So here we are, finally into the mountains that this stage race is known for. The stage is classified as hilly, but in reality it is a medium mountain stage which will favour more than just the pure mountain goats. There are three big climbs out on course today. First up is to Estacion Antigua, which is 7.5km long with an average of 6.2%. Following straight on from this we have the Campanmento Siberia, which is a whopping 14km long, but only comes in at an average of 4.8%, being in two parts. Finally we descend to the base of the final categorised climb, which is to Restaurante Las Colinas del Sabor, which is a shorter climb at 6.9km and only 4.4% average. Finally, we descend to the finish where there is a short drag up to the finish line.
So we can expect a bit of a selection today along this 151.1km course. We will have to wait to see before declaring any favourites, but the bookmakers like Mendes for this course, though it is probably too mountainous for him to be a major factor.
Our first attack comes from ING’s lead-out man Edward King. Their team leader Castano lost a lot of time in the crash and thus they have clearly given a bit of leeway to other riders to try their own luck.
Following this attack are:
Hillary Kiprotich (Kenya)
Stefano Locatelli (Bouygues)
Xavier Tondo (LukOil)
David Veilleux (WWE)
The pace increases, however, and Veilleux is dragged back while he is trying to bridge the gap. HTC, Prio-Porto and Repsol pitch in for this piece of work and signal their intentions early. So the other 4 riders are left to form the break of the day. Locatelli is in the white jersey but doesn’t stand a great chance of defending it today so this may just be his way of giving a last hurrah after his four days in white. Another person giving a last hurrah is Tondo who, at age 35, will probably retire at the end of this season.
With the break formed the pace goes out of the peloton for a while. There is a long period of lat before anything serious happens. The lead grows to a maximum of 4’40” before some teams start to really show their intention to pull this back early. Lots of teams are willing to pitch in and the front of the peloton is a veritable cavalcade of colours.
There is a small foothill just before the first climb of the day which measures a few kilometres and isn’t overly steep but breakaway regular Acevedo gets on the front and hammers down a tough pace. This starts to crush the break’s lead, which falls under a minute. It is questionable whether the break will even get to the first mountain.
Acevedo continues to work but his rate slows somewhat and as the first mountain of the C1 calendar starts, the break has a lead of only 29”. Meanwhile, on the other end of the race the second peloton has started already. This contains most of the main sprinters of the race but also one big name – Mikayil Krasnoperov! He lost time in the crash two days ago and he is showing here that he is either injured or he is looking for a stage win on one of the pure mountain stages.
The climb, as said at the start, is 7.5km in length and is the steepest on average with a greadient of 6.2%. It is mostly steady the entire way to the top, without any real kick-ups so we probably won’t see the favourites seeking to gap each other here. There are 5 mountain points on offer at the summit.
Up front, the gap is holding pretty steady and there is still a small lead with 1.5km to the summit. The fighting begins and it is Locatelli who looks to get away. He isn’t a well-known climber but he is still keen to try something today, perhaps looking to take over the mountain jersey.
Despite his efforts, or perhaps because of them, the peloton increases its pace and it is Hernani Broco (Hollister) who makes the catch. His leader Rodrigues is the sort of rider who could really do something on this sort of stage.
With the catch made, the fight for the mountain points can now begin and it is surprisingly only one rider who looks interest – Saul Raisin (Bintang). Bintang haven’t had a good race so far, despite a stage win for De Fauw and perhaps Raisin is looking to make amends. He takes the maximum points while Broco takes second and Agudelo third.
There is a small false flat, just a few kilometres in length and then the second climb starts. This one is a huge 14km in length but only average 4.8%. It does get much scarier towards the top, where there is a ramp which gets to just over 12% for a short period.
But before the climb can begin we have attacks! Iker Camano (Kenya) leads the way!
Also joining him are:
Andres Saldarriaga (ING)
Andriy Khripta (LukOil)
Carlos Castano (ING)
ING have managed to put their two best climbers into this attack and they seem to be gambling that it will work. Castano has lost time but this is the sort of stage where he could really do something so this may be an attempt to claw time back.
The climb proper starts with a long bridge, which is at a 5% gradient itself. Just before we get on to this, Serebriakov waves goodbye and signals that he has had enough. His loyal domestique Broco drops back to help him on but the rest of the GC riders remain in the peloton and look after their own chances.
Serebriakov is far from the only one to lose time on that bridge, and by the end of it the peloton has been shredded down to 44 riders, including most of the big climbers. The peloton hits the 12% section and the gap to the leading four riders increases quite quickly. It has become immediately apparent that HTC Nieuwsblad just lack the support riders to shut this sort of move down. Lachlan Morton leads them up.
The winner at the top of this climb will receive 10 mountain points, pretty much guaranteeing them the jersey. There is a huge fight in the break and Camano is the one who comes out on top – Kenya Airways will be pleased with that!
This is how things look over the top:
22”
18”
2’26”
3’06”
Camano
--->
Sald/Cast
--->
Khripta
--->
Peloton (42)
But Camano doesn’t stop there, he powers on over the summit! Khripta catches the other two on the descent and those three set off in pursuit of the Spaniard. It is also worth noting that Camano did not lose time in the crash so is on equal time with most of the stage favourites – he isn’t just dreaming of a stage win, he is dreaming of the race lead!
With 22km to go Camano has built his lead to the three chasers to just over 40”. In response to this, Khripta launches an attack just as the third climb begins. This climb is shorter than the previous one, at only 6.9km and though it is 4.4% on paper, it does have a ramp over 12% in gradient.
Castano heads off after him, but this attack doesn’t go far and Saldarriaga claws back on. In fact he does more than that, he attacks with Khripta to try to get up to the front again, leaving his own leader behind.
Castano pulls himself back up, however, and Camano is able to look over his shoulder and see these three playing with each other. With 16km remaining Camano’s lead now sits at about 1 minute, with another 2 minutes back to the peloton.
Back in the peloton, people have been looking for team leaders. The only one missing, apart from Krasnoperov, is Wilmer Vasquez (Repsol), who showed during the Tour of America last year that he can’t deal with anything less than the steepest mountains. Sensing that there is an opportunity here to test some legs, Yonathon Monsalve (Hollister) puts in an attack!
He is followed straight away by Ndbri (Kenya) and Izagirre (LukOil). In fact they do more than follow him as they leap past him. In fact, seeing the success of this move, Pellizotti (WWE) jumps away from the peloton.
Pellizotti’s move is considerably more serious and Marquez follows him. Monsalve also latches on as Pellizotti goes past. These three catch the two other attackers and make a group of 5 hovering in front of the peloton. Dyachenko and Osella start to work together on the front of the bunch, upping the pace to try to bring this quintet back.
Up front, Camano goes over the summit, taking the 6 points, but he is clearly more interested in the gaps forming behind him.
Saldarriaga goes over in second place, having got a gap on Castano and Khripta. Meanwhile the 5 attackers out of the bunch have kept a small gap over the peloton, but have also severely closed in on Khripta.
And here are the gaps:
1'10"
36"
12"
34"
31"
2'53"
Camano
--->
Sald
--->
Cast
--->
Khri
--->
Izagirre
--->
P (34)
Pellizotti
Marquez
Monsalve
Ndbri
There is a short false flat then a descent down to the final drag up to the finish line. The group of Marquez continue to push on going downhill. They manage to drag in first Khripta and then Castano on this descent, making their group 7 in size.
At this point there is a crackle over race radio – a rider has gone down! Terrible news for Bintang as Saul Raisin hits the group, crashing out of the peloton and likely any chance of a high GC place.
Saldarriaga is the next one to be caught by the group of favourites, and he is spat straight out the back. With only a few kilometres left Camano’s lead is still just inside 2 minutes and it is almost certain that he will win it from here. Meanwhile, the leaders are still 43” ahead of the peloton.
With only the short drag up to the finish Camano cruises in to the finish, raising both arms up in glory. This is a fantastic start to the season for him and his team can be proud.
All of theformer breakaway riders are dropped from the favourites group, the pace just too high for them with their tired legs. 41” behind Camano, Marquez leads home the group of five riders.
Pellizotti will be pleased with a podium place here, finishing ahead of Izagirre, Monsalve and Ndbri. Ndbri in fact rounds out a great day for Kenya Airways with his 6th place. Nicacio leads home the peloton, ahead of Solis, A.A Cano and Ochoa Quintero.
Not only does Camano take out the win, he also pulls on the leader’s jersey, which he will try to defend for as long as possible in the coming mountains. 4 of the 5 riders in the second group on the road make up the rest of the top 5, Monsalve having lost time earlier. Of course, Camano also pulls on the mountain jersey thanks to his two summit victories. Serebriakov will swap his yellow for green tomorrow and will hope to hold on for a while longer in that category. Ghafari takes over the best young rider category, again Kenya Airways have a magnificent day. This is also reflected in their lead in the team category, having 3 riders in the top 6 overall.
