Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Michal Kwiatkowski kept himself in great position in the final kilometers of Tour de France Stage 3 on Monday.
The stage came down to a bunch sprint finale, but that was not to say the peloton had all of its sprinters present. Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and Mark Cavendish of OPQS were amongst those dropped in the course of a stage with four categorized climbs. The final categorized climb, Cat. 2 Col de Marsolino (3.3km, 8.1%), was when the distancing happened for several in the field.
However, the descent following this climb was also when Sylvain Chavanel of OPQS saw his chance for a possible stage win. He attacked, bridged to Pierre Rolland in the polka dot jersey, and remained ahead with two other riders until 3.4km remained in the stage. The finale was flat, so a group sprint was a strong possibility.
Kwiatkowski, meanwhile, remained near the front with possible stage favorites such as Peter Sagan (Cannondale). Tom Dumoulin of Argos-Shimano launched a late race attack, but was caught inside the Flamme Rouge and the peloton surged to the finish line.
Kwiatkowski was in good position thanks to a fantastic leadout by Tony Martin and finished 4th. Simon Gerrans (ORCIA-GreenEDGE) bested Sagan for the stage in a photo finish. Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) was 3rd.
Kwiatkowski now trails Jan Bakelants (Radioshack-Leopard) in the GC by just 1" going into tomorrow's TTT.
Niki Terpstra crashed earlier in the stage, but was soon back on his bike and finished the race.
Michal Kwiatkowski
"I was really happy to see Tony Martin in the final because that is a really good prognosis before tomorrow," Kwiatkowski said. "He crashed so badly in the first stage. I was really happy to see him help me. Actually, all of the guys helped me a lot today. I want to say thank you to them. I had a lot of help from this team, I feel good about this team. I help the other guys and then they help me as well."
"We have many good time trialists on our team," Kwiatkowski said of tomorrow's TTT. "We are the World Champions in this discipline. I will do my best. I think we can have a good result tomorrow. Tony and Gert Steegmans talked to us about the course. It's not really a hard TT, so it fits well for us."
Sylvain Chavanel
"I saw my chance on the downhill and immediately went to the front," Chavanel said. "My condition is good and I will try again for sure in the next stages."
Tony Martin
"Today I felt better then yesterday," Martin said. "Of course I'm still not 100 percent, but I'm feeling better than what was expected. Now I hope to get a good night's rest and tomorrow give my best effort to the team for the team time trial. I know how important it is to race hard for the team in this moment. We will do our best to get a good result."
Niki Terpstra
"I was there at the feed zone trying to take my musette," Terpstra said of his crash. "Suddenly there was a little swing in the peloton. I fell down and have some bruises on my left knee and on the chest from hitting the ground. It's probably nothing serious and I hope this crash doesn't affect me tomorrow in the team time trial."
Mark Cavendish
"Today I felt a little bit better than yesterday," Cavendish said. "Unfortunately last week I had to take antibiotics until this Sunday, due to bronchitis. Now I'm better, even if not 100 percent. We will see day-by-day."