Stage Favourites:
Stannard,
Elijzen,
Renang,
Laidler &
Joeaar
An important stage for the GC, the GC won't be won today but it can certainly be lost.
Eddie Stobart Pro Cycling out to show they are more than making up the numbers here.
Clancy would put in a decent ride and finish '40 down on the stage winner.
Pro-conti team,
Compal-Merida, would have a very decent stage today with two in the top 10. A good sign for future stages?
Cheung, above, would finish @ '34 while
Makino would just miss out on the podium finishing '27 down.
Evonik - Signal Iduna knew Geschke would lose plenty of time today so their focus would switch to others.
Joeaar rode solidly, finishing '30 down, with
Hansen riding well to finish @ '38.
Risa - Ergon would be another team to have multiple riders finish in the top 15. Swedish champ
Lindgren was their best finisher down in 6
th @ '29.
Hollenstein would disappoint today, finishing 50
th @ 1'21. However,
Imhof would move into the white jersey after finishing '30 down in 7
th.
At the end of the stage
Zoidl would be well placed for another great GC finish. He would finish 9
th.
With
Guillen finising amongst the back markers, over 2'00 down, we would have a new leader today. Who would it be ......
Renang finishes in 3
rd today. The TT specialist finishes '20 down, good enough for a podium.
Elijzen just misses out. The Dutchman would finish second today, '16 down on the stage winner. His teammate,
Duggan, shows well to finish in the top 15, perhaps laying the foundations for a good points haul from this race?
Chalk up another TT win for
Team ASDA - Savers.
But there was no doubt about the winner today.
Stannard was the outright favourite and he showed why. He was one of the early starters and his time was never really threatened. He moves into the race lead.
Results didn't export. Basically the stage results = the GC after this stage for most cases. The points/KOM jersey standings, well for the top few places, stay the same.
Other notables:
Mendes finished 34
th @ 1'04.