Stage 6 is a 12 km TTT. The favourites are Metinvest-Emirates and Bouygues Telecom, hunting a 6th successive stage.
First up are MTN. It was a blow for Niyonshuti to get droppedy yesterday, although they still have JC Nel in the Top 10.
Bpost came here for the cobbles, and it is clearly going to be damage limitation today. At least those cobbles are getting closer!
Kessiakoff is here for WWE, despite the flat nature of the race in general, perhaps with this stage in mind? Gripel lies 3rd overall, so they will want to defend that.
HTC's best rider overall is Wouter Wippert in 11th, they have had a fairly quiet race so far.
Kenya Airways are hunting points wherever they can, and have the Kenyan time trial champion Hussein on show here.
Defending champion Tomas Vaitkus leads AirBaltic-Endura, he hasnt looked like winning a stage yet this year though.
ING seem to be focusing their efforts on the intermediate sprints rather than the stage finishes, ever since Kip narrowly missed out on the Stage 2 win. It is unconventional, but seems to be working, with Kip 2nd in GC and the Points classification. Can they keep him up there?
A colourful set up for PFG-Armavia with best young rider and 5th overall Robert Gavenda, plus Israeli TT champion Dor Dviri. They are in a battle with WWE for the bottom spot in PCT.
UPC still hope to avoid relegation. 6th overall for Tom Veelers would be very helpful for them, but they need to ride well today to keep him there.
For Die Berg Komt Er, it is a case of how well can Rick Flens drag them to a good result.
Bouygues Telecom! The unbeatables? Stage 1 winner Hugues Mottin will provide the fire here, along with Tony Martin. Can they further extend Roelandts' GC lead?
Finally Metinvest-Emirates. Last off because they narrowly won the teams classification in Stage 1 - a good sign for today? They are good at TTTs with the likes of Ma, Lang and Lagkuti leading the team. Andriy Vasylyuk is well placed at 4th overall, they will hope to move him up higher.
Through the first checkpoint at 6km, the halfway point, and it is very tight indeed!
1
airBaltic - Endura
8'34
2
PFG-Armavia
+ 0
3
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 0
4
Die Berg Komt Er
+ 0
5
Bouygues Telecom
+ 0
6
Team WWE
+ 1
7
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 3
8
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 6
9
HTC Niewsblad
+ 10
10
Team Bpost
+ 10
11
MTN - World Bycicle Relief
+ 11
12
ING Cycling Project
+ 11
But already it is clear that the critical section of the course is the 2nd half, with much bigger gaps at the finish for the 6 teams already there.
Kenya Airways overturned a slower start to lead - 10 seconds up on halfway leaders airBaltic.
1
Kenya Airways - Barclays
16'52
2
Team WWE
+ 6
3
airBaltic - Endura
+ 10
4
MTN - World Bycicle Relief
+ 13
5
HTC Niewsblad
+ 14
6
Team Bpost
+ 24
PFG-Armavia come through to take the new best time. Faster than Kenya Airways by the smallest of margins, less than a second!
And they still lead with only 2 teams remaining. UPC slotted in to 3rd place at 7 seconds behind them.
But now it is Bouygues, and Tony Martin leading them to the finish line.
They take 1st place, beating Armavia by 10 seconds.
Can Metinvest respond? Lagkuti brings them over the line. It is going to be close!
1 second in it!
Bouygues Telecom have won AGAIN.
1
Bouygues Telecom
16'41
2
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 1
3
PFG-Armavia
+ 10
4
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
5
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 17
6
Team WWE
s.t.
7
Die Berg Komt Er
+ 19
8
airBaltic - Endura
+ 21
9
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 25
10
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 26
11
ING Cycling - Project
+ 33
12
Team BPost
+ 36
Individual Results:
Spoiler
1
Tony Martin
Bouygues Telecom
16'41
2
Julien El Fares
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
3
Hugues Mottin
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
4
Tony Gallopin
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
5
Irakli Bablidze
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
6
Sergiy Lagkuti
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 1
7
Moreno Moser
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
8
Sebastian Lang
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
9
Andriy Vasylyuk
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
10
Eduard Grosu
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
11
Jurgen Roelandts
Bouygues Telecom
+ 3
12
Haijun Ma
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
13
Stefano Locatelli
Bouygues Telecom
+ 5
14
Marlen Zmorka
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 6
15
Sven Nooytens
PFG-Armavia
+ 10
16
Alexandr Braico
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
17
Dor Dviri
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
18
Biao Liu
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
19
Ronan Racault
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
20
Alejandro Marque
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
21
Nico Schinker
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
22
Mujtaba Hussein
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
23
Suleiman Kangangi
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
24
Vahid Ghafari
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
25
Tesfay Abraha
PFG-Armavia
+ 12
26
Yoann Paillot
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
27
Robert Gavenda
PFG-Armavia
+ 15
28
Matthew Brammeier
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
29
Jan Oelerich
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 17
30
Christian Knees
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
31
Mike Teunissen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
32
Tom Veelers
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
33
Joost Van Leijen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
34
Fabrice Jeandesbosz
Team WWE
s.t.
35
Julián Becerra
Team WWE
s.t.
36
Michael Vingerling
Team WWE
s.t.
37
André Greipel
Team WWE
s.t.
38
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Team WWE
s.t.
39
Rik Kavsek
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 19
40
Rick Flens
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
41
Stefan Petrovski
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
42
Jíri Hochmann
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
43
Niki Østergaard
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
44
Frederik Frison
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
45
Amets Txurruka
Team WWE
s.t.
46
Dylan Van Baarle
airBaltic - Endura
+ 21
47
Tomas Vaitkus
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
48
Andris Vosekalns
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
49
William Connolly
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
50
Jörgen Matt
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
51
Sébastien Chavanel
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
52
Dylan Groenewegen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 22
53
Igor Abakoumov
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
54
Thomas Voeckler
Team WWE
s.t.
55
Mihkel Räim
airBaltic - Endura
+ 24
56
Heiko Redecker
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
57
Johannes Christofel Nel
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
58
Ngock Yves Ngue
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
59
Tyler Day
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
60
Cherif Abdallah
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
61
Yvo Kusters
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 26
62
Kenny De Haes
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
63
Stijn Vandenbergh
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
64
Tom Van Asbroeck
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
65
Wouter Wippert
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
66
Paulius Siskevicius
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
67
Adrien Niyonshuti
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
68
Kenneth Vanbilsen
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 29
69
Louis Meintjes
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
70
Dries Van der Ginst
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 31
71
Ben King
ING Cycling - Project
+ 33
72
Ismaël Kip
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
73
Hubert Dupont
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
74
Edward King
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
75
Jonathon Thire
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
76
Kris Boeckmans
Team BPost
+ 36
77
Joeri Stallaert
Team BPost
s.t.
78
Eliot Lietaer
Team BPost
s.t.
79
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Team BPost
s.t.
80
Pieter Vanspeybrouck
Team BPost
s.t.
81
Nicola D'Andrea
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
82
Remco Broers
Team BPost
s.t.
83
Niels Albert
Team BPost
+ 38
84
Egoitz Murgoitio
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
85
Gerben Löwik
Control Team
+ 6'04
86
Björn Leukemans
Control Team
s.t.
87
Oscar Freire
Control Team
s.t.
88
Maarten Tjallingii
Control Team
s.t.
GC
For Bouygues, Martin and Mottin are now both in the Top 6 in GC, while Metinvest have Vasylyuk up to 2nd, and a lot of riders in high scoring GC positions.
1
Jurgen Roelandts
Bouygues Telecom
14h49'05
2
Andriy Vasylyuk
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 58
3
André Greipel
Team WWE
+ 1'10
4
Ismaël Kip
ING Cycling - Project
+ 1'12
5
Hugues Mottin
Bouygues Telecom
+ 1'14
6
Tony Martin
Bouygues Telecom
+ 1'16
7
Robert Gavenda
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
8
Sergiy Lagkuti
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 1'17
9
Eduard Grosu
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
10
Julien El Fares
Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
11
Sebastian Lang
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
12
Haijun Ma
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 1'19
13
Moreno Moser
Metinvest-Emirates
s.t.
14
Tom Veelers
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 1'21
15
Marlen Zmorka
Metinvest-Emirates
+ 1'22
16
Sven Nooytens
PFG-Armavia
+ 1'26
17
Jíri Hochmann
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
18
Ronan Racault
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
19
Alexandr Braico
PFG-Armavia
+ 1'27
20
Biao Liu
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
21
Tomas Vaitkus
airBaltic - Endura
+ 1'28
22
Nico Schinker
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
23
Dor Dviri
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
24
Tesfay Abraha
PFG-Armavia
+ 1'29
25
Johannes Christofel Nel
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
Spoiler
26
Vahid Ghafari
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 1'30
27
Yoann Paillot
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
28
Matthew Brammeier
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 1'32
29
Igor Abakoumov
Die Berg Komt Er
+ 1'33
30
Joost Van Leijen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 1'34
31
Rick Flens
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
32
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Team WWE
s.t.
33
Julián Becerra
Team WWE
s.t.
34
Fabrice Jeandesbosz
Team WWE
+ 1'35
35
Michael Vingerling
Team WWE
+ 1'36
36
Jan Oelerich
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
37
Christian Knees
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
38
Mike Teunissen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
39
Niki Østergaard
Die Berg Komt Er
+ 1'37
40
Frederik Frison
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
41
Dylan Groenewegen
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
+ 1'38
42
Wouter Wippert
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
43
Sébastien Chavanel
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
44
Stefan Petrovski
Die Berg Komt Er
s.t.
45
Amets Txurruka
Team WWE
s.t.
46
Rik Kavsek
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
s.t.
47
Cherif Abdallah
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 1'39
48
Dylan Van Baarle
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
49
Andris Vosekalns
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
50
Jörgen Matt
airBaltic - Endura
+ 1'40
51
Tyler Day
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 1'41
52
Kenny De Haes
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 1'42
53
Yvo Kusters
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
54
Heiko Redecker
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
55
Mihkel Räim
airBaltic - Endura
s.t.
56
Tom Van Asbroeck
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 1'43
57
Stijn Vandenbergh
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
58
Ngock Yves Ngue
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
59
Paulius Siskevicius
airBaltic - Endura
+ 1'45
60
Kenneth Vanbilsen
HTC Nieuwsblad
+ 1'46
61
Louis Meintjes
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 1'48
62
Jonathon Thire
ING Cycling - Project
+ 1'49
63
Dries Van der Ginst
HTC Nieuwsblad
s.t.
64
Kris Boeckmans
Team BPost
+ 1'52
65
Ben King
ING Cycling - Project
s.t.
66
Pieter Vanspeybrouck
Team BPost
+ 1'53
67
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Team BPost
s.t.
68
Joeri Stallaert
Team BPost
+ 1'54
69
Niels Albert
Team BPost
s.t.
70
Eliot Lietaer
Team BPost
s.t.
71
Remco Broers
Team BPost
+ 1'55
72
Mujtaba Hussein
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 3'39
73
William Connolly
airBaltic - Endura
+ 3'48
74
Tony Gallopin
Bouygues Telecom
+ 4'00
75
Egoitz Murgoitio
ING Cycling - Project
+ 4'40
76
Alejandro Marque
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 5'07
77
Adrien Niyonshuti
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 5'09
78
Stefano Locatelli
Bouygues Telecom
+ 5'24
79
Thomas Voeckler
Team WWE
+ 5'35
80
Hubert Dupont
ING Cycling - Project
+ 5'50
81
Edward King
ING Cycling - Project
+ 5'52
82
Nicola D'Andrea
ING Cycling - Project
+ 5'53
83
Suleiman Kangangi
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 7'19
84
Gerben Löwik
Control Team
+ 7'40
85
Oscar Freire
Control Team
+ 7'51
86
Maarten Tjallingii
Control Team
+ 8'08
87
Björn Leukemans
Control Team
+ 8'26
88
Irakli Bablidze
Bouygues Telecom
+ 14'22
Points
1
Jurgen Roelandts
Bouygues Telecom
100
2
Ismaël Kip
ING Cycling - Project
66
3
Andriy Vasylyuk
Metinvest-Emirates
62
4
Tomas Vaitkus
airBaltic - Endura
60
5
Tom Veelers
Team UPC - Boehringer-Ingelheim
55
6
André Greipel
Team WWE
53
7
Jíri Hochmann
Die Berg Komt Er
47
8
Igor Abakoumov
Die Berg Komt Er
47
9
Adrien Niyonshuti
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
36
10
Hugues Mottin
Bouygues Telecom
25
U25
Despite Armavia's good performance, Gavenda has lost the U25 jersey to Mottin.
