Facing the teams today is a 14km team time trial, which is a fairly unique occurrence at this level of racing and should really test the depth of some of these teams. The time gaps shouldn’t be too decisive for the overall, but it is a good chance for some teams to get something out of this race – Dyson have particularly banked their race on this single stage. The intermediate time check is after 6km, and comes at the top of a short rise.
First out is Armavia, who are expected to struggle today, as they probably were always going to in any test of a team’s depth. Reza is their best time trialist and he does a lot of the work. They go through the first check at 6km in a time of 9’47”.
And Armavia give us our first time at the finish of 20’44”. It is unlikely to be the sort of time that will hold up particularly well, but that remains to be seen.
Next out of the gate is Eurovision, who came here looking for sprint results, but had Thomel crash and Sobrino delayed by the crash yesterday, so couldn’t deliver. They are also arguably the weakest team in this test here and so they go through the first check in 9’57”.
And they finish the course in 21’06”. Kloden will not be happy with that, and will undoubtedly have to ride really aggressively to make back enough time to finish anywhere near the top 10.
Going from one of the weakest straight to one of the strongest, it is Het Nieuwsblad out next. They did a lot of work on the front yesterday to keep thinks for Laverde Velez. Because of the strength of their team thye are also one of the big favourites for today. They show their class by going through the first check in a new best of 9’34”.
And they cross the finish line in a time of 20’05”. That provides a tough benchmark for some of the other teams to live up to. It is also good news for Laverde Velez because it seems likely that he will have a chance to put time into some rivals.
Speaking of rivals, the next team out is Kingspan – the team of Mancebo. Their can at least ride a time trial consistently and everyone should be good enough to at least get across the line without too much time lost. A lot of the early work is done by Gallagher, the former Irish TT champion. They go through the first check in 9’38”, only 4 seconds down on Het Nieuwsblad.
And their finishing time is 20’12”, meaning that Mancebo is 7” behind Laverde Velez in the overall standings. Kingspan will probably be happy with that ride, as it keeps them well in contention.
Finnair are the next team on the road. They will be hoping to give Lundberg a leg-up in the overall competition. The Norwegian Fredrick Wilman is on board to work as hard as he is needed to. Through the first check they can only muster a time of 9’45”, and will have to work harder.
But in the end the best they can manage is 20’29”, putting them well off the time of some rivals who have already gone. They will be hopping that some other teams also falter.
The sixth team out on the road is Gazprom, who were considered outside chances for today. Bespalov had a tough day in the break yesterday and their overall leader Petrov was involved in the crash, so it will be interesting to see what effect those things have on their performance today. And through the first check things are looking great for them as they set the best time of 9’31”, 3 seconds faster than Het Nieuwsblad.
But they can’t quite hold the speed and they go through in 20’05”, just fractions of a second slower than Het Nieuswblad! This puts them in provisional second place overall but after that first time check they might be a bit disappointed.
Yet another outside chance for today’s stage is American Express, a team where everyone is at least decent against the clock. Zajicek was involved in the crash yesterday, so Colby has assumed the overall lead for the team and will be hoping to put some time into other rivals. They go through the first check in 9’31”, the same time as Gazprom managed.
But they hold their speed even less than Gazprom managed. Zajicek’s injury might be plaguing him. Their time through the end is 20’12”, the same as Kingspan did.
Serbian Telekom are up next. Ansons looks resplendent in the green jersey, though it in fact belongs to Pichot. Smelcerovic may slow this team down, though the team is only really interested in the sprints for Ansons this year so may not be too concerned. They are strong through the first check, however, where they get the same time as Het Nieuwsblad – 9’34”.
But this doesn’t last and they can only get a time of 20’31”. As said, however, they probably won’t be too distressed about time losses.
But now for a team that will be trying their hardest to limit loses – it is Cativen, the team of overall favourite Laverde Jimenez. Though Laverde Jimenez may be the best climber in the field this year, his team was always going to struggle in this test. Indeed things are already looking bleak at the first check where they can only manage 9’46”.
They pull things together a bit, however, and still get 20’30” as their time. That isn’t brilliant, but only losing 25” on Laverde Velez and 18” on Mancebo might be acceptable.
Right behind them on the road is the overall favourite for today’s test – Dyson. They have brought almost all their big time trialists here, but with Clancy crashing yesterday things may well go wrong for them. Indeed at the first check they can only get a time of 9’34”. That’s the same as Het Nieuswblad, and fourth fastest through the check.
But they pull things together and take the best time! 20’04” - just 1 second faster than Het Nieuswblad and Gazprom. Their manager is probably having a heart attack, but he can relax for a moment.
Petrobras are up next, and are widely tipped to not do particularly well today. The team lacks time trialists, so this was always going to be a really tough test for them. It is probably optimistic to hope that they can defend Jaoa’s young rider jersey. Indeed it already seems unlikely at the first check with a time of 9’40”.
And at the finish line they come through with 20’32”. Not a huge time loss, but more than Gonzalez might be comfortable with.
A team that has really come prepared for this test are out on course behind them – Team UPC. Four of their riders including their captains Nozal and Wielinga are rouleurs and, though they aren’t the same as the big names in Dyson, they are tipped to give them a good run for their money. And what a result through the first check! 9’23”, which is the best time through there by 8 whole seconds!
Can they possibly keep that sort of speed up? As it turns out, no. They go through as the third team with a time of 20’05”, putting them a provisional fourth on the day. With Urtasun’s bonus seconds from yesterday, however, that makes him the provisional leader. Even if they couldn’t win, that must be some sort of consolation.
Speaking of leaders, the team of race leader Pichot is up next. Alstom came here to stage hunt, and they have already got their one stage. If they can lose less than 12 seconds on UPC, however, Pichot gets to keep the jersey for another day. Their time through the first check is 9’38”, already 15” down, but UPC did have a rather poor second half of the course.
But at the end of the day they can only get a time of 20’32”, the same as Petrobras, and 27” down on UPC. Pichot still gets to hold on to the points jersey for at least another day.
Now out on course is Metinvest. Their weakest time trialist Shapira was involved in the crash yesterday and it remains to be seen whether this will slow them down or not. Krivtsov should do most of the work for this team. Through the first check they post a very strong 9’31”, the third team to do so.
And at the end of the course they have a time of 20’19”. Given Van Niekerk’s lack of ambitions in the GC, this probably won’t be a huge setback for them and still sits them mid-table.
Looking for a good time today and hoping to defend the chances of Mardones is Ekspla-Maxima. The team looks quite well equipped for this challenge, but Mardones will probably prove the weakest link in the team. Indeed, they are one of the slowest teams through the first check with a time of only 9’37”.
However, the team recovers remarkably well and comes through in 20’15”, only 11” down on Dyson’s best time today. Mardones will be exceptionally happy with that ride.
Samsung have come to this race with a fairly good team in the climbs, but because of that they are really lacking in time trialists, though even their climbers aren’t too bad against the clock. Their starting time reflects their lack of strength and they go through in 9’35”.
But they pull out a huge effort in the second half and recover for a time of 20’14”. That is under 10” difference to most of the major GC threats, which is great news for López Fonseca.
Pivovarna Lasko is next up and they have a couple of strong time trialists with them in Strgar and Podgornik. They will mostly be wanting to limit the losses of Chacon, however, who certainly stands a chance of a good GC place. And the crowd roars as they go through the first check in 9’25”, only 2” slower than UPC’s best time and 9” faster than Dyson managed. Could this be a huge upset here?
No! Pivovarna clearly used far too much energy early in the course and they come through in a rather poor time of 20’35”, which is one of the worst times out on course. That is not what Chacon wants to hear.
Our final team out are Adecco, with Van Dulmen leading them through this time trial. Their ambitions in the overall are non existent and more than anything they probably just want today to be over so they can start to enter some breaks for a shot at a stage win. Their time through the first check in a fairly solid 9’31”.
And at the end of the course they get a time of 20’53”, amongst the worst, probably due to Bandiera and Herve.
That means that Dyson take the stage victory by the slimmest of margins! In the overall standings Pablo Urtasun pulls on the leader’s jersey. His strong sprint on the first stage really has paid off here. Alexandre Pichot remains in the points jersey and wil hope to defend that on the fifth stage. Logan Hutchings remains in the mountain jersey. Dyson will have to console themselves for missing out on the overall lead by taking the lead in the team classification, having 2nd-5th place in the GC and Daniel Eliad in the young rider jersey.
