Favourites:

Gatto	Goss	Hoffman
Ciolek		Bar

Some different names are in the list of favourites today as this is the hilliest stage in the whole race, however, the sprinters should cope well with the terrain. Although the final few meters to the finish are uphill at around 7%.


Plenty of action early on.

Barclay, 7th @ '14, tried to get into the break of the day, he was a bit too high up in GC to be allowed to get away.



A four man break did get away:

Ghafari, 10th in GC, does really well to sneak into the break of the day. With bonifications he could rise still more yet.



Results from intermediate sprints:

Redecker and Ghafari each take '8 seconds of bonuses. Meaning the Namibian moves, provisionally, into the white jersey and the Iranian moves to within '12 of the GC lead.



Oz Cycling Project driving along the peloton with 15 KM to go. The break are proving really difficult to bring back today, with 6 KM to go they still have '50 ahead of the peloton.


The break can still make it: with 3 KM to go the break have '30.

Iglinskiy leads the break towards the final, at this point the break look like they may hold off the sprinters and contest the win.



Meiji - Cannondale have to launch their final effort very early if they are to catch the break. With well over 500 meters to go:

	Napolitano
	Lo Cicero
	Vantomme
	Greipel
	Ciolek
	Lavoine
Goss
	Vanderbiest
	Van Poppel

The break still lead, which is great news especially for Ghafari. However, Iglinskiy has been left to do all the riding and he doesn't want to drag the three passengers to the line. The break slow up.


300 meters to go.

The break begin to play cat and mouse at the wrong time and are caught, they threw that one away. Greipel looks to catch everyone off guard by launching his final sprint a bit early.



Greipel, did go too early, he is caught and passed by Ciolek and Vanderbiest with Van Poppel, for the first time here, coming up fast.



Van Poppel comes level with Ciolek and Vanderbiest. These three will decide the stage today with little over 100 meters left. Whoever, has most left for the 7% hill, traversing the last few meters, will take the stage.



Vanderbiest edges into the lead.



Stage win Vanderbiest! After multiple podium finishes the Frenchman finally takes a stage win here. Van Poppel edges out Ciolek for second place on the stage.

Vanderbiest will move back into the race lead ahead of Ciolek by '8 seconds and Lo Cicero by '12 seconds ahead of the final stage.



Cavendish, 4th finished very quickly and almost caught the leading trio. Goss and Hoffman round out the top 6 with a ways back to the rest.

In the final the lead group split into a group of 69 riders, Barclay was the only rider up there in the GC to miss out.

- SB Park is the first rider to abandon.

With just one stage to go it looks like only four riders are in contention for the GC win.