Eneco: Gamble Pays Off

Bobridge attacks late from breakaway, Martin keeps GC lead. The daily breakaway has become an ordinary staple of a stage for many years, and more often than not they are a complete failure. But when they succeed, it seems everyone in the group comes out looking like geniuses, especially the winner. This was exactly the case for Jack Bobridge and the 10 other riders that decided to ditch the peloton early to pursue bigger and better things. Bobridge, the eventual winner of course, had several things working to his advantage and the biggest of which was that there were no serious GC contenders among his partners in the breakaway and the peloton had no interest in immediately marking them. That is not to say that some still didn't try. Team Sky amongst other sprinter teams tried to pull them back as the race got closer to the finish, but attacks by actual GC contenders like Lars Boom caused some chaos back in the field and they were temporarily forced to abandon the chase. It seemed that the breakaway would survive, but Bobridge was not done gambling yet. In the final kilometers of the stage, Bobridge launched a daring attack that left the rest of the breakaway behind and ended up going solo all the way to the finish for his first ProTour victory and what he said was the best win of his career. Tony Martin held in strong throughout the craziness in the peloton and kept his lead intact.
Stage Results
1. Jack Bobridge
2. Ruben Perez
3. Thomas De Gendt
General Classification
1. Tony Martin
2. Koos Moerenhout -10
3. Edvald Boasson-Hagen -1:24
4. Svein Tuft -1:26
5. Lars Boom -1:32
6. Richie Porte -1:35
7. Dominique Cornu -1:39
8. Jurgen Roelandts -1:42
9. Andreas Kloden -1:43
10. Daniel Oss -1:43
Points
1. Robbie McEwen 72
2. Edvald Boasson-Hagen 66
3. Allan Davis 65
Young Rider
1. Tony Martin
2. Edvald Boasson-Hagen -1:24
3. Lars Boom -1:32
Team Standings
1. Rabobank
2. Team Saxo Bank -1:42
3. Team Radioshack -1:51
Tony Martin really only has one more day to hold his lead, because lets be honest, nobody is going to pull any time on him on Tuesday's ITT let alone a large chunk. Tomorrow won't be easy though, and Martin should be careful not to get dropped in the hills.