It was a case of ‘close but no cigar’ on two counts for plucky Brit Oliver Stockwell on stage two of the Tour of the Alps. The instigator of the day’s early break, the Bahrain Victorious rider lasted out front until halfway up the steep final climb to Martell before finally admitting defeat as the peloton bore down.
Along the way he also hoovered up the mountains points, placing second over the big cat-one climb of Piller Hohe and then first over the cat-three Reschenpass. By the day’s end he’d moved up to third place in the mountains classification.
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Before today, the 23-year-old Welwyn rider had spent a useful 140km in breakaways – and managed to more or less double that on today’s ride. Not that he was overly fussed: “I just do what I’m told,” he cracked.
Within the nine-man make-up of Stockwell’s escapees were local Innsbruck boy and yesterday’s near-winner Emanuel Zangerle (Vorarlberg), plus three other Austrian riders – they were great, Stockwell said, for a bit of local knowledge.
