The relatively short second stage of the Tour of Taiwan was a very hectic and fast race from Tianan City to the mountain spa village of Guanzling.
Posted On: 19th March, 2013
The relatively short second stage of the Tour of Taiwan was a very hectic and fast race from Tianan City to the mountain spa village of Guanzling. As the riders passed kilometer 0, the first attack was launched and the speed and aggressive racing didn't relent for the entire stage. Once again, red hot temperatures and high humidity caused havoc for the European based riders as many suffered from cramp and dehydration.
The main worry for today was the innocuous terrain of the majority of the route, making the pattern of the racing very difficult to predict and therefore hard to control. Fortunately the Madison Genesis riders were up to the task of making sure we were either represented in all of the break-away groups or they were caught quickly. In the end the main group - with four riders from Madison Genesis - started the final 7 km climb to the finish just 8 seconds behind the leading trio. The attacks were numerous, but the first to really establish daylight was Liam Holohan. He was caught 1500 metres to go, then Ian attacked riding away from the group alone and only in the last 200 meters did the lead group catch him.
“It was a very stressful stage today, there never seemed to be a moment of respite throughout the entire stage and the heat meant the riders weren't recovering as they normally would. With so many time bonuses on offer in this race we decided to attack to gain some time on our rivals and that’s exactly what the team did. This time it didn't quite work, but it very nearly did.” Team Manager - Roger Hammond
"I thought I had it with 300 meters to go, then all of a sudden I just couldn't breathe due to the heat. I had to ease off and that’s when they caught me with only a couple of hundred to go. Disappointed not to win but I was going for the GC so needed to take time." Team RIder - Ian Bibby
