Here we are in the eponymous Juárez, ready to begin our circulo of the Chihuahuan Desert. The peloton will be very happy to know that it is winter - the summer months regularly see daily highs of nearly 40°C! The riders will be facing much more manageable temperatures and, despite the high altitudes, rather manageable terrain. Today's parcour will take them to close to the Sierra Madre Occidental range, but the only challenges are two very gradual 4th category climbs.
Our cameras are coming on now at 20 kilometres to go, with the various sprint trains already fighting for real estate at the front of the peloton. Closest to us are Ethiopian Airlines: some good African representation from KIPRUTO and EL-DOGHMY, with GROSS and EWAN following behind. That is Bernard NDUNGU in there trying to disrupt them.
His is the next team over. There are plenty of Minions working in support of Fabio JAKOBSEN. He currently has DRESSLER taking the wind, but there are plenty of other bodies in there.
Ignore that jumble of riders in the middle; focus on the next jumble of riders instead. That is the Trans Looney Tunes squad who are splayed out across the road. Jiankun LIU, in his national champion jersey, is being protected by Dylan PAGE while the duo of ERMAKOV and BECHKOV are working their way to the front.
Desperately trying to fight their way up the right shoulder of the Trans Looney Tunes lads are a trio from Peugeot. Not only do they have ground to make up, but it also looks like they've had a mix-up in the order. Sam WELSFORD is in front of Paul MAGNIER, which simply cant be right. At least they're both protecting Rick ZABEL.
So, what happened before the cameras came on? Not much, unfortunately. Even if the sun isn't quite as blazing hot as it becomes later in the year, the temperatures are still warm enough to discourage riders from fighting in the break. It is also possible that the number of teams wanting this one to end in a sprint was also a consideration.
The legacy of the Valio teams lived on in our duo of escapees. Matias AHTOSALO and Axel KALLBERG are not exactly household names just yet but, with any luck, we will be seeing more of them as the week progresses. For now it is KALLBERG who is off to a dominant start, securing the polkadots overnight and, unless Jago WILLEMS can secure more than 6" in time bonuses, almost certainly the youth classification as well.
Ethiopian Airlines, Minions and Trans Looney Tunes took control of the peloton. The dearth of numbers in the break meant that the catch was achieved easily enough, with more than 30 kilometres left to run. There was some competition for the final points at each intermediate sprint, with Itamar EINHORN and Xhuliano KAMBERAJ taking one apiece.
Whilst we have been catching you up on earlier events, the Peugeot squad have completely fallen apart. ZABEL seems to be safe though, he has found his way on to LIU's wheel. EINHORN has seen the space left behind and wants to exploit, but he has got himself in a bit of a pickle. Carlo NOIA and Aksel NOMMELA are both there to support him, it's just that they've somehow ended up downwind of their leader?
The much more realistic threat that I can see pushing its way up the far right is Bianchi Enel. Danny VAN POPPEL's lads are well drilled, with Ben TURNER and Christopher NOPPE leading him through the various obstacles. My only concern is that we are still a long way out at this point (~18 km) and they are already running low on manpower.
Indeed, TURNER is already beginning to ease off on the throttle, although that could well be a tactical choice. It does mean that Colby SIMMONS (younger brother of Quinn) has been able to bring the Zwift train up the inside of the Bianchi boys. They aren't looking quite as organised but John JIMENEZ RETANA and Sondre Holst ENGER are a deadly finishing duo.
Looking over at the other (left) side of the road now, Ethiopian Airlines and Minions have somehow been able to trade places without bringing the peloton down in a heap. EINHORN has also ended up over here! NOMMELA looks set to drop him off on EWAN's wheel.
Things are looking relatively steady as we come into the final five kilometres. We'll start on the near side of the road, with Ethiopian Airlines. EL-DOGHMY is in the wind now; the quartet that have latched onto the back includes WILLWOHL, WAERSTED, ZABEL and RIABUSHENKO.
Minions are next; Erik BASKA at their head. It looks as though NOMMELA is being a right menace, going shoulder to shoulder with JAKOBSEN while his leader is another line over on LIU's wheel. Jakub MARECZKO and Max WALSCHEID are adrift in the gap behind.
As mentioned, LIU is next. Immediately behind EINHORN, Cees BOL and Jago WILLEMS are fighting for the wheel. GANJKHANLOU and ZINGLE form the final part of this train.
The biggest change is obviously the arrival of SEE Turtles at the front. I'm honestly not sure where they came from. Marcus CULEY was hanging around the front earlier on, but he isn't here now. Instead it is Maral-Erdene BATMUNKH and Atsushi OKA who have arrive, late in the piece, to help Dylan KENNETT out. Alexander EDMONDSON, of all people, has secured his countryman's wheel. On the end of the Bianchi train is Lionel COUTINHO and adrift near Zwift is Tibor DEL GROSSO.
As we wind our way into the finish, rounding the final bend with a little of two kilometres to the finish, there is a massive crunch over to the left of the road. I'm going to say that it started with BECHKOV. Him drifting across decapitated the Minions train, with BASKA then forced across the front of EL-DOGHMY. Although, that might not be entirely fair; it looks like SIMMONS had also started moving across.
Either way, the result is that Minions and Ethiopian Airlines have been given no choice but to dump all their momentum, under threat of being forced into the barriers. Right now it seems that SEE Turtles are the biggest beneficiaries, surging over the top of Zwift and across to the barriers. It is difficult to see with BECHKOV blocking the sightline, but KENNETT is tangling with BASKA for the third wheel from the front.
Ethiopian Airlines have managed to get clear of the chaos and reorganise themselves. It looks like only WILLWOHL has managed to escape alongside them. NOPPE, who has taken over from TURNER, has managed to avoid everything by sticking to the far side of the road. LIU, for his part, is in big trouble.
And we are off! Dylan PAGE is the first to make a move. BECHKOV started flagging and, after a quick look over his shoulder indicated that his leader was lost to the mists of time, the Swiss decided to go for himself. I can only imagine that he was hoping for a lesser reaction than what he is getting. We are still more than 1.5 kilometres out, much to far for even the strongest of sprinters. What he needed was to build jump out to a gap - instead everyone has launched with him.
Right now it looks as though ENGER is best placed. Keeping him out of the wind is JIMENEZ RETANA, who already has some overlap with PAGE. The main challenge is coming from GROSS and EWAN on their right shoulder. BATMUNKH is still at the front of the Turtles train, but he isn't able to match the others' accelerations. NOPPE and VAN POPPEL have been outmuscled by the Ethiopian duo.
The picture is looking much the same as we come through 1 kilometre to go. A void has opened up behind PAGE as KENNETT is trapped behind BATMUNKH and BECHKOV.
GROSS and EWAN are gaining ground on JIMENEZ RETANA and ENGER. They, in turn, are gaining ground on PAGE.
We are just waiting now, on EWAN and ENGER to launch. Their teams have sheltered them thus far and soon enough they will be within touching distance of the finish. Only WILLWOHL looks close enough to be a challenger. Both EINHORN and LIU are also making progress now, but it will be an uphill battle with a lot of time spent in the wind.
Any time now. Any time now. Any time now!
What is going on? What is happening? Their leadouts are slowing but neither EWAN nor ENGER are accelerating! We are well within a kilometre of the finish now. Have they gone too hard, too early? My god, they've overcooked it.
GROSS has, at least, managed to catch PAGE. Seems rather pointless given LIU is now also drawing level with them, although the latter seems to have run out of steam at this point.
MARECZKO is here. VAN POPPEL has also found his way back to the front. Both have been surfing wheels, either could take the lead with just one final surge, but neither looks like they have anything more to give. This is anyone's ra-
Wait! No! Not anyone: Atsushi OKA. Atsushi OKA moving rapidly up the nearside barriers with none other than Dylan KENNETT tucked safely on his wheel. They are going past everyone!
They did it! They didn't panic, just raced their own race and timed it perfectly. Their manager couldn't have asked for a better prize than a 1-2 of our first stage in Mexico. KENNETT taking it with more than a bit of clear air.
Jiankun LIU rounds out the podium. It won't have been what he was hoping for at the start of the day, but it is a good recovery after that absolute mess of a leadout. JAKOBSEN in 10th wasn't nearly so fortunate.
Sondre Holst ENGER (11th) will also be disappointed. This is especially so given, unlike the former pair, his leadout didn't run into nearly as much trouble. There are no excuses then - other than to identify some characteristic of the team that is lacking. Perhaps it was the fact that they were only able to commit three bodies to the effort. Perhaps it is because JIMENEZ RETANA is more a sprinter than a leadout man: a strong kick with lesser staying power.
EWAN (4th) and VAN POPPEL (6th) rewarded their teams' hard work, while WILLWOHL (5th) made the canniest choice when it came to selecting another's wheel. Final mention goes to the fight for the youth classification, where Jago WILLEMS (8th) did not do enough to displace KALLBERG.
Circulo de Juárez 
