We've reached the end of this long race, so it's time to wrap things up. The day shouldn't provide even the slighest problems for anyone, as it's as flat as it gets from start to finish.
With all the top sprinters gone, this is a superb opportunity for the leadout men and some second tier sprinters to net a big win. Jang is probably the quickest one left in the race, but he will be closely challenged by the likes of Gomenyuk and Ghafari, among many others.
As usual, no attacks early as the remaining 49 riders slowly roll out the start. Not even Magna feel like setting the pace, as they clearly aren't too worried about losing the jersey today.
A move is finally made by Giacomo Scarponi, 36 km into the race. He tried on another occasion on one of the flat stages, but wasn't allowed any room. Remains to be seen if that changes today.
It quickly becomes obvious that it's the case this time, as his gap swells to over nine minutes in the kilometers leading up to the intermediate sprint.
Jang takes second place with a late jump out of the peloton, for some strange reason. Doesn't make much sense, given that he is far from the top of the points classification.
As he drops back into the group, the pace drops even further. The peloton almost travels in one line across the road, which allows Scarponi to build on his advantage to a massive 15 minutes!
JK Cycling, Privatbank and even Sauber begin the hunt soon afterwards, as we reach the last 100 km of this entire race. The gap thus quickly goes down to 13 minutes.
In combination with the first serious wind we've seen all race, this becomes very difficult for some tired riders and several start falling out the back.
Diaz Lemus Davila Vakoc Ahmed, Stoenchev
The speed culminates as the main field reaches the second intermediate sprint. Once again Jang takes second place with ease, now just 5'30 behind the lone leader.
Apparently, that was all JK Cycling were looking for. The foot is lifted from the gas pedal as we leave the sprint behind, and Scarponi starts to increase his advantage again. It goes back over 8 minutes again with 65 km to run.
It just continues to grow over the next few kilometers, and Scarponi actually laps the peloton as we reach the finish circuit!
Gap up to almost 10 minutes in other words.
Not enough of a wake-up call for the peloton, so Scarponi just goes straight by them while adding more minutes to his lead!
With 30 km to race, a second catch starts to look within reach! With 16'30 to play with, there's no reason to worry for him anymore.
Catch number two is made just 5 km later. The field still hasn't even bothered to increase the pace slightly. They're lucky to have Scarponi over an hour down on GC!
Soon just a lap to go for the impressive solo leader, whose lead now exceeds 25 minutes...
Scarponi spends the entire lap celebrating and high-fiving the fans, only to top it off by stepping off his bike to do a couple of push-ups on the home straight.
Then he jumps back up and raises his arms in the air to complete an almost too easy, yet still impressive, stage win. He can even see the peloton for a third time as he reaches the line!
The perfect way to finish a great race for Sauber!
A 30-minute jump back the road takes us to a still slow peloton, where Magna are keeping the yellow jersey at the front as we start to close in on the final lap.
The slow pace was bound to cause problems at some point, and it happens just before they reach the finish for the penultimate time.
A group of riders tangle into each other near the back end of the group, and the crash is inevitable. Among the victims are the white jersey of Alizadeh, an incredibly unlucky Rodas and another second-time faller: Parra Bustamante!
All three, and in particular Alizadeh, are very quick to step back up on the bike to defend their GC positions. Surprisingly no team mates drop down to help them!
And to make it even worse: Di Luca starts to push the pace up in the peloton to set up his team mate Jang!
Di Luca hands over the work to his team's quicker guys with 3 km remaining, with the other pre-stage favourites positioned nearby as well.
Masuda
Itami
Jang
Ghafari
Gomenyuk
Kastrantas
Gomenyuk falls off Jang's wheel as Itami launches the sprint for him with 1,6 km left. Kastrantas is meanwhile trying to move up Anuar Aziz.
Jang waits and waits behind Itami, perhaps a little too long - as Gomenyuk and Mihaylov jumps up alongside inside the final kilometer. Ghafari and Jiriakov also starts to move their way up.
No doubt about who has the best speed, as Gomenyuk swiftly jumps up ahead. Jang is now forced to respond by himself.
He has left it too late, and Gomenyuk takes second place with a good margin. The management over at Privatbank will probably put their heads through the wall while trying to understand why the team didn't chase Scarponi today. Second place is still excellent, though.
Jang, Ghafari and surprisingly Stoenchev complete today's top 5 in the distant. None of them were even close to Gomenyuk and Jang's speed.
The crash victims never made contact with the peloton again and finishes 1'52 back. Alizadeh thus defends his 6th place in the GC from Landa. Rodas and Parra Bustamante are less fortunate though, and both drop down a spot.
Even worse for Balinski, who can't continue after the crash. Talk about bad luck, after almost making it through the whole race.
Stage result
1
Giacomo Scarponi
Sauber Petronas Racing
5h05'51
2
Volodymyr Gomenyuk
Team Privatbank
+ 29'25
3
Chan Jae Jang
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
4
Vahid Ghafari
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
5
Valentin Stoenchev
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
s.t.
6
Ahmed Ahmed
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
s.t.
7
Mohamed Shawal Anuar Aziz
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
8
Dimitri Jiriakov
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
9
Yasmani Martinez
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
10
Mykhaylo Kononenko
Team Privatbank
s.t.
11
Tarik Chaoufi
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
12
Alexey Lutsenko
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
13
Kenji Itami
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
14
Zico Waeytens
Magna-Ryanair
s.t.
15
Thomas Rohregger
Magna-Ryanair
s.t.
16
Nariyuki Masuda
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
17
Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
18
Nikolay Mihaylov
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
s.t.
19
Yoann Paillot
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
20
Dadi Suryadi
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
21
Evgeny Bakhin
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
22
Petr Vakoc
Magna-Ryanair
s.t.
23
Chun Kai Feng
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
24
Stefan Ihlenfeldt
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
25
Charalampas Kastrantas
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
26
Zakayo Ndbri
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
27
Volodymyr Dzhus
Team Privatbank
s.t.
28
Francisco Colorado
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
s.t.
29
Carl Naibo
Magna-Ryanair
s.t.
30
Iker Camaño
Kenya Airways - Barclays
s.t.
31
Ying Hon Yeung
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
32
Ricardo Mestre
Team Privatbank
s.t.
33
Johannes Christofel Nel
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
34
Andreas Landa
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
35
Cayetano Sarmiento
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
36
Daniel Hoelgaard
Team Privatbank
s.t.
37
Amir Mustafa Rusli
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
38
Stefan Kung
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
39
Danilo Di Luca
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
s.t.
40
Craig Lewis
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
41
Luis Enrique Lemus Davila
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
42
Daniel Ricardo Diaz
Evian-MIAT
s.t.
43
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
+ 31'17
44
Hossein Alizadeh
Sauber Petronas Racing
s.t.
45
Julián Rodas
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
s.t.
46
Dor Dviri
PFG-Armavia
s.t.
47
Edwin Parra Bustamante
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
s.t.
48
Alexander Schrangl
Magna-Ryanair
s.t.
DNF
Pavlin Balinski
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
Rohregger crosses the line in 15th place, with his arms up over his head. After the destruction on stage 9 and the incredible time trial, he is a very well deserved overall winner. Martinez put up a good fight but couldn't quite match up in the long run. Third man Jiriakov is probably over the moon with this result, which bodes well for Sauber's future races.
Mestre takes fourth over Colorado, thanks to a lower number of stage finish positions. No changes at all in the top 10 today, as expected.
General Classification
1
Thomas Rohregger
Magna-Ryanair
51h04'03
2
Yasmani Martinez
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 45
3
Dimitri Jiriakov
Sauber Petronas Racing
+ 4'01
4
Ricardo Mestre
Team Privatbank
+ 6'01
5
Francisco Colorado
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
s.t.
6
Hossein Alizadeh
Sauber Petronas Racing
+ 7'55
7
Andreas Landa
Evian-MIAT
+ 9'41
8
Mykhaylo Kononenko
Team Privatbank
+ 10'16
9
Zakayo Ndbri
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 11'39
10
Nariyuki Masuda
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
+ 12'21
11
Stefan Ihlenfeldt
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 13'31
12
Julián Rodas
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 14'26
13
Dadi Suryadi
PFG-Armavia
+ 14'34
14
Carl Naibo
Magna-Ryanair
+ 14'41
15
Amir Mustafa Rusli
Sauber Petronas Racing
+ 16'09
16
Iker Camaño
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 18'10
17
Ying Hon Yeung
PFG-Armavia
+ 19'48
18
Alexander Schrangl
Magna-Ryanair
+ 20'32
19
Cayetano Sarmiento
Evian-MIAT
+ 21'21
20
Danilo Di Luca
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
+ 23'07
21
Edwin Parra Bustamante
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
+ 24'17
22
Chun Kai Feng
PFG-Armavia
+ 30'42
23
Alexey Lutsenko
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 31'32
24
Evgeny Bakhin
PFG-Armavia
+ 38'18
25
Craig Lewis
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 38'27
26
Vahid Ghafari
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 40'48
27
Giacomo Scarponi
Sauber Petronas Racing
+ 43'19
28
Charalampas Kastrantas
Evian-MIAT
+ 43'59
29
Mohamed Shawal Anuar Aziz
Evian-MIAT
+ 48'01
30
Zico Waeytens
Magna-Ryanair
+ 48'21
31
Stefan Kung
Sauber Petronas Racing
+ 48'38
32
Volodymyr Dzhus
Team Privatbank
+ 50'12
33
Daniel Ricardo Diaz
Evian-MIAT
+ 51'52
34
Yoann Paillot
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 52'09
35
Petr Vakoc
Magna-Ryanair
+ 53'24
36
Daniel Hoelgaard
Team Privatbank
+ 54'18
37
Tarik Chaoufi
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 55'04
38
Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay
PFG-Armavia
+ 58'24
39
Luis Enrique Lemus Davila
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 1h04'27
40
Johannes Christofel Nel
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 1h11'20
41
Nikolay Mihaylov
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
+ 1h13'52
42
Dor Dviri
PFG-Armavia
+ 1h16'13
43
Chan Jae Jang
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
+ 1h24'32
44
Valentin Stoenchev
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
+ 1h30'27
45
Volodymyr Gomenyuk
Team Privatbank
+ 1h33'50
46
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
+ 1h34'58
47
Kenji Itami
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
+ 1h41'14
48
Ahmed Ahmed
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
+ 2h05'45
A small consolation for Martinez in form of the points jersey, at least. The names on the podium are the same here, showing just how dominant those three have been. There's not even a slight doubt who wins tho.
1
Yasmani Martinez
Kenya Airways - Barclays
141
2
Thomas Rohregger
Magna-Ryanair
109
3
Dimitri Jiriakov
Sauber Petronas Racing
106
4
Mykhaylo Kononenko
Team Privatbank
92
5
Vahid Ghafari
Kenya Airways - Barclays
88
6
Alexey Lutsenko
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
86
7
Hossein Alizadeh
Sauber Petronas Racing
79
8
Dadi Suryadi
PFG-Armavia
69
9
Mohamed Shawal Anuar Aziz
Evian-MIAT
67
10
Andreas Landa
Evian-MIAT
57
11
Ricardo Mestre
Team Privatbank
56
12
Tarik Chaoufi
Kenya Airways - Barclays
55
13
Julián Rodas
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
52
14
Nariyuki Masuda
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
47
15
Danilo Di Luca
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
44
16
Giacomo Scarponi
Sauber Petronas Racing
39
17
Francisco Colorado
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
35
18
Chan Jae Jang
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
33
19
Nikolay Mihaylov
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
28
20
Edwin Parra Bustamante
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
25
The polkadots goes to Landa, who certainly proved himself worthy of this award on stage 9. Suryadi pushed him and Rodas close with his stage win in the end, but couldn't get enough to steal this from the Norwegian. Excellent race for Evian overall.
King of the Mountains
1
Andreas Landa
Evian-MIAT
86
2
Julián Rodas
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
76
3
Dadi Suryadi
PFG-Armavia
73
4
Yasmani Martinez
Kenya Airways - Barclays
62
5
Thomas Rohregger
Magna-Ryanair
56
6
Johannes Christofel Nel
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
42
7
Ricardo Mestre
Team Privatbank
40
8
Nariyuki Masuda
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
38
9
Zakayo Ndbri
Kenya Airways - Barclays
34
10
Hossein Alizadeh
Sauber Petronas Racing
31
11
Danilo Di Luca
Japanese - Korean Cycling Project
29
12
Yoann Paillot
Kenya Airways - Barclays
27
13
Alexander Schrangl
Magna-Ryanair
26
14
Chun Kai Feng
PFG-Armavia
25
15
Luis Enrique Lemus Davila
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
25
16
Iker Camaño
Kenya Airways - Barclays
22
17
Tarik Chaoufi
Kenya Airways - Barclays
22
18
Nikolay Mihaylov
Boeing-Vivacom ProCycling
20
19
Dimitri Jiriakov
Sauber Petronas Racing
18
20
Stefan Ihlenfeldt
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
18
Last jersey is the white one, which Alizadeh really had to fight for today. He was lucky to have such good buffer over Landa ahead of today, and wins the classification by almost two minutes.
U25
1
Hossein Alizadeh
Sauber Petronas Racing
51h11'58 (1)
2
Andreas Landa
Evian-MIAT
+ 1'46 (2)
3
Stefan Ihlenfeldt
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 5'36 (3)
4
Dadi Suryadi
PFG-Armavia
+ 6'39 (4)
5
Ying Hon Yeung
PFG-Armavia
+ 11'53 (5)
6
Chun Kai Feng
PFG-Armavia
+ 22'47 (6)
7
Alexey Lutsenko
MTN - World Bicycle Relief
+ 23'37 (7)
8
Evgeny Bakhin
PFG-Armavia
+ 30'23 (8)
9
Vahid Ghafari
Kenya Airways - Barclays
+ 32'53 (9)
10
Giacomo Scarponi
Sauber Petronas Racing
+ 35'24 (10)
Sauber also retains the team classification, in which they were completely superior to all others. A victory margin of 32 minutes for the smallest squad in the race - impressive!
