German cyclist Gerald Ciolek got some help from teams trying to put their sprinters across the finish line first as he won a mass sprint on Sunday as the Vuelta a Espana bike race entered Emmen, The Netherlands.
First it was Garmin Slipstream that drove the peloton to catch up to a five-man breakaway that survived for most of the 125-mile stage through The Netherlands. Then Team Columbia paced the peloton the final mile or so to the finish line.
But CyclingNews says that Columbia's Andre Greipel and Garmin's Tyler Farrar were surprised at the finish by the 22-year-old Ciolek on Team Milram as he powered past them, and a few other sprinters in the bunch, to win the stage.
Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara finished in the first group, so he retained the overall race leader's golden jersey that he earned in the opening individual time trial on Saturday.
Wenatchee, Washington's Farrar fell to fourth place behind Tom Boonen of Belgium. Farrar is still only 12 seconds behind Cancellara.
Other cyclists of interest: Ivan Basso and Alejandro Valverde are in 8th and 9th place, 18 seconds behind; Cadel Evans is in 11th at 19 seconds behind; Chris Horner of the US is in 20th place, 23 seconds behind; Tom Danielson of the US is in 39th place, 29 seconds behind; and Alexander Vinokourov dropped to 63rd, 36 seconds behind after finishing in the trailing group on Sunday.
Stage 3 on Monday is another sprinter's stage with a section of cobblestones near the end of the 114-mile race. Let's hope Farrar notches up a win in this Grand Tour.
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