By Kerry Purget
Vlad Yenotin conquered the mountain for Borussia Milano in Stage 2 of the Perm Tour as SupperSoppene's Roy Rasmussen put on the pink jersey.
Here are some of the evening's talking points.
Yenotin stands tall
We knew it would take something special to take out this King Stage and so it proved as Borussia Milano's Yenotin made the defining move of the day early on the final climb.
The Belarussian national champion turned on the afterburners and could not be caught as his rivals played cat and mouse behind him.
This represents a first tour victory for the one day specialist and at 29 years of age, there could yet be more to come.
Yenotin is now second in the overall standings, but is expected to lose time on Day 2 in the time trial, a discipline which he has some trouble with.
Whatever the case, the Borussia Milano man has a stage win in the bag and knows he has put himself in the best possible position with his solo victory.
King in waiting
There was some doubt after Stage 1 about whether he had the legs to properly challenge the pure climbers, | | but SupperSoppene's Roy Rasmussen made his critics eat humble pie with a stunning second placed finish at the summit.
Despite being surrounded by a group of elite climbers at the finish, Rasmussen got ahead by a nose to extend his advantage in the general classification to 28 seconds.
Following close on his heels were some strong climbers in Emanuel Uffenbrink (cilmeri), Hüsnü Dilmen (Manisaspor), Zdislav Kynci (MrSjaakBraak), Kurt Brady (Kalakini CC) and Norberto Dávilo (nonnies).
Of the bunch, perhaps only Dilmen proves a threat to Rasmussen's pink jersey hopes in the Stage 3 time trial.
The Norway Tour champion is on an unprecedented hattrick, having taken out the Monte Rosa Tour too earlier this season, and put himself in the best possible position with his 4th place finish.
"What will it take to beat Rasmussen?" said Manisaspor boss Ozgur Akam. "More rak?! For strength and courage."
Dilsen will need to make up 47 seconds on Rasmussen, with PegasusFlights' contender Alain De Keijsere a further second behind.
With no specialist timetrialist in the top 20, these three look the men to beat.
Foiled by a rodent
It is a moment
| | that Orsino Uallo will want to forget, as the Quick step minded rider crashed hard on Stage 2 of the Perm Tour.
The Italian domestique was trying to get back to his leader Joaquin Armesto when a furry intruder ran out in front of him.
It wasn't a dog or a deer, but instead an unfortunate squirrel that brought Uallo crashing to the ground.
A painful fall for the rueful rider, who will have to endure the brunt of jokes as well as a trip to the race doctor's tent.
A tour conspiracy
It's been a horribly disappointing tour for Britcycles so far, with French captain Walter Buisson failing to impress in either stage.
While he was not expected to do much in the prologue, the climber could only manage 19th place in Ochjor-Perm, with many in his team seemingly uninterested in offering much support.
Would the team have done better with Declan Doherty as captain instead? We will never know, but team boss ryant had an alternative explanation.
"It's a conspiracy!" he spluttered in the media zone after the race. "I give up!"
Kerry Purget is a failed Australian road cyclist and current pundit for Dodge Pirate Radio Kommercial (formerly known as the Dodge Racing Channel).
|