Tamijo wrote:
Not a bad day all considered, will be a hard race where 30 sec to a minute is not that much.


NB: Like all those “small� clickable’s:

cunego59 wrote:
With its length, this time trial should lead to some considerable time gaps, and we haven't done too well so far on team time trials this season.
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The stage up to the ski resort of La Molina leads to the first of two mountain top finishes that will shape the GC of this race. With 188 kilometers, it's also decently long, so there's a tough day ahead of us.

Our stategy is pretty straightforward today: I want to hang on for as long as I can over the first two summits and finish as high up in the GC as possible. A Top 10 today would be a great success.

The final third of the stage was looking so tough that no one bothered to try anything or even increase the pace significantly, so the pack was still complete when Steven Cummings decided to attack at the foot of the first climb. Franco Pellizotti followed.

The duo made their way to the top together, one by one picking up the remains of the morning breakaway. At this point, they were two minutes in front of the pack, but still almost two minutes behind the front of the race.

Julien Bernard left his former companions behind to lead the race alone on the final descent. He has more than two minutes on the peloton, but it's going to be tough. Pellizotti and Cummings weren't able to make it to him.

I was protected by Jay McCarthy in his beautiful Australian Champion shirt, and Patrick was also still in our group. But the efforts of the two climbs had taken a toll on us already.

Bernard's efforts weren't rewarded as he's picked up relatively early on the climb.

The pace is absolutely brutal and I can't stay at the very front of the group. I ride at a steady pace though, finding my rhythm and sticking to it.

Mikel Landa is the first to attack just as we head into the small descent and flat kilometers before the finish. His captain, Chris Froome, stays behind as Fabio Aru is the first to react.

Porte and Meintjes try to counter as well, but I've made my way back to the front and I'm having none of it! Alongside Patrick, Warren Barguil, and Ilnur Zakarin, we try to reel them back in.

The four of them are just a tiny bit in front as we head into the final ramp!

But it's Ilnur Zakarin who jumps past all of them to celebrate the win! The time bonification also gives him the overall lead.

I achieve my goal for the day as I finish exactly 10th! A good result that doesn't do much for me GC-wise though, as 37 riders finish in the first group. I make my way to the Top 20 at least.

VoetsT wrote:
Good stage for Buchmann!

sutty68 wrote:
Buchmann putting in some good performances of late

Masterblaster01 wrote:
Great stage! Losing no time and slowly making his way up to the top 10!
Young rider classification is also very close, but will be a tough fight with Yates..

Teddy The Creator wrote:
Really enjoying this, keep it up

rogvi97 wrote:
Great stage and great story so far, wll definetly follow!

Of the four remaining stages, this seems to be the easiest. Most of it is pretty flat, the final climb is tough, but there's still a descent behind it. It's a short stage, though, with its 137 kilometers, so it will be intense.

Our goal for today is for me to lose no additional time ahead of tomorrow's mountain stage. And if I leave a few of my rivals behind in the process, even better.

Cesare Benedetti showed his aggressiveness once again, as he has done so many times before this season. This is our first breakaway appearance this race, we felt like it could be a good stage for it.

We're almost into the final climb, and Cesare and his companions still have a little over a minute of advantage. I'm protected by Jay, who's a reliable helper once again.

Up ahead, Cesare doesn't have enough energy left to follow the atacks of Schachmann and Teklehaimanot.

Alongside Jesper Hansen, he tries to catch up on the descent to salvage maybe a Top 3 finish, as the escapees still hold a solid advantage over us.

The pack mostly stayed together, and no one has made an effort to catch up to the breakaway.

Benedetti finishes fourth as Teklehaimanot celebrates a great win. Still a very good result for our Italian.

Michael Matthews wins the sprint from the peloton, I come in 26th. No changes in the GC.

It's here: The final and toughest of the two mountain stages of this race. While there is a category 2 climb in the first half of the stage, all the action will happen on the final ascent.

I will do everything I can today to maybe break into the Top 10 of the GC, but it's going to be really tough! With Patrick and Jay, I have two loyal domestiques, but the field is just so strong! Let's see what happens.

A crash on the descent left a few riders in the dust. Among them are a few Top 10 riders like Nieve, Landa and Gesink. They'd make it back after a while, but it surely cost them a bit.

As we head into the climb, the breakaway is about to get caught. We're well-positioned up front, but the pace is already very high.

No one attacked throghout the entirety of the climb, everyone just rode at a high, steady pace. A pace that was a little too high for me. Many riders were faster than me on the final kilometers.

Porte and Chàves were the ones to take the initiative. Zakarin in yellow starts to chase himself.

Zakarin made a great effort and while he couldn't stop Porte from winning the stage, he defended his overall lead.

I managed to stay with the first big group, which means I only lost time on five riders today, riders who would always be ahead of me anyways. So I'm glad about the result, but not about my 24th place or the way I presented myself today.

We're nearing the finale in Barcelona tomorrow, and it's going to be a hilly ride. The final kilometers today are downhill, but the way up to the category 1 climb is very demanding.

I'm in 14th overall currently, but the Top 10 are "only" 35 seconds away. They're still my goal, but the competition is tough so that I'll have to be at my very best today.

Jan Barta is in the break of the day, going for a few mountain points, but Artem Nych is there to defend his jersey and will secure it for good. Congratulations to him!

Jan and his companions are still almost 2 minutes up ahead, but I'm feeling really well and 4 kilometers from the top of the final climb, I don't want to wait any longer. Patrick launches an attack, and I follow closely behind.

Patrick fell behind but I managed to get just a little bit of seperation. I catch up to a few of the breakaway riders, among them Jan, who protects me for a little while but then has to let go.

I'm trying my best, but the downhill isn't my strong suit. I was hoping that a few strong riders would join me, but no one did.

After a while, I catch up with Jon Irisarri and Sergei Chernetckii, the remaining two escapees. We have 40 seconds on the pack, but there's still some 60 riders in there.

When Chernetckii attacked, I wasn't able to follow. I had lost a lot of energy chasing the two, he's just better on flat roads and I don't want to be totally cooked.

So Jon and I get caught close to 2 kilometers to go. Another promising attack that didn't pay off ...

It's even more frustrating that Sergei actually makes it and wins the stage. So I had the right feeling and my move could have paid off, had I been a little stronger.