22 km to go: Bennett's ambitious attack is over. It was never going to work with the amount of teams wanting to win here. RVL and UHC are still trying to work for a reason that nobody knows but BAR are trying to take control now.
19 km: Now, Bongiorno (BAR) attacks, clearly Pirazzi would rather have him ahead than setting the pace. Dimitriou (TNE) follows the Italian. Sella (AND) comes to the front and sets a ferocious pace to bring them back, causing a lot of damage behind. It really has begun now.
17 km: The inevitable split has occurred in the peloton as the non-climbers voluntarily drop. However, Didier (RLT) is somehow caught behind and King, Jungels and Rohregger are dropped back to help as Radioshack hit the panic button, leaving Bennett all alone.
16 km: Here we go, Duarte (COL) kicks things off with a stinging attack on one of the corners. Once again, Dimitriou is the first to react, followed by Pellizotti (AND), Bongiorno and Spilak (KAT). It's a bad move from Dimitriou and Bongiorno, who can't hack this pace and both are dropped by the current top three.
12 km: It has taken a surprisingly long time but the breakaway has finally been caught by Duarte, Pellizotti and Spilak. These six (though the three early escapees are soon dropped of course) have a minute on the other favourites, currently being led by Balloni (BAR) for his leader Pirazzi.
10 km: Hintermuller now takes over at the front of the chase group and the young German blows it to smithereens. Mendes (TNE), Firsanov (RVL), Pirazzi (BAR), Clarke (OGE), Bongiorno and Sinaga (SOJ) are all dropped as well as many of the other climbing domestiques.
6 km: Hintermuller is riding like a man possessed and he has almost caught the lead trio single-handedly. Only Jones (SOJ), Brajkovic (AST) and Weening (OGE) are able to hang on to his pace.
4 km: Now, Jones takes over at the front of the chase group but they just can't close that last twenty seconds to the leaders, with Duarte doing the bulk of the work ahead. The two youngsters are not happy with Brajkovic but he won't/can't come to the front to help.
3 km: Spilak attacks at the head of the race. Duarte tries to follow but that was a stupid move and he is instantly dropped. Pellizotti drops back to the chase group and then weirdly rides away from them again. Maybe the humidity is affecting his brain.
2 km: Pellizotti now attacks past Duarte, who went too far into the red trying to follow Spilak. The chase group still doesn't respond as Weening battles like a madman just to stay with them. Still, it's Jones on the front.
1 km to go: Spilak has a fairly comfortable lead even though Pellizotti is coming a bit closer. The Slovenian just has to keep pedalling and it's his. Duarte is going backwards but still the chase group do nothing. Brajkovic still riding like he has a teammate up the road.
500m to go: As Spilak nears the line for an impressive win, Hintermuller and Jones finally kick and leave Brajkovic behind, something they should have done about six kilometres ago! Weening is empty but he has to keep going here. The next group is a long way back, currently being led by Atapuma (COL).
FINISH: Pellizotti can only watch as he gets agonisingly close to Spilak but it's another win for Katusha here. Duarte just holds on for third, ahead of the rampaging duo of Hintermuller and Jones. Most of the other favourites finish nearly four minutes down, a disaster for the likes of Pirazzi, Mendes and Firsanov.
Meh, not flat, don't care, bring on Qatar again! Kidding! Though I wonder why we're working, for Pirazzi, but I mean, he's not going to do anything big, let the big teams chase, save ourselves for the sprint stages.
Zabel'd by the conclusion.
Edited by The Hobbit on 17-11-2013 17:24
Today's stage should be more relaxed for some of the riders, but it'll be stressful for the big men and certainly F. Schnaidt will be quaking in his boots!
My predictions remain unchanged, that this will be a stage for Wiggins, even though he was found wanting yesterday, he remains a master against the clock.
113rd: The 3rd rider down the ramp makes a big impact. MTN's new acquisition Marounne Shaquif has set a best time that will take a while to beat! 25'45'' will stand for a while I can guarantee.
83rd: The Canadian engine Svein Tuft can't match it. This has been a poor race for Orica Greenedge so far, with 2 men at the bottom of the GC. Sadly Svein can't lift them today as he falls 14'' short of the Tunisian's time, ending up 13th by the end of the day.
81st: The Kazak TT champion D. Gruzdev is the first man to make a pass, as poor G. Bernaudeau of Europcar has to watch the Astana rider blow right past him to post a new best time of 25'34''. He must be on good form at the moment.
73rd: The attacking frenchman from yesterday D. Gaudin also of Europcar goes out on a strong ride today. Yet he's unable to topple the Kazak and falls 13'' short with a time of 25'47''. Still good enough for a top 10 finish so he can be pleased with that.
58th: The Saxo-Tinkoff TT specialist M. Boaro is the next big name on the road, but he's a bit off colour as he falls 16'' short of the best time still held by Gruzdev.
29th: And we're well into the top 50 when T. de Gendt rolls down the ramp. Yesterday's 2nd place, he still sits a full 8'45'' down on the GC thanks to falling behind on both Stage 1 and 2. Yet he's clearly shown that he's got form and he shows it again as he comes back from 2'' down at the intermediate to post a new best time of 25'27''. All we need now is the Stelvio!
22nd: Former GT winner I. Basso hasn't been having the best tour as, particularly as he failed to make the cut on Stage 2. Today's test of truth shows that he isn't firing on all cylinders as he ends up 19th a full 56'' back on the winner.
19th: Another rider who was one of the outsiders and lost it all on stage 2 is Belkin's R. Gesink The Dutchman does show good form today though as he posts a solid 8th place, just over 30 seconds down. He could still do something exciting!
8th: Now we're into the top 10, and here's my pre-race favourite. Sir Brad lost a sizeable amount of time yesterday, and must look to get back as much as he can today. He starts well bringing in a new best Intermediate time of 9'47''! And he continues this solid performance blowing de Gendt's time out of the water by a full 16'', posting 25'11''.
7th: Certainly a hard act to follow, but the up and coming Estonian Tanel Kangert of Astana does his level best, posting a time of 25'24'', definitely good enough for a podium. But just where on the podium?
4th: And here comes the North Korean revelation Po-ding Kim! Odd jersey he's got on, but it certainly doesn't seem to hinder his performance. And he sets a new best Intermediate time! He's only got 1 second on Wiggins though, so he's still got to work for this! He's coming up to the line! This is going to be close! Will he make it? Nooo, just 1 second short. He's really shown what he can do today though.
2nd: And he's the stage winner from yesterday, J. Rodriguez is riding like a man possessed. I said that he'd lose time today against the big men, but he's still able to catch C. Bennedetti before the line. He desperately wants that Yellow jersey! He rolls over the line a full 52'' down on Wiggins, nullifying his gains from yesterday. The question is, will it be enough for top spot?
1st: And our leader looks shattered on the bike today. Yesterday must have really taken it out of him, and fair enough, given all the work he and his team had to do on the front without any assistance! He finally makes it over the line, a full 2'02'' down. He's going to have to hand that lovely jersey over.
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky Procycling
25'11
2
Po-ding Kim
Team Europcar
+ 1
3
Tanel Kangert
Astana Pro Team
+ 13
4
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 16
5
Dmitriy Gruzdev
Astana Pro Team
+ 23
6
Marouane Shaqif
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 34
7
Damien Gaudin
Team Europcar
+ 37
8
Robert Gesink
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Pieter Weening
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 39
10
Manuele Boaro
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
+ 42
12
Christian Knees
Sky Procycling
+ 43
13
Svein Tuft
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 48
14
Ilnur Zakarin
RusVelo
+ 51
15
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
+ 52
16
Vladimir Gusev
Katusha Team
+ 53
17
Josef Hintermuller
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
18
Maxim Belkov
Katusha Team
+ 56
19
Ivan Basso
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
20
Jens Mouris
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 57
21
Alexander Serov
RusVelo
+ 1'01
22
Leopold König
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
23
Sam Bewley
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 1'06
24
Evgeni Petrov
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
25
Steven Kruijswijk
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'09
26
Marc Goos
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'10
27
Marc De Maar
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
28
Gregor Gazvoda
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
29
Mads Christensen
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
30
Sergio Pardilla
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 1'13
31
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
32
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
+ 1'15
33
Jay Thomson
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 1'16
34
Michael Hepburn
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 1'18
35
Johann Nokkvason
Team Europcar
s.t.
36
Zakkari Dempster
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
37
José Mendes
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
38
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
+ 1'19
39
Jetse Bol
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'20
40
Tomás Gil
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
41
Omar Bertazzo
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 1'21
42
Robert Wagner
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
43
Fabio Felline
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
44
Alessandro De Marchi
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
45
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'23
46
Miguel Rubiano
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 1'24
47
David De la Cruz
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 1'25
48
Ben Swift
Sky Procycling
+ 1'27
49
Davide Malacarne
Team Europcar
s.t.
50
Timothy Duggan
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 1'28
51
Joseph Dombrowski
Sky Procycling
s.t.
52
Natnael Berhane
Team Europcar
+ 1'29
53
Juan Manuel Gárate
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'30
54
Boy Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'32
55
Iker Camaño
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
56
Craig Lewis
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
57
Danny Van Poppel
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'33
58
Cayetano Sarmiento
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
59
Wouter Mol
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'35
60
Chun Feng
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'36
61
Juan Pablo Suarez
Colombia
+ 1'37
62
Lucas Euser
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'38
63
Meron Russom
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
64
Fumiyuki Beppu
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
65
Oliver Zaugg
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 1'39
66
Mitchell Docker
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 1'40
67
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 1'41
68
Jarlinson Pantano
Colombia
s.t.
69
Jeff Louder
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'42
70
Alessandro Bazzana
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
71
Gennadiy Tatarinov
RusVelo
+ 1'44
72
Lucas Sebastián Haedo
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
73
Esteban Chaves
Colombia
s.t.
74
Jani Tewelde
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
75
Luke Rowe
Sky Procycling
+ 1'45
76
Kevin Reza
Team Europcar
s.t.
77
John Darwin Atapuma
Colombia
s.t.
78
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
79
Jake Keough
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'46
80
Frederik Veuchelen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
81
David López
Sky Procycling
s.t.
82
Simone Ponzi
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'47
83
Cristiano Salerno
Cannondale Pro Cycling
+ 1'48
84
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
s.t.
85
Ruslan Tleubayev
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'49
86
Alexander Porsev
Katusha Team
+ 1'50
87
Serguei Klimov
RusVelo
s.t.
88
Pierre-Luc Périchon
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
89
Nariyuki Masuda
Cannondale Pro Cycling
+ 1'52
90
Jean-Luc Delpech
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 1'54
91
Songezo Jim
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
92
Kristian Sbaragli
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 1'55
93
Leonardo Duque
Colombia
+ 1'56
94
Guillaume Boivin
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
95
Carlos José Ochoa
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
96
Andrey Zeits
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'58
97
Luke Keough
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'02
98
Anthony Charteau
Team Europcar
s.t.
99
Fabian Schnaidt
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'03
100
Jonas Aaen Jørgensen
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 2'07
101
Clinton Avery
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'10
102
Giovanni Bernaudeau
Team Europcar
+ 2'11
103
Muhamad Othman
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'13
104
Stephen Clancy
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 2'14
105
Alexander Mironov
RusVelo
s.t.
106
Jackson Rodríguez
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 2'16
107
David Lozano
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 2'22
108
Andrea Peron
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 2'23
109
Kevin De Mesmaeker
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 2'24
110
Cesare Benedetti
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 2'26
111
Igor Boev
RusVelo
+ 2'27
112
Martijn Verschoor
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 2'31
113
Arnaud Gérard
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
s.t.
114
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 2'34
115
Fabio Calabria
Team Novo Nordisk
+ 2'49
But wait, drama! It's not the Spaniard who's taking la maillot jaune! It's the North Korean! Celebrations from the Europcar camp as Po climbs to the top of the podium to pull on his new jersey! Suits him very well.
Le Tour de Langkawi Stage 5 
Simon Spilak
Franco Pellizotti
Fabio Duarte
Josef Hintermuller
Travis Jones
Pieter Weening
Eduard Vorganov
Fabian Brookes
Naveed Alinejad
Jacobus Venter
Alberto Losada
Mathieu Favre
George Bennett
Firmansyah Sinaga
Ioannis Dimitriou
RadioShack - Leopard
Astana Pro Team
. Cyclists are hard.
has set a best time that will take a while to beat! 25'45'' will stand for a while I can guarantee.
rolls down the ramp. Yesterday's 2nd place, he still sits a full 8'45'' down on the GC thanks to falling behind on both Stage 1 and 2. Yet he's clearly shown that he's got form and he shows it again as he comes back from 2'' down at the intermediate to post a new best time of 25'27''. All we need now is the Stelvio!
Bradley Wiggins
Po-ding Kim
Tanel Kangert
Peter Sagan
Leopold König
