Matt Brammeier has been aggressive thus far on the Tour of China 1 and now lies in third place overall after another strong ride, though a miscalculation today left himself and a team mate red faced.
Another strong ride from Matt Brammeier on stage three of the Tour of China 1 saw the former Irish champion move up to third place overall in the week-long race.
However, his and his team mate's decision to sit up from a three-man break and wait for the bunch backfired when the only other rider they were with ploughed on alone and took the stage win and race lead.
Heavy rain and poorly surfaced roads forced the race organisers to neutralise the first part of today's 122km stage, bringing the two mountain climbs of the day closer to the start of racing.
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Towards the end, Brammeier's teammate Markus Eibegger jumped away with eventual stage winner Kamil Gradek of BDC-Marcpol, with Brammeier storming across to the duo before the intermediate sprint.
The Irish international took a three second time bonus at that sprint point and so moved up to third overall.
But with the Kolss, Drapac and Christina Watches teams merging at the front to bring their advantage down to just 20 seconds, the Synergy Baku duo of Brammeier and Eibegger sat up.
Gradek forged on alone and took advantage of numerous punctures behind in the wet conditions to hold off the peloton for a fine stage victory.
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Gradek also took over as race leader in the UCI 2.1 ranked race, while Brammeier finished off strongly with eighth on the stage.
"I was feeling really good but I was a little unlucky at the end," said Brammeier afterwards.
"I tried my luck in the last few kilometers. After being in the lead with Markus I tried again with 5km to go only to be caught with 2.5km to go. I was pretty legless for the sprint but managed eighth place."
The Tour of China 1 continues tomorrow with a 133 kilometer long and hilly stage to Pingchang.
"Tomorrow is a tough day but I'm aiming for a good race and hopefully can hold into a good GC place," said Brammeier.
The race ends on Friday, with the Tour of China 2 taking place four days later.
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