A predictable race until we reach the final 22 KM. The break lead by 1'10, as
Dall'Antonia attacks out of the bunch.
BelarusBank Pro Cycling lead the chase from the shadows.
Dall'Antonia is quickly brought back.
Meanwhile, we have some bad luck for
Oz Cycling Project.
Sulzberger would fall with 15 KM to go, bad luck there. He would not make it back to the peloton and lose his GC placing.
5 KM to go.
Back to back
Boeing-Bulgaria Bicycling wins? Deep into the stage the break are still to be caught,
Sparling attacks the rest. It is touch and go whether the remainder of the break and the peloton can catch him.
1 KM to go.
Sparling still leads but
Sosnitskiy is coming back at him. However, the marauding peloton now look likely to catch the break.
(Left)
Meiji - Cannondale, (centre)
BelarusBank Pro Cycling and (right)
Quickstep are the three teams with sprint trains on this last stage.
Ciolek, points jersey, has gone for the wheel of
Lavoine today. Can
Project: Africa get a good result with both
Lay and
Maksimov up there?
Sparling is caught so close to the finish. The sprint will decide the final stage.
Napolitano and
Cavendish are in the best positions to contest this one. With no lead-out
Ciolek looks well out if it.
Napolitano storms into the lead. However, it is a tighter battle for the minor podium places.
Napolitano wins the final stage of the Tour du Faso with a convincing win over
Cavendish and
Vantomme (who finally makes a podium here).
Goss and
Van Hummel round out the top 5.
With
Ciolek disappointing in 9
th,
Napolitano will finish 3
rd in the GC and take the points jersey.
Lindeman wins the Tour du Faso, a result which likely means they will avoid automatic relegation.
Vangenechten's second place in GC may well mean
Gazelle will win the African Standings.
Despite that last stage mishap
Oz Cycling Project still finish with four riders in the top 10 with sprinters
Vanderbiest and
Cavendish finishing 9
th and 10
th.
