Hello and welcome to Slovakia for the mountainous Tatranska Klasika. A climber's dream and a sprinter's hell, for some today it will be a war of attrition and a day where they will be just begging for the pain to end.



Before the real action has even kicked off at the front, the steep climbs are claiming their first victims. A group of 10 are quickly out of the back, and will not be making the timelimit today.



It took until over the first climb to form the day's break away. 4 riders made up the lead group on the road, which managed to open up a 4'21" gap over the next 2 laps.

Present in the break, we had:

Schurter
Jones
Timmer
Adamou



Back in the main group, it was the war of attrition that we expected on the start line. After 2 ascents of the steep climb, we had just 89 riders left in the main group with a lot of third tier riders dropping out of the back very quickly in the race.



CRASH! It is missed by the camera, but there is a large fall in the main group. Some big names are part of it, and will their chances at the end be affected:

Ardila Cano
Denz
Hacecký
Pozzo
Garby
Mygind
Ebsen
Partridge
Jim
Hasnaoui
Blazquez

All riders are back on their bikes, with what appears to be just a severe case of road rash rather a serious injury.



Thanks to the riders from Kraftwerk, the group is back in the main pack before the next lap and at the start of the main climb. Big shout out to Gerdemann and Ikibe who quickly dropped back in the aid of their team leader.



CRASH! Another lap and another fall in the pack. The rain has subsided but the roads are still slippery under rubber. Hitting the deck this time, we have:

Valencia
Jumabekov
Kasa
Pozzo
Popkov
Norris

All but the Hankook are back up on their bikes, but will struggle to rejoin the group. Pozzo on the other hand is out of the race, and heads off to the team car.



Acsent number 5 and we see our first lot of favourites struggling in the main group. Kung and Pedrero lose contact on the steepest part of the climb, and it is the last time they will see this group again.



It was almost like everyone was hanging on not wanting to be the first ones to crack! As soon as Kung is dropped, Lundberg is out the back as well. One less domestique for Garby, who was looking rough after his earlier crash.



Two laps left, and only Timmer and Schurter remained off the front. Adamou and Jones had both been brought back by the main group (quickly being shot out the back in the process), as the gap was down to under a minute. Not one for the break this year!



Next out the back are the one of the crash victims of the day - Jim. He loses touch with Juodvalkis for the company.



Before the stage, we talked of a possible in-team battle for leadership at Xero. The talking was done on the road in the end as Hirschlein is dropped, along with Rodriguez Galindo and Karagobek



Lewis was the one setting the pace at the front of the pack, and it began to form cracks. Two group of favourites had formed reaching the top of the climb, with an air of panic setting in with the riders caught behind.

Group 1	Group 2
Lewis	Mat Senan
Salinas	Hacecky
Sella	Battaglin
Rienda Segura	Garby
Krasnaperov	Baz
Pomoshnikov	Krizek
Di Gregorio	Dahlberg
Antón	Nakane
	Öste-Macdonald
	Moreno

The 18 riders would come back together on the descent, swallowing up the reamining break in the process, but as the final acsent began, so did the attacks. Anton was first to go off the front, gaining around 10" before he was pulled back.



Next was Krasnaperov, and this had a lot more intent. The gap opened quickly, as Lewis was unable to control the pace like he had done. With others not wanting to take up the pace, the Ukrainian was quickly disappearing up the road.



Sella responded from the group, but it was far too late! There was already a 40" gap, and not enough climbing to pull this back.

Amongst the lapped riders, Salinas, Hacecky, Di Gregorio, Anton and Lewis were giving chase. Krizek and Riendas Segura behind them, followed by Dahlberg, Battaglin and Baz all riding on their own.

Garby was long gone, unable to follow any acceleration and certainly now feeling the effects of the earlier crash.





10km of descent was all that seperated Krasnaperov and victory. Sella was giving chase, but he would need to Spark rider to have a serious mechanical or even crash for him to get back into the race.



VICTORY KRASNAPEROV! He has plenty of time to take the plaudits at the finish and savour this victory. He made the move at the right time, after staying quiet andout of trouble all stage, and it is a much needed boost for the Spark Project team.



Sella comes home a good second place, but was no match for the Ukrainian climber today.



The final podium place is taken by Di Gregorio, who outsprints Salinas and Hacecky after the Xero rider pretty much lead them down the descent.



6th place goes to Krizek, ahead of Lewis, Rienda Segura and Anton, who all finish in a group over 4 minutes down on the winner. Dahlberg rounds out the Top 10 for Carlsberg.

Just 54 riders finish the race, with many riders finishing a long time after the timelimit.

Stage Result

1	Mikayil Krasnoperov	The Spark Project p/b Bollé	6h03'50
2	Emanuele Sella	Elta - Hellenic Post	+ 59
3	Rémy Di Gregorio	The Spark Project p/b Bollé	+ 3'27
4	Jonathan Salinas	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
5	Martin Hacecký	Kraftwerk Man Machine	s.t.
6	Matthias Krizek	Ferrero - Samruk	+ 4'05
7	Shaun Lewis	Eddie Stobart	s.t.
8	Juan Carlos Rienda Segura	Elta - Hellenic Post	s.t.
9	Igor Antón	Isostar - Adriatic	s.t.
10	Anders Ekh Dahlberg	KAYAK-Clas Ohlson	+ 4'48
11	Enrico Battaglin	Hankook - Ping An Bank	+ 5'09
12	Nabil Baz	La Poste p/b Mavic	s.t.
13	Sergei Pomoshnikov	MOL - OMW Petrom	+ 6'46
14	Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan	Sauber Petronas Racing	s.t.
15	Albert Timmer	Isostar - Adriatic	+ 9'24
16	Marc Christian Garby	Carlsberg - Danske Bank	s.t.
17	Nino Schurter	Sauber Petronas Racing	s.t.
18	Javier Moreno	World Cycling Centre	+ 10'27
19	Hideto Nakane	Hankook - Ping An Bank	s.t.
20	Michael Rodriguez Galindo	World Cycling Centre	+ 13'30
21	Muhammet Eyüp Karagobek	World Cycling Centre	s.t.
22	Andreas Landa	Carlsberg - Danske Bank	s.t.
23	Gennadiy Tatarinov	Kraftwerk Man Machine	s.t.
24	Max Öste-Macdonald	Carlsberg - Danske Bank	s.t.
25	Ole Hirschlein	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
26	Alex Ardila Cano	World Cycling Centre	s.t.
27	Sota Ikibe	Kraftwerk Man Machine	+ 14'32
28	Songezo Jim	KAYAK-Clas Ohlson	s.t.
29	Carter Jones	KAYAK-Clas Ohlson	+ 16'11
30	Antonio Pedrero	The Spark Project p/b Bollé	+ 16'35
31	Stefan Kung	Sauber Petronas Racing	+ 17'20
32	Egidijus Juodvalkis	Isostar - Adriatic	+ 17'43
33	Nazar Jumabekov	Ferrero - Samruk	s.t.
34	Ludvig Lundberg	Carlsberg - Danske Bank	s.t.
35	Vassilis Adamou	Elta - Hellenic Post	+ 18'18
36	Hichem Chaabane	La Poste p/b Mavic	+ 19'52
37	Linus Gerdemann	Kraftwerk Man Machine	+ 21'15
38	Phillip Gaimon	KAYAK-Clas Ohlson	+ 22'46
39	Gasore Hategeka	MOL - OMW Petrom	+ 25'05
40	Maher Hasnaoui	La Poste p/b Mavic	s.t.
41	Valerio Agnoli	Eddie Stobart	s.t.
42	Matthew Lloyd	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
43	John Kronborg Ebsen	Carlsberg - Danske Bank	s.t.
44	Petros Gkazonis	Elta - Hellenic Post	s.t.
45	Martin Schoffmann	Carlsberg - Danske Bank	+ 25'52
46	Matvey Mamykin	MOL - OMW Petrom	s.t.
47	Geremie Nzeke	Xero Racing p/b Octagon	s.t.
48	Hyeong Min Choe	Hankook - Ping An Bank	+ 28'48
49	Giacomo Scarponi	Sauber Petronas Racing	s.t.
50	Jose Vicente Toribio	Ferrero - Samruk	s.t.
51	Luca Forcellini	Sauber Petronas Racing	s.t.
52	Alexander Foliforov	Elta - Hellenic Post	+ 30'45
53	Ole Haavardsholm	KAYAK-Clas Ohlson	s.t.
54	Oleg Berdos	Vivacom - DataMap	s.t.