the works by attacking on both stages two and three. He was after King of the Mountains points but it got the teams of this Tours favorites to sit up and take notice. Rolland looked good on the attack and I couldn't help but draw comparisons to his fellow countryman and former King of the Mountains legend, Richard Virenque in the way he attacked in early hilly stages chasing valuable Polka-dot jersey points.

So now the race heads back into mainland France were it will stay until the race finishes in Paris. The 196 that remain (Yoann Bagot of Cofidis and Andrey Kashechkin of Astana abandoned today) have stretched their legs now, gotten a feel for the race and should be ready to go. A few injuries aside -- Tony Martin with a bruised collarbone (a break has thankfully been ruled out) and Geraint Thomas, an early candidate for Tour hard man, riding with a suspected fractured Pelvis -- most have come through the opening days in Corsica unscathed.

A team-time-trial will sort out the GC a little more but given the number of riders still within a second of Yellow on the same time, we could have a top five made up almost exclusively by riders from whatever team happen to win the stage in Nice. There has been an unusual make up to the overall standings in the early going, but I think it's making for interesting racing and that trend should continue throughout the first week.