It’s a beautiful day for cycling in Brixia today. There’s no wind to speak about, and the sun shines. Meaning everything should be about the riders on this decisive stage for the overall win. Pozzovivo
holds the yellow jersey, but only by 12 seconds to Rujano
and 23 seconds to Alarcon
Those 3 are also the stage favourites today, meaning we should have an epic battle for both the stage win and the overall win. It's, like beagle said, the clash of the titans!
It takes a while before the early breakaway is allowed to ride away. But with 119 kilometers left of the stage, 9 riders are allowed clear. They’re: Matzbacher Montenegro Biondo Sgrigna Kovalev Colex Oliveira Bajadali Diaz Corrales
They’ve got a lead of 2 minutes after 35 kilometers of racing.
Vespa
takes the early responsibility for the chase, but they’re still relaxed, allowing the breakaway to build their lead.
None of the riders are interested in the first intermediate sprint, and Colex
rolls over first in the breakaway. Their lead back to the peloton is 5’20 with 108 kilometers to go.
However, the first sprint for KoM points is hotly contested, and it’s Diaz Corrales
who takes maximum 6 points, ahead of Colex Matzbacher
Back in the peloton, Pokerstars Aker
have taken responsibility. Over the climb, they’re 8’05 behind the front 9. There's 88 kilometers left, meaning they’ll need to start chasing “for real,” if they want to catch them.
Kovalev
is dropped with 67 kilometers left. He’ll struggle to make it back to the 8 others in the breakaway.
Montenegro
takes the 2nd intermediate sprint, but just like the first one, no one really wants it, meaning it’s 6 “easy” bonus seconds for Montenegro. Their lead back to the peloton is getting smaller now, 64 kilometers to go, and the gap is 6 minutes.
Over today’s 2nd KoM, it’s Diaz Corrales
who takes another 6 points, Just like last, Colex Matzbacher
follow next.
The breakaway keep going, and Matzbacher
leads them through the last intermediate sprint of the day. But the stage win looks like an impossible task for any of them. With 36 kilometers left, the gap is 2’30.
The speed bump surprisingly caused a split back in the peloton. Thanks to the high pace from Pokerstars Aker Solutions
only 36 riders are in the first peloton now. No big names are missing, except for Van Den Broeck
who’s clearly injured after yesterday’s crash.
20 kilometers to go for the breakaway, and Diaz Corrales
is really giving it his best. Their lead is still 2 minutes. They won’t need much hesitation back in the peloton before they’re fighting for a stage win.
And when the peloton has 20 kilometers left, race leader Pozzovivo attacks!
He clearly wants to take advantage of the horrible positioning to Alarcon Rujano
back in the peloton, who both are a long way back in the peloton. He’s followed by Eltink Osella
Pozzovivo
is flying! It takes him no more than 5 kilometers of powerful climbing before he catches the front runners. Amazing show from him so far, has he secured his overall win already?
No, definitely not! With 12 kilometers left, Alarcon’s team mates show why Aker Solutions are said to be one of the better climbing teams in the Continental Division. Agudelo, Larsson & Vasquez
pull Pozzovivo
back.
And there it is, narrow roads. Positioning is critical now, and all big favourites had a good position 2 kilometers ago. But the catch of Pozzovivo
and the breakaway riders forced a couple of them a long way back in the peloton. Alarcon Rujano
were probably those who lost most placings in the peloton. And as we hit the narrow road, Stetina
attacks. Great moment to dig for it. He’s followed by Schwab Brandt Montana
You have to give credit to Pirelli. Eventhough their team leader is hurted, they're doing everything possible to create a surprise today. Huge morale!
And it’s an absolute disaster for Alarcon
He’s being pushed to the back of the group, he can only see all other big names ride away from him. And it's his own team pushing the pace up front.
Aker Solutions
continues to push the pace however, they’re actually dropping their team leader! I guess their meeting post-stage won't be a nice one. What a golden opportunity for everyone else, especially Caruso
who must fancy his podium chances now.
Agudelo and Vasquez
have brought the front group down to 18 riders, with Alarcon
having fought his way back to the tail of the group. Stetina
eyes an opportunity for a stage win, as no one else attacks, and he has another go at it with 5 kilometers left.
Agudelo
is doing an amazing job. But it’s not helping Aker Solutions, as he’s the perfect team mate for Pozzovivo Rujano
who have positioned themselves just behind. Agudelo’s true team leader, Alarcon
still struggles at the tail of the group.
3200 meters to go, and Pozzovivo
doesn’t want more of this relatively slow pace from Aker Solutions
He hits the front, immediately forcing 9 riders to go, which means there’s only 9 riders left in the front group. Alarcon
continues his dangerous experiment at the back of the group, but he made the cut, and he’s in a better position than ever now. The most important names missing are Lloret Duarte Krasnoperov Anton
Van Den Broeck
is also missing, but that’s probably as expected, as his crash yesterday was a nasty one.
Pozzovivo
continues to motor up the climb, he’s probably just setting a fast pace to defend his jersey. And you must say he has succeeded, only 4 riders are able to follow him, they’re Vasquez & Alarcon Caruso Rujano
These are the big guns, these are the titans! Eventhough Pozzovivo
has whittled down the front group to only 5 riders, he can’t feel over-confident about the overall victory, as he still got his 3 closest rivals on the overall standings at his rear wheel.
2 kilometers to go, and Vasquez
blows, meaning “traffic” for Rujano Caruso
At the very same time, Pozzovivo
raises the pace, and he simply rides Alarcon
off his rear wheel. He’s extremely strong today!
No chance at all for Alarcon
to follow Pozzovivo
He’s quickly caught by Rujano Caruso
Pozzovivo
senses another great victory here, as he’s powering away solo.
Rujano
hasn’t given up on the stage win though, and he attacks Caruso Alarcon
with 1200 meters left. Caruso
tries to follow, while Alarcon
can do nothing, but pedal his own rhythm. It's obvious that his earlier effort, riding at his maximum to catch the other favourites took too much out of him.
Though, Alarcon
must have a little bit left in his tank. He followed Caruso’s
attack when sitting down, and when the sprint starts, he immediately blasts past him. But the gap to Rujano Pozzovivo
looks too big for both of them, eventhough none of them are sprinting.
But there’s no need to sprint! Pozzovivo
takes a superb win. He was clearly the strongest today, attacking again and again. This win should also secure him his 2nd overall victory on home soil. He won Giro del Trentino in a convincing way, now he looks set for another huge win in Italy.
Rujano
came close, but not close enough, and he has to settle for 2nd place, which also consolidates his 2nd place overall.
Alarcon makes it two Venezuelans on today’s podium. He was 3rd overall before the stage, and he’s obviously 3rd overall after the stage aswell.
Caruso
must admit he wasn’t good enough to challenge for a podium today, and he crosses the line in 4th.
Krasnoperov
must be happy about his performance today, as he’s able to get 5th on the stage, meaning he might be able to climb on the overall ranking. Vasquez
follows behind, 6th is a great reward for the amount of work he did for his leader.
Duarte Anton
follow just behind Vasquez. They’re more than 2 minutes behind stage winner, and race leader, Pozzovivo
Stetina
wins the sprint for 9th, just ahead of Schwab Agudelo
A great performance from Schwab, but it won’t help his leader Lloret
much, as he was, just like Alarcon, blocked when they hit the narrow road. But he wasn’t able to find a way through the "traffic," meaning he’ll loose a lot today.
