Stage 3: 125 km
The Ben Kings are on the move.
Sky, a powerful team, has the lead. They will want to let a break go so that they can control the race, which rolls over a couple of steep climbs today. With this in mind, Aussie Ben King is the first to attack, and the group lets him go solo. He gains a 4 minute lead before three chasers join him up front. Team BMC punches it over the first set of climbs in an attempts to split the pack. My legs ache, and it is suddenly quite apparent that we’ve been racing for a week and a half. However, Tim Roe is looking spry. For the rest of the race, we think of protecting Tim for the climb that is 14 km from the finish. When we pass the 20 km to go sign, the big teams take over the front, leading their best riders into the base of the hill. We can see Ben King’s quartet winding up the lower slopes, when all of the sudden, Tim comes over the radio, “I have a flat! I have a flat!” Cody, Jesse, and I drop to the back for him, and Cody quickly gives up his own rear wheel. The break is caught, and dropped riders are opening gaps ahead of us. Game over.