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A Powerful Quartet
Once the bold move from Cannondale-Garmin fizzled it was time for the individual attacks to get started. So at just seven kilometers left to go it was the three time World Time Trial Champion, Tony Martin (Etixx-Quickstep) that had a go. Not the best man for the peloton to let escape, even more so when he is sitting third overall on the general classification. He was quickly joined by one of those high placed on the GC who did want to lose out, Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), the others that joined the attack included Lars Boom (sporting his new Astana kit) and Matti Breschel (Tinkoff-Saxo), Sadly for Breschel, just after the group got a decent gap, he had a flat tire, ending his attempt at upsetting the sprinters. Without Breschel's turns in the drafting rotation even the legs of Tony Martin were no match for the lead out trains of the sprinters' teams.