Of the early riders out on course it was Ngandamba who was looking good. In the end he would finish the race in 20th, at 56'33, ahead of the likes of Goldstein, Bret and the best that Podium Ambition could put up on the day.
Not today.
Generali - AXA would not take back to back wins here with their best finisher down in 25th. The consolation: they were looking stylish!
A Namibian to take the win!?
Then comes a time, a real shocker, which could form one of the big upsets of the season. It comes from, none other than, Petrus! After flying through the first split in a time of 15'19 he would finish with a time of 55'39 to go provisionally first. A solid time as he put a good '30 into Sebright.
Next to feature was, former winner, Stannard! He would be really close to the Namibian at the first split: just four seconds separated them - in favour of the Brit who posted a time of 15'15.
And Stannard would go on to set the fastest time - his time of 55'19 being '20 faster than Petrus'.
With the competition, the likes of Steensen (above), who would finish 10th on the day, coming and going the win was looking ever more likely for Stannard the closer we got to the finish.
Bonnet goes through the first split with a time of 15'16! However, the Frenchman would suffer on the latter half of the course and would come home in 55'47: 6th on the stage.
Ma and Navardauskas, potential winners, would come home in 8th and 9th after solid rides, meaning Stannard and Petrus still occupy places 1 and 2 with only a handful of riders to finish.
Cruz! Cruz! Cruz! The American puts in an astonishing 1st split and we are on for a real shocker. He posted a time of 15'01 which was '14 faster than Stannard's split.
Flens also goes through the 1st split with a time of 15'09: looking good for those setting off late.
An iffy ride was what we got from Tennant: he never troubled those at the very top today. He would come home, well down for him, in 7th.
Whereas the Dutch champ would end the day in 5th with a time of 55'44, behind his teammate ... Cruz would come home topping Stannard's time. Just '5 faster than the Brit he takes the lead with a time of 55'13.
Yatsevich: the last off the ramp and the only one who can stop a surprise Cruz win. With his team's form you wouldn't be surprised with another no-show from the Russian.
At the first split ..... he is tied exactly with Cruz at 15'01. It was going to be a really close finish ......
..... and Yatsevich takes the win! Nowadays it is a rarity for the favourite to take the win in a TT but that is what we just saw in Namibia. His time of 55'11 is good enough for the win. A big over-performance from Aeropostal Venezuela Ciclismo sees them take second with Stannard rounding out the podium.
Two Fox Sports - BikeNZ Cycling riders finish out the top 5, the former showing how the blood is up when racing at home!
