Welcome to the opening stage of the 2018 Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco - the Tour of the Basque Country. Today is a TTT in and around the small town of Orio, on the banks of the river Oria, and very close to the sea here, which could see some wind.
The three big names for this event are the top three from the Copenhagen - Malmo TTT event last month: Gazelle, Bennelong and UBS. Particularly the latter two with Bobridge and Trofimov have a lot to race for GC-wise here outside of the stage win, though there is still a GC contender at the Dutch outfit in Ginanni. Whether he can hold on is a different story - same goes for Ulissi at Generali, who are known for dropping potential GC contenders in favour of a stage win. The Italian team will be itching to put one over the PT teams and stake a claim for best TTT team in the world.
Kicking us off is Moser-Sygic in support of stage winner here last year, Sagan. Not a bad TTT squad but they've focused on the hill support here. They'll set a solid benchmark, but one that a few other teams will see as beatable. And at the first point, that benchmark is 18'02.
Popo4Ever, in support of Prevar, are the second team to start. Not a bad time from the Ukrainians at all, just 4 seconds behind Moser at the first point.
One of those teams who will aim to beat Moser is Philips - Continental, who have quite a few decent TT riders, including leader Costa, which is nice so they don't have to worry about dropping him. Alongside him is Navardauskas, who could put in a decent GC ride and is good in support of the Portuguese puncheur. a strong team here for the TTT and the hills, with many riders, such as the imposing Namibian Champ Petrus, doing both quite well. Not quite what we expected here at the first point though - 9 seconds behind Moser.
One team that will be going for the win here is Gazelle - however they will have trouble bringing leader Ginnani to the finish. Lucky the Dutchmen have two very capable leaders for this kind of stage race in Kangert and Bibby! They have a 3-second advantage on Moser as they take the lead at check 1.
Looking good in terms of jersey, equipment and TTT execution is Aker here, who bring a decent squad for the TTT in service of leader duo Vakoc and Beltran. The former should hang on to the finish in this stage, questions could be raised about the diminuitive Colombian's TTT skills though.
And slightly surprisingly, they cut inside 18 minutes and even outdo Gazelle at the first check!
I think Evonik are trying with this squad. Are they? It's hard to tell when they're trying at a TTT or when they're being deliberately bad. You'd think with Skujins here they'd give it a go. They've conceded nearly 50 seconds already on Aker.
A much nicer sight is the well-oiled machine of Bennelong-Mitchelton, who shave a single second off of Aker at this first checkpoint. Like Philips, they should be able to keep their leader to the line, but unlike Philips, they could also win this opening stage! A very good squad from the Aussies here, with some useful support for Bobridge in the hills but mostly a great platform for him in this TTT.
A lot of hilly depth here for the men in lime, and not a very good TTT squad. However their coaching, which saw them as a top team at PCT level last year in this event, seems to be as good here as ever as they slot into 6th at check one, 16 seconds behind Bennelong. Isostar's leader here is Matej Mohoric, who has a lot of support for the coming days but could struggle on GC due to the ITT event.
Meanwhile at the second check...
1.
Gazelle
30'05
2.
Moser-Sygic
+ 13
2.
Team Popo4Ever
+ 19
3.
Philips-Continental
+ 33
T-Mobile, here for Van Garderen, have brought quite a nice TTT squad to suppor the American (not bad against the clock himself) in his GC aspirations. They come in tied with Moser at the first chrono point, 8 seconds off the pace.
Meanwhile, Aker have missed out on the lead at checkpoint 2, as Gazelle seem to have put in a very strong ride in the middle third of this course!
Not the biggest race of the season for 6-man Podium Ambition, who are already over half a minute down at the first check. Yates will certainly hope to score in the hills to not make it a barren race for them.
Not a bad first check for Kraftwerk, 16 seconds down on Bennelong. Don't expect much mention of them through the rest of the race - some breakaways and minor scoring is all that's on their agenda. Though Schadlich will hope to be seen a lot in the ITT stage, now I think about it.
News in from the second check has Evonik a minute and a half down, and four teams have reached the finsh:
1.
Gazelle
35'13
2.
Moser-Sygic
+ 11
2.
Team Popo4Ever
+ 23
3.
Philips-Continental
+ 35
Novatek have brought 3 potential scorers here and not a lot of luxury suppport. Sergent and Ford will do their best to bring puncheur Klemme to the line not too disadvantaged today before waiting for the ITT on stage 5, whilst the German will look to ride a decent GC. They are the third team at 16 seconds at the first check after Isostar and Kraftwerk!
Not-so-great news for Aker-MOT here, as Beltran loses touch towards the end. However, they seem to have taken the lead over Gazelle by just half a second! The judges and timekeepers aren't confirming it yet, as they cool down and their soigneurs wait awkwardly by the hot seat tent.
Ties everywhere for Gazelle, as Bennelong look to have pipped them by under a second at the second check!
Another fine machine at work here in Generali - EDF. Powerful riders, yes, but also inch-perfect in their formation. I hate TTTs but they are very satisfyng to watch. And they're also very good - very very good! 7 seconds faster then Bennelong at checkpoint 1! This is a superb opening half from Generali, can they keep their lead to the line?
T-Mobile actually gaining time on everyone to the second check, and clock in just 6 seconds down!
EA Vesuvio, riding for Gastauer here, as well as bringing Kittel for this event and stage 5, haven't set a bad time at all, just 18 seconds down, but will concede some time on Gastauer's rivals.
Dude, what are you taking a picture of? They're gone!
Meiji, lead by Japanese Champion Kuboki, are next off. Not a good TTT team present, and they seem to mostly be filling RDs here. Maybe looking at a stage win for Kuboki on an easier day, and certainly some breakaways from the likes of Arashiro and Hatanaka. They do manage to beat PA and Evonik at the first chrono.
Confirmation now that Gazelle in fact hung on to their lead at the finish over Aker... not that it matters, as Bennelong take out 8 seconds over the Dutchmen in just a few kilometres to take the lead!
Euskaltel now come through the first check, a not-pretty 39 seconds down. The home fans (not that this is a very Basque team) will demand more over the next few days.
T-Mobile also coming into the finish now, 17 seconds behind Bennelong in fourth, beating out Moser by 3 seconds.
4km from home, Ulissi has rather predictably been dropped by Generali as they storm through the second check, increasing their lead. He'll lose a fair chunk of time, but his team look like they'll win this opening stage. Deja vu for them after this exact situation occurred last year.
At the happy end of proceedings, newly-promoted Reddit have put down a solid time at check 1, 13 seconds down in fifth, ahead of T-Mobile! The Zmorka-power is very real.
Not a lot of GC hopes for Desigual but they hoped to fight for the top 5 today and look like doing so, edging out Reddit to slot in 12 seconds behind Generali. Speaking of which, the Italians have continued their fantastic day, coming in 10 seconds ahead of Bennelong to take the hot-seat! No news on Ulissi's time yet.
Not sure why Netia are here outside of band rules, but, to their credit, they do have a lot of cool puncheurs here. Unfortunately, that doesn't lend itself to this event, as they concede half a minute by checkpoint 1.
Quite the shock here at the second checkpoint, as Desigual manage to come through ahead of Generali by 4 seconds! A 16-second swing, I don't believe it!
Grieg are looking to win this race again after EBH came out trumps last year, and have tried to come here with a solid TTT squad to support Bakelants as well as in the hills. They only lose 18 seconds at check one, to prove that point, coming in a provisional ninth.
Kulczyk showing the other teams how to protect a small leader, their muscle-men guarding Barbin with their life and he's still in their guard 2/3 of the way through. They haven't done badly time-wise, either, coming in 20 seconds behind the time of Generali at the first check.
Desigual come across the finish, having lost ground to Generali's "ghost" time along the final 5km. But...
Spoiler
it's a tie! Obviously it won't be in a few minutes once the times are confirmed, but it's a very close race here! What a turnaround from the Spaniards, a phenomenal ride!
Lierse are next, riding for Zico Waeytens on GC. But really, I'm picking their top scorer here to be the man in the centre of our picture here, Dall'Oste. He has a knack for surprising on the sorts of tough stages the Basque Country provides. 26 seconds lost by the first check.
Our last big contender for the win here was UBS, who are just three seconds down on Generali at checkpoint one. Good news for leader Trofimov, a favourite for the GC here, as this could put him in the driver's seat already.
They know who they'll be racing against, as Desigual are confirmed as our new leaders! Chapeau. We also hear Bakelants made it to the finish with his team Grieg - who are provisional 10th, 32 seconds down. Not bad for the Belgian at all.
Unfortunately we have heard Barbin was dropped in the final two kilometres by Kulczyk, who ramped it up a little too much for him. It does put them in 7th, 22 seconds down and ahead of T-Mobile, though. No time for the Italian yet. Don't forget the Poles also have Vanendert for the GC here.
Our final newsflash: UBS have gone through the second check now in first place, 4 seconds ahead of Desigual! The "thrills" of the TTT aren't over yet!
Aegon-Lavazza are our last team, and a very competitive third at the first check! Some surprises here today as they push ahead of Bennelong! De Bie still here as well, could be a good day for him.
As we await the last two teams, both of whom could still win, we see Lierse come in with Waeytens still there. 1'04 conceded for him though. 4th at check 2, nine seconds down for Aegon as well.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... they're in! But was it enough as we get yet another same-second time at the front! Trofimov's dreams of wearing the leader's jersey for all 6 days are ruined as he's passed on the line in the sprint, but he may start with a big advantage over his rivals!
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... they're in! Oh my word, it's a four-way tie all on a single second! The timekeepers and jury are in a mania trying to figure this one out as Aegon make up a fantastic nine seconds in just a few kilometres! We know that it won't be Generali, as Desigual made it in front of them. We now wait for the official times...
Spoiler
and UBS are the winners! They made it to the finish a hair faster than Desigual. Generali are third, Aegon "only" manage fourth. What a finish!
As Schar collects the yellow jersey we can see just how close the finish was! UBS with a convincing 5 men ahead of anyone, which is impressive considering four teams came within a second. Then Generali and Desigual very close to tied - in fact Viviani with a better GC time than anyone from Desigual, but it's all about the fifth man. But that's all semantics now, as UBS and Yuri Trofimov start the Vuelta al Pais Vasco with a bang!
