Welcome to stage four of the 2013 Geelong Tour, a 19 kilometer ITT which, as there were not huge gaps on the hilly stage, should decide the General Classification. The stage favourites are the Oz duo Ford and Olman, along with Flens, who is the favourite to move into yellow tonight. Westra and Goddaert should be his main rivals for that honour.
The first major contender to roll out of the starting house is Ford, who is the favourite to take victory today. We'll see what sort of time he can set.
He dominates the standings at the intermediate checkpoint, and continues that domination to past a time of 24'13, which should be very hard to beat as the day moves on.
The next rider of note to set off is another Oz rider, the King of the Mountains leader Olman. It is very close at the time check, with him trailing by just 1", and he eventually finishes just 2" behind!
Li then sets a time, and although he isn’t up to the standard of his two big teammates, he sets a good time coming in in provisional third 1'03" down with a time of 25’16”.
Finally we reach the men in the group that could trouble the GC. First a minor contender, Howson, who is a rider who is capable of a top 10 overall if he rides well today. He does, setting a time that puts him into provisional fourth, 1'06" behind the lead.
Flens then sets off, the favourite to take the overall. To do so, he'll have to beat the GC leader Shaekhov by 33" as well as fend off any other challenges. At the halfway point he is 9" behind Ford.
As he is out on course, another GC contender in the form of Goddaert starts his timed effort. At the checkpoint he is 15" behind Flens and 24" behind the lead, moving the Dutchman into GC pole position.
Flens looks solid in the final few metres, stopping the clock on a time of 24'35", 22" off the lead. That’s a good effort from him, leaving him on the clubhouse podium in third.
Then to finish his ride is Goddaert. He can't close the gap to Flens, eventually falling 23" back on him. He has to settle for provisional fourth, stopping the clock on 24'58", 45" behind Ford, whose time is looking more unbeatable as every rider fails to beat it.
Olsson is another who could make a move on the GC, but won't be able to challenge the big guns. Still, he rides a good time trial setting good times at both checks, finishing 1'17" behind the lead, putting him into provisional eleventh.
With 20 riders to go, that leaves the standings as follows:
Timecheck
1
Ford
Oz Cycling Project
13'25"
2
Olman
Oz Cycling Project
1"
3
Flens
Die Berg Komt Er
9"
4
Goddaert
Team Gazelle
24"
5
Howson
Risa - Ergon Cycling Team
34"
Finish
1
Ford
Oz Cycling Project
24'13"
2
Olman
Oz Cycling Project
2"
3
Flens
Die Berg Komt Er
22"
4
Goddaert
Team Gazelle
45"
5
Li
Oz Cycling Project
1'03"
Eskpla’s best hope here is probably New Zealander Hutchings who lies in fifteenth overall going into the TT. He is a bit off the pace at the check but recovers to move into sixth for the moment. His time of 25'17" is 1'04" off the pace, which puts him quite high in the provisional overall, in third.
Horgan should be on roundabout the same level as Hutchings, with his TT ability well known. That proves to be the case, putting in a time of 25'18", 1'05" behind Ford which puts him in seventh for the moment and fourth overall provisionally.
Moving into the top ten, the last of today's big favourites is out on course. Westra is the last rider 33" behind on the overall, setting off eighth last. He needs to beat Flens' time to move into first overall for the moment, and takes a big step towards achieving that as at the timecheck he is 1" ahead of the Dutchman, 8" behind the lead.
Then, more riders high in the GC start their efforts. Siskevicus, Giacoppo, Cioban and Dapuntsang all will be hoping to keep their good positions today.
Then, third overall Jumabekov sets off. It will be interesting to see whether he can hold onto a good position in the overall standings.
Green Jersey Renshaw is in the same position, with a 32" buffer over the main field as he starts off.
Overall leader Shaekhov is the final rider out of the starting house. He should stand a fair chance of staying in the top five overall, though retaining his lead could prove a step too far.
If he can't though, Yellow will stay with Gazelle as although Westra loses to Flens by less than a second, he will take the GC lead on countback! His final time is 24'35", the same as the Die Berg rider.
The rider fought well through the final five kilometers and will most probably be rewarded with the race lead.
Siskevicus then sets an ordinary time, moving us onto Giacoppo, who took second place yesterday. Not a slouch on the TT bike, his finishing time is 25'39", 1'26" behind Ford, who still leads the standings. That should leave him sitting comfortably in the top ten GC at the end of the day.
Like his teammate Cioban rides poorly before Daspuntsag, in fourth overall, comes into the finishing straight. He isn't a good rouleur, but manages to ride an Ok TT, stopping the clock on 26'00", which will at least keep him in the top fifteen in the GC.
Jumabekov then finishes his effort. The Kazakh can't keep his good position as he sets a poor time of 26'36", moving him well out of GC contention.
Renshaw is the second-last rider to finish. To his credit, he battles despite not being the best at TT's. He finishes just 1'57" down on the lead in a time of 26'10". That may seem far back, but keep in mind his buffer, which will puts him in eleventh overall with one more rider left to finish.
Finally, Shaekhov finishes his TT. To keep his yellow jersey he needs to finish in a time 25'08", but at the check this looks unlikely.
The inevitable is confirmed as he crosses the line in a time of 25'31", which will at least keep him in third overall. He hands his leaders jersey over to teammate Westra.
However, we mustn't forget who won today. Ford went off very early, but rode very strongly to take the stage!
Here are the final results at the intermediate timecheck:
