The time trial! Int. Österreich Rundfahrt will be decided today if not something really special happens on tomorrow’s pan flat stage in Vienna. It’s the race against the truth or whatever you would like to name it. The riders have 24.600 meters to show who is worth the stage and overall glory. It’s the decider!
Stage favourites are Bibby Ivars Meier
but most attention is on the fight for the overall placings, and you must say Iglinski
looks good to defend his yellow jersey.
Dal Col
is one of the first riders to start, and as a decent chrono rider he should be the early marker. There are no intermediate check points on today’s route, meaning it’s all about the time after 24.600 meters of suffering. The Italian comes home in 34’32, which is only 13 seconds faster than Bormatenkov
Graf
is next of the riders who should do good today. You must say the Austrian team has had a good home tour, winning the first stage and wearing the yellow jersey. Though, Graf
disappoints today as all he can do is provisional third nine seconds slower than Dal Col. That’s also six seconds behind Fominykh
who is provisional second.
Ascani
follows just behind him, and looking at his abilities we should have a new leader! Indeed, the Italian time trialist crushes the best time with 28 seconds! 34’03 is our new best time.
National champion Meier
was one of the favourites for the win today, and he looks fast out on the roads! And oh boy he delivers! He’s the first rider to go faster than 34 minutes. 33’32 is a massive achievement which could very well see the race have two Canadian stage wins after his team mate Anderson
won yesterday!
Strong sprinter Hushovd
catches his two minutes man Pujats
on the line, but 33’39 is not good for more than a provisional fifth.
Ortega
is another rider who knows how to handle his time trial bike, but on the other hand he also should know how to climb, but that hasn’t shown much through this tough stage race. But he does decent and comes home in a provisional second place 24 seconds behind Meier. 33’56 is his time.
He’s immediately followed by the talented Frenchman Viennet
But it’s not a great show from Viennet as he’s slower than Ortega. 34’06 is a provisional fourth, 34 seconds off the pace. Though, I’m sure there is more to come from the talented chrono rider.
Raisin
gives it his best to salvage something from this tour for his team. But the American must admit he isn’t stronger than a provisional fourth, 31 seconds slower than the Meier.
Ivars
must be inspired by his team mate’s ride, as he thunders home on the 24.6 kilometers long course. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new leader! He comes home in 33’23. That’s eight seconds faster than Meier and gives their team a provisional 1-2!
Suaza
was expected to be his team’s leader for this race, but after the first hilly stage he was never going to fight for an overall podium. He’s a decent rider against the clock though, and comes home 34’23. That’s a provisional seventh, exactly a minute behind Ivars.
With 25 riders left to start today’s individual time trial you can see what the results for the top 28 when 85 riders have crossed the finish line.
Niemiec
sits 31st before today and is expected to challenge for a top five on the stage. And so he definitely does! He’s a tiny second slower than Ivars, which is obviously good enough for a provisional second place.
Popkov
is another strong time trialist and he follows just behind the Polish rider. He can’t quite handle the pace though as he is home in 33’57. That’s a provisional fifth, 34 seconds behind Ivars
Rohregger
is the home hero. Add that he wears the Austrian jersey being the national champion the crowd goes crazy for him! But he isn’t able to please the spectators. 34’11 is only good enough for a provisional 9th, 48 seconds off the pace.
We jump into the top 11 overall, which means it’s Bjelkmark’s
turn to prove his strength! The Swede is home a minute slower than the provisional leader, 34’23 gives him a provisional 11th.
He’s followed by Vrecer
who must be at his best to defend his top ten overall placing. He was only nine seconds in front of Bjelkmark before today, and he comes home short! He’s 1’14 slower than Ivars, meaning he’s 14 seconds behind Bjelkmark and also behind the Swede in the overall standing.
Zakarin
has had a good tour so far, and today he gives it everything in his white jersey. He has a fair chance at a top ten overall, but 1’36 behind Ivars in a provisional 37th will most likely not reward him with a top ten overall.
Then it’s Bibby!
The Brit is probably the only rider who can go faster than the current leader. He certainly looks fast as he approaches the finish, and he thunders home in 33’34! That’s a provisional fourth place, 11 seconds behind Ivars.
Roman
knows he must bring his A-game if he’s going to defend a top ten today, and he gives it everything as he powers to the line in 34’52, which is a provisional 34th place. Only time will tell what that means for the overall standing.
Schrangl
was our surprising winner of the first stage here in Austria, and he has held on remarkably well after wearing the yellow jersey on stage 2. Today is all about limiting the losses though, but he comes home in 35’44! That’s a huge time loss of 2’21 compared to provisional leader Ivars and it will definitely see the Austrian lose a couple of places.
Eltink
is another not so good rider against the clock. The Dutch rider is hoping to give his team some much needed points for the battle to avoid relegation, but he can’t do better than 35’23. That’s no less than two minutes off the pace, which means that Bibby
has definitely moved past him in the overall standing.
Speaking of which, Bibby
is the provisional leader of the race when only four riders are left!
We’re looking at a big day for Alstom-RBC
today, and Morabito
looks to make it even better! The Suisse looks to defend his fourth place overall, but he falls just short! 34’31 is 1’08 slower than Ivars, meaning he’s 57 seconds behind Bibby. He only had 48 seconds before today’s stage, but I’m sure the Suisse rider and his team won’t complain about the outcome! It’s been a great tour for them.
Hoogerland
has had a superb tour, and he will most likely end it on the podium. Today he’s home in 35’08, which is a provisional 46th, 1’45 behind Ivars
who looks to be today’s winner!
Levarlet
has stepped up his game here in Austria as his team’s leader. He defends his second place overall with 34’59. That’s 9 seconds in front of the Dutch rider in third.
Stand up for Iglinski!
The Kazakh rider claimed the yellow jersey after winning the Queen stage on the second day here in Austria, and he does no mistake here on stage 7 as he comes home safe in 34’30! That’s 16th place, but obviously more than enough to secure the overall win if he doesn’t crash tomorrow.
