Today is the final stage of the 2013 Glava Tour. After yesterday’s battle of the puncheurs the sprinters get one last shot at a stage win. The route itself is not completely flat, because there are five short repetitions of the same hill on the finishing circuit before the riders cross the finish line which could prove troublesome for the non-climbing sprinters. The stronger riders may have a chance.
Still, the pre-stage favorites are pure flat men. Guillen, Sutton and Lay are the names being mentioned the most it seems.
Race leader Ciocan could also have a shot though as he can climb better than most sprinters, which he showed yesterday. His main priority though will be making sure he retains the race lead.
It’s a beautiful sunny day in Norway as we pull out of the start in Gjovik. About 10 kilometers into the stage, Gingsjo tries to initiate a breakaway. Vattenfall’s hilly leader has had a bad tour so far and is maybe looking to salvage something? Lampaert and Dombrowski join him on the offensive.
Siskevicus and Rake then join the trio of riders off the front. The peloton offers no resistance and the group of five pull away. They will form the breakaway.
Siskevicus is the closest rider to Ciocan in the overall, but isn’t really a threat at 4’34. Lampaert however is a threat to the Mountains jersey, after collecting 6 points during stage one. If he can pick up five points today on the two Cat-4 climbs, he can overtake leader Veilleux.
As we approach the first of two King of the Mountain sprints, that gap has swelled to 5’34. Gingsjo takes it ahead of Siskevicus and Rake. Lampaert can only manage fifth which gets him no points. He will have to win the final sprint to win the polka-dots.
With 100 kilometers to go the gap has increased further to 7’45. Mobil, BNCR and Credexbank are all lending a hand at the front of the peloton but have no put the pace up yet. Nothing to worry about as the gap is not out of control.
25 kilometers later, the quintet off the front reaches the second and final Mountain sprint. Rake takes maximum points, with Dombrowski second and Gingsjo. That means that Veilleux secures the polka-dot jersey as he is the only rider that reached 10 points.
The gap has dropped drastically though to four minutes as Mobil have increased the pace. The attackers probably won’t be able to last until the finish if it keeps going down like this.
Very soon after, the first of two intermediate sprints is reached. The gap is still around four minutes as Lampaert rides through to win the points. Rake manages to get second ahead of Gingsjo.
There are 50 kilometers left to the line and we are on the finishing circuit. The peloton is only 3’10 behind the break, so it is most likely that there will be a mass sprint with BNCR, Mobil and Credexbank all cooperating well for their respective sprinters.
And at the second and final sprint, that gap has dropped to 1’50. Once again the riders are uninterested and prefer to concentrate on keeping the peloton at bay in the 23 kilometers left. Siskevicus happens to ride through first ahead of Gingsjo and Rake.
Back at the front though, riders being dropped is the least of the peloton’s worries. Firstly they need to catch the break, a task that is made harder when Mugleri attacks! He will have to try to bridge up to the break, which is a further minute up the road.
If he can make this move stick, the Gazelle man could be in business as he is one of the riders 20 seconds back on the GC.
He doesn’t get very far though and is caught after a couple of kilometers off the front. With 12 to go, Iberia has control of the bunch, probably for their fast man Lay, and can see the break which has a 50 second gap.
With only one circuit left including a climb, this will surely be an interesting tactical battle.
On the final hill Sánchez Gonzalez puts in a big effort on the front, which closes the gap to 30 seconds. The Iberia train is in full flow, although Lay is not on the back. He is further back in the peloton saving energy most likely.
But over the top of the climb the Spanish squad eases off the pace because Lay is struggling to move forward. The break capitalizes and pulls away once again to a 40 second gap.
Talabardon senses a chance and goes on the attack, followed by lots of opportunistic riders. The names are Ngue, Ronimois, Nardin, Didier, Veilleux, Eibegger and no other than race leader Ciocan are the names who are looking to get a gap!
They pass Lampaerts while attacking, as the Allianz attacker seems to be out of steam.
They catch the break, forming a 12-man group off the front of the peloton, which is in disarray. A large chunk of riders has come off the back of the peloton including Lay, so Iberia won’t work. This could be the winning move. The gap is at 44 seconds!
Kappa manages to organize a chase behind, but they look to be too late. Talabardon starts the sprint, with Ciocan positioned perfectly behind the Frenchman. Could the yellow jersey win the race in style?
With 1500m to the line, Ciocan goes! Nardin is just in front after going early while Siskevicus is doing well after his breakaway efforts. It looks like the winner will come from this group.
Into the final few meters and Ciocan has moved into the lead. Ngue is coming fast though, like yesterday. Can he get his win this time?
It seems not!
Ciocan takes the final stage and the GC. What a performance form him, blowing away the opposition with brilliant tactics!
Ngue gets second like yesterday which catapults him into second overall. A good finish from the Cameroonian rider.
Eibegger gets third after a good finishing kick, while Nardin and Didier both get a top 5.
Veilleux is another top 10 finisher for WWE, which also maintains his high GC placing where he finishes fourth overall. Siskevicus, Ronimois, Talabardon and Gingsjo round out the top 10 in that order.
Rake comes in just before Mora who wins the peloton sprint to get 12th, rounding out a great day and tour for Mobil. Their tactics worked a treat, and are rewarded with the Stage, Points jersey and the GC.
The peloton get given the same time as the front eleven thanks to the judges, so Ciocan only gets bonus seconds. It doesn’t matter though for him anyway. The only thing that really would have been different was Scarponi’s GC. Thanks to his win yesterday, he gets third overall.
Eibegger also gets a top 5 Overall and Astarloza is another high finisher for WWE, along with Veilleux, in sixth. A good race for the American team.
