Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Gianni Meersman won his second stage at Tour de Romandie, winning the bunch sprint at the end of 181km Stage 3 on Friday. He was led to the finish by several OPQS teammates, who did all the chasing for the peloton in the final kilometers to bring back a lone rider shortly after the flamme rouge.
Meersman launched off the wheel of Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEDGE) after being led to the final meters by his teammates. He bested Francesco Gavazzi (Astani) and Albasini.
This was the 23rd victory, in three disciplines, for OPQS in 2013. It was also Meersman’s fourth victory of the season. Meersman is now tied with Richie Porte (Team Sky ProCycling) for the most UCI WorldTour wins, and OPQS has eight WorldTour victories.
“I was disappointed about my sprint yesterday and wanted to make it up today for everybody – my teammates especially ,” Meersman said. “They did a great job today, did a perfect leadout and I’m really happy with my second victory at Tour de Romandie. It maybe looked easy in the final but it was not so easy. With 2 kilometers to go I knew the guys had something left in the tank to catch Malori ahead (Lampre-Merida). Tony Martin took me to the last 600 or 700 meters. It was perfect. As for tomorrow, I’m going to help the boys now. Before coming here I had three stages in mind. The first stage I won, then yesterday I was third, and today I won again. So, I am happy.”
1. Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 4:19:03
2. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
3. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica-GreenEdge
4. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
5. Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
6. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team
7. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale
8. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
9. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa) Team Argos-Shimano
10. Xavier Florencio Cabre (Esp) Katusha
11. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ
12. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard
13. Gaetan Bille (Bel) Lotto Belisol
14. Dominik Nerz (Ger) BMC Racing Team
15. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp
16. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Argos-Shimano
17. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
18. Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
19. Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
20. Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard
21. Travis Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
22. Rémi Cusin (Fra) IAM Cycling
23. Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha
24. Reto Hollenstein (Sui) IAM Cycling
25. Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
26. Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida
27. Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ
28. Dennis Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol
29. Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team
30. Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale
31. Bram Tankink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
32. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
33. Christopher Froome (Gbr) Sky Procycling
34. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
35. Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi
36. Jonathan Fumeaux (Sui) IAM Cycling
37. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Esp) Movistar Team
38. Sébastien Reichenbach (Sui) IAM Cycling
39. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
40. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
41. Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha
42. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
43. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
44. Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
45. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
46. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
47. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
48. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
49. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp
50. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Katusha
51. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha
52. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp
53. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
54. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
55. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard
56. Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Lampre-Merida
57. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol
58. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
59. Stef Clement (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
60. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
61. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
62. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
63. Johann Tschopp (Sui) IAM Cycling
64. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
65. Marcel Wyss (Sui) IAM Cycling
66. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
67. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
68. Juan Manuel Garate (Esp) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
69. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
70. Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
71. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ
72. Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
73. Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre-Merida
74. Igor Anton Hernandez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
75. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
76. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
77. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
78. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Movistar Team
79. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
80. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard
81. David Lopez Garcia (Esp) Sky Procycling
82. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha
83. José Rujano Guillen (Ven) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
84. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ
85. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
86. John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
87. Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida
88. Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
89. Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
90. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
91. Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ
92. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
93. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:18
94. Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:23
95. Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:00:26
96. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:37
97. Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:01:29
98. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
99. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:00
100. Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:29
101. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
102. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Movistar Team
103. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:03:18
104. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
105. Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Lotto Belisol
106. David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar
107. Imanol Erviti Ollo (Esp) Movistar Team 0:04:31
108. Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
109. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
110. Mikel Landa Meana (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
111. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
112. Anthony Charteau (Fra) Team Europcar 0:05:34
113. Marc Goos (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
114. Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
115. Adrian Saez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
116. Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
117. Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar
118. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
119. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:06:44
120. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team
121. Thomas Rohregger (Aut) RadioShack Leopard
122. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Esp) Movistar Team
123. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:07:41
124. Laurent Mangel (Fra) FDJ 0:07:48
125. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:14:36
126. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Sky Procycling 0:16:04
127. Joshua Edmondson (Gbr) Sky Procycling
128. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 0:18:16
129. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
130. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha
131. Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
132. Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
133. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
134. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
135. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
136. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
137. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
138. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
139. Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Lotto Belisol
140. Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol
141. Gustav Larsson (Swe) IAM Cycling
142. Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
143. Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Sky Procycling
144. Peio Bilbao (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
145. Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Esp) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
146. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
147. Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Sky Procycling
148. Egor Silin (Rus) Astana Pro Team
149. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ
150. Julien Berard (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
151. Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar
152. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
153. Morgan Lamoisson (Fra) Team Europcar
154. Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ
155. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
156. Grégory Rast (Sui) RadioShack Leopard
157. Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling
DNF Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Esp) Katusha
DNF Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
DNF Adam Blythe (Gbr) BMC Racing Team
DNF Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNF Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar
DNS Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard
DNS Mathias Frank (Sui) BMC Racing Team
GC after Stage 3
1. Christopher Froome (Gbr) Sky Procycling 13:53:16
2. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:00:06
3. Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:09
4. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:13
5. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:00:15
6. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:00:16
7. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ 0:00:17
8. Stef Clement (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
9. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Esp) Movistar Team
10. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
11. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:18
12. Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
13. Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:00:19
14. David Lopez Garcia (Esp) Sky Procycling 0:00:22
15. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Movistar Team 0:00:26
16. Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:29
17. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:00:30
18. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:31
19. Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
20. Steve Morabito (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:00:32
21. Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:33
22. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
23. Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
24. Marcel Wyss (Sui) IAM Cycling 0:00:34
25. Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard
26. Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:35
27. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
28. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:00:37
29. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:00:40
30. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:41
31. José Rujano Guillen (Ven) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:45
32. Reto Hollenstein (Sui) IAM Cycling 0:00:46
33. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:47
34. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ
35. Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:00:48
36. Igor Anton Hernandez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
37. Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:49
38. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp
39. Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:50
40. Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre-Merida
41. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica-GreenEdge
42. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha 0:00:51
43. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
44. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:53
45. Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha
46. Johann Tschopp (Sui) IAM Cycling 0:00:56
47. George Bennett (Nzl) RadioShack Leopard
48. Juan Manuel Garate (Esp) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:59
49. Sébastien Reichenbach (Sui) IAM Cycling 0:01:00
50. Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:01:01
51. Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:02
52. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:01:05
53. Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
54. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
55. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:01:06
56. Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida 0:01:08
57. John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
58. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:13
59. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team
60. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:14
61. Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ 0:01:15
62. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:01:17
63. Jonathan Fumeaux (Sui) IAM Cycling 0:01:22
64. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:23
65. Bram Tankink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:01:25
66. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Argos-Shimano 0:01:28
67. Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:32
68. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano 0:01:36
69. Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha 0:01:43
70. Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida
71. Xavier Florencio Cabre (Esp) Katusha 0:01:54
72. Dominik Nerz (Ger) BMC Racing Team
73. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Movistar Team 0:01:55
74. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ 0:01:56
75. Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Lampre-Merida 0:02:09
76. Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:02:22
77. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:03:33
78. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 0:03:54
79. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha 0:04:02
80. Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:04:05
81. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Katusha 0:04:15
82. Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:04:23
83. Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:04:31
84. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:04:40
85. Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team 0:04:45
86. Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:04:49
87. Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
88. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:04:56
89. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team 0:05:05
90. Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:05:23
91. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:06:05
92. Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ 0:06:28
93. David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar 0:07:06
94. Dennis Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:07:22
95. Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:07:41
96. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:08:33
97. Anthony Charteau (Fra) Team Europcar 0:10:09
98. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
99. Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:10:36
100. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 0:10:48
101. Thomas Rohregger (Aut) RadioShack Leopard 0:11:34
102. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Esp) Movistar Team 0:11:45
103. Laurent Mangel (Fra) FDJ 0:12:03
104. Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:12:36
105. Gaetan Bille (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:12:42
106. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Rsa) Team Argos-Shimano 0:13:09
107. Rémi Cusin (Fra) IAM Cycling
108. Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:13:19
109. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 0:13:22
110. Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:13:44
111. Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:14:42
112. Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:14:50
113. Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:17:21
114. Imanol Erviti Ollo (Esp) Movistar Team 0:17:29
115. Oliver Zaugg (Sui) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:17:35
116. Mikel Landa Meana (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:17:55
117. Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:18:19
118. Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:18:35
119. Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar 0:18:47
120. Marc Goos (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:18:50
121. Adrian Saez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:18:55
122. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:19:00
123. Joshua Edmondson (Gbr) Sky Procycling 0:19:56
124. Travis Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:20:23
125. Julien Berard (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:22:34
126. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:22:57
127. Peio Bilbao (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:24:42
128. Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:24:45
129. Peter Kennaugh (Gbr) Sky Procycling 0:28:27
130. Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Sky Procycling 0:30:36
131. Egor Silin (Rus) Astana Pro Team 0:30:58
132. Jack Bobridge (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:31:06
133. Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling 0:31:09
134. Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol 0:31:17
135. Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Esp) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:31:34
136. Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ 0:31:38
137. Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar
138. Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ 0:31:42
139. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:31:47
140. Grégory Rast (Sui) RadioShack Leopard 0:31:57
141. Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:31:59
142. Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:32:06
143. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:32:22
144. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:32:23
145. Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge 0:32:25
146. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 0:32:42
147. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:35:09
148. Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:37:38
149. Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:40:37
150. Gustav Larsson (Swe) IAM Cycling 0:40:43
151. Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha 0:42:45
152. Lachlan David Morton (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 0:42:56
153. Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:43:20
154. Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:43:24
155. Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:43:33
156. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:44:04
157. Morgan Lamoisson (Fra) Team Europcar 0:47:55