Stage 4: Feuchtwangen 26 KM

Stage Favourites:
*****Wiggins
****Kim
***Westra

Here it is, the definitive stage of this Bayern Rundfahrt. Few of the quality TT men have lost more than '44 so the stage winner is likely to win the GC. Plenty to play for.

Having lost plenty of time Shaqif was one of the earliest off the start ramp. Being a quality man against the clock he was expected to put in a good time. He did not disappoint.

The Moroccan sets a time of 36'10. That is 1'21 faster than fellow early starters Ivan Velaso and Zak Dempster. A strong time but there is plenty of racing still to go. 95% of riders are still to come off the start ramp!

From now on everyone who starts is only '44 off the yellow jersey. The time of Shaqif still leads. But there is a sense the time will soon be beaten as riders are coming closer and closer. At this stage Di Silvestro is the closest challenger being '12 down @ 36'22.

Bradley Wiggins lives up to his billing as stage favourite. He goes fastest at this first split time check with a time of 13'16 that is '16 faster than Hintermuller, '21 faster than Schwabe and '19 faster than Shaqif.

The Brit keeps up his tempo. Wiggins finishes at 35'19 almost 1'00 faster than the long standing time of Shaqif. Is that game over?

Like his team, Hintermuller, has shown well all race. He would ride a solid time 36'12 which would be good enough for a top 10 on the stage.

Jan Barta would secure a 7th place finish on the day. As expected he puts in a solid ride, but he never comes close to the time of Wiggins. The same can be said for the likes of De Vries, Birtles and Westra. They all ride a solid TT but are overshadowed by the performance of Wiggins.

Voeckler, surprises many, with a great TT on the day. He would finish 6th, could his teammate Po-ding Kim do any better?

As Kessiakoff finishes provisionally 2nd some '28 seconds down on Wiggins the last rider to pose a serious threat to Wiggins exits off the ramp.

What can Kim do?


He goes fastest at the first checkpoint! He sets a time of 13'08, that is '7 faster than Wiggins. Can he keep this up?

There looks to be no stopping the Korean.

Kim puts even more time into Wiggins at the second checkpoint. Kim goes fastest at 22'51 some '11 faster than Wiggins.

For the first time in this race it looks to be the wrong decision in sending Wiggins here! The riders who started the day in the top 10 can kiss goodbye to a good GC finish, as they are well down at the splits. Everyone bar Kristoff that is, who is really holding his own.

Kim, hell, he doesn't even need to ride with a rear wheel!

Kim puts in one of the most concentrated and powerful solo efforts of the EPIC era to win the TT here, trouncing the opposition. The North Korean managed to put '26 into Wiggins in the end. What a display!

Europcar brought a strong team here and it has really paid off, they look a realty well drilled outfit. Kim leads the GC and the young rider classifications going into the final stage.

Wiggins and Kessiakoff round out the podium but they must be weary of Kristoff, who finished very well in 13th. If Kristoff finishes on the podium on the final stage he will leapfrog them both back into 2nd in the GC.