Ireland’s Dan Martin took the fourth stage of the Tour of Beijing with an extraordinary uphill sprint on Monday, but Belgian Philippe Gilbert stayed just close enough to keep the overall lead, AFP reports.
Martin, who won the Tour of Lombardy earlier this month, struck in the last kilometre of the long climb up Miaofeng mountain in Mentougou, after a series of attacks had been reeled in by the peloton.
He opened up a gap but overnight leader Gilbert – who is not known as a climber – was kept in touch by his BMC teammates and crossed the line just two seconds behind the Garmin-Sharp rider.
With bonuses, that meant Martin rose to second place in the general classification, but was still three seconds behind the Belgian.
The 157-kilometre stage took place under clear skies in the wooded hills north of Beijing, some of the green trees dappled in autumnal hues – a contrast to the heavy pollution earlier in the event that forced Saturday’s second stage to be cut short.
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