The riders face the final day in the saddle in Brixia. It’s completely flat, which should suit the few pure sprinters that are here. Chicchi
showed on stage 3 that he has the legs to win, and he’s held as one of the favourites today. Corioni
finished extremely fast on the final 400 meters on stage 3, but he started too far behind. But his fast finish convinced the bookmakers that he’s another favourite for today. The last favourite is the Russian kid, Maksimov
This must be the perfect course for him, there’s no challenging hill, meaning he should finally be able to show why CSC used a lot of money on him in the transfer season.
The riders line up in sunshine, but rain is forecasted later today, meaning we could see a nervous pack on the final 20 kilometers. Hopefully we’ll avoid crashes, but that’s out of our hands, I guess. Pozzovivo
definitely hopes for a quiet stage, he’s only looking to seal his yellow jersey, and his 3rd overall victory this season.
4 riders start the usual attacks for the early breakaway. Bajadali Martins Pozzo Colex
are the names, and you must admire especially Bajadali and Colex, attacking eventhough their attempt at a stage win yesterday through a breakaway failed.
Mazur Diaz Corrales
don’t want to miss the fun up front, and goes after them 13 kilometers later. The peloton seems happy to let these two go aswell.
The peloton is controlled by Saab Venchi
in the early kilometers today. They obviously hope to repeat their performance from stage 2, where Chicchi was served an outstanding lead out, and Corioni was by far the fastest on the last 400 meters.
Just like the previous days, the breakaway shows no interest in the intermediate sprints. Bajadali
is allowed to roll over first on today’s first intermediate sprint. They’re holding a gap of 1’20 back to the duo behind, with the peloton chasing another 2 minutes behind Mazur Diaz Corrales
3 kilometers before the 2nd intermediate sprint of the day, Mazur Diaz Corrales
join the 4 up front, giving us 6 riders in today’s breakaway. They all co-operate well.
Colex
wins the 2 nd intermediate sprint, which gives him 14 sprint points in total. Not at all enough to challenge for the green jersey, but he could sneak into the top 10, if he manage to win the 2 remaining intermediate sprints. He’s also the best placed rider in the overall standing of the riders in the breakaway. He started the day 10’04 behind Pozzovivo.
But Colex
isn’t interested in the sprint points, and Bajadali
does just like he did on today’s 1st intermediate sprint, and rolls over first on the 3 rd intermediate sprint. With 103 kilometers left, their gap is 6’30 back to the peloton, meaning Colex is up to a provisional 6th, just ahead of Duarte
Venchi Saab
continue to pace the peloton, and with 89 kilometers left, they control the breakaway well, being 7 minutes behind.
Bajadali
seems to know how to get himself at the front of the breakaway everytime there’s an intermediate sprint. He takes his 3rd sprint of the day with 59 kilometers left, giving him 24 sprint points in total. The peloton has started to cut the gap though, and it’s now 5 minutes.
It’s a “boring” stage so far, Saab and Venchi really control the breakaway well. With 25 kilometers left, they are helped by Verona
who hopes Maksimov is up for it today. The gap to the breakaway is down to 1’45.
Bajadali
leads one last attempt from the breakaway riders, and attack with 15 kilometers left. Everyone, but Mazur
follows, but they’re soon going to be caught, as the peloton is chasing only 45 seconds behind.
The peloton, still led by Venchi Saab
catch 4 of the breakaway riders with 10 kilometers to go, meaning 2 riders are still on the loose.
But with 5 kilometers left, it’s game, set & match for Martins Bajadali
aswell, eventhough Martins
gives it one last go. The peloton is still in chasing mode, meaning no train has formed, and the sprinters are unsure of what to do.
And with 4400 meters left, Martins
is definitely caught. Venchi
has organized themselves very well here, lining up 3 riders in front of Corioni, who sits pretty in 4th. Just behind their train, Saab
is trying to set up Chicchi, who has 2 riders in front of him. On the right side of the road, Di Nucci Maksimov
are fighting to get themselves on Corioni’s rear wheel, between the trains of Venchi and Saab.
And with 3.3 kilometers to go, it’s clear that Venchi
has the best lead out. It’s their overall leader, Duarte, who sacrifices himself for Corioni.
Bodnar is preparing himself for the final lead out for Corioni. Saab
hasn’t given completely up though, and Eltink – Westling – Chicchi
have picked the left side of the road for their preparations. Di Nucci Maksimov
are still fighting for Corioni’s rear wheel, and it’s impossible to say who has won that fight. In fact, it’s still going on!
Westling Bodnar
launch their final lead out at the exact same moment, with 1900 meters left. Behind Westling follows Chicchi Hochmann Gatto
while Lima
is doing his own thing at the left of the road. Behind Bodnar follows Corioni Di Nucci
It looks like CSC is trying to sprint symmetric with their sprinters, as Maksimov
is alone on the right side of the road, with no riders in front of him.
Going under the 1 kilometer banner, Westling
once again, just like on stage 3, proves himself as a great lead out man. He blasts past everyone, giving Chicchi
the perfect position with 1000 meters to go. Gatto
is charging the line down the left, and it’s Degenkolb
who follows a bit behind him.
Chicchi
decides to wait until there’s only 600 meters left before he pass Westling. That might prove too late, as Gatto
is really thundering on the left. Also Corioni
has found space for himself now, and he’s once again finishing fast. Can Gatto hold on?
200 meters to go, and the finish line has never been closer! Gatto
is still holding a tiny lead, but he isn’t holding the fastest bike, this is going to be close!
And Corioni’s
fast finish gives him the win! Well deserved for Venchi, who was at the front of the peloton all day long.
Gatto
just holds on for 2nd place, eventhough Chicchi
came dangerously close in 3rd.
Degenkolb
takes 4th, just ahead of Hochmann
in 5th. Maksimov
was never really able to launch his final sprint, as he got blocked, but he comes home in 6th.
Di Nucci Biondo Sinner Asconi
take the minor placings in the top 10 of the stage.
But congratulations to Pozzovivo
He stayed safe through the whole stage, like everyone else in the peloton, and he takes a superb overall win. He also grabs the points jersey and the mountain jersey, which clearly tells us what a great Brixia Tour he has had. A well deserved winner!
