Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second half of the 2019 Barbados Cycling Festival! 399 kilometers are yet to be ridden - thereof 213.8 today.
After the first two days, the race is still very close, as no rider was able to gain more than 25 bonus seconds - meaning that virtually anyone could take the leader jersey today! However, Kris Boeckmans will surely not hand it over without a good fight!
Today's stage is made even more interesting by the fact that we'll have three intermediate sprints - with a total of 9 bonus seconds on offer! And as the first one will take place just 18.3 after the start, and the final one 16.9km from the finish line, chances are that the sprinters will take some of them. The middle intermediate sprint will be taken after 138km.
There's no wind, and just a few clouds, but in general it's a sunny day awaiting us. And who will shine in yellow tonight? We'll see, but at least we know the bookies' stage favorites already now: Degenkolb, Swift and Grosu are on top of their list, followed by Coquard, Ahlstrand and Ewan. Guerao, Vanderbiest, Avelino and Kennaugh get mentioned as well - whereas our current race leader Boeckmans doesn't make it in their Top 10. It's his job now to prove them wrong!
And with the formalities being done, let's head straight into the race!
As usually, we don't have to wait long. Today, it's Nonaka opening the attacks phase, with van Zyl and Niu trying to jump to his wheel.
Foss, Jung and Cabanas are next - but has Asgreen not seen his teammate attacking? He's pushing really hard to reel him and the other escapees in!
Just as yesterday, EA Vesuvio aren't happy about not having any of their riders in the breakaway, and so they just reel in that second trio. Nonaka, van Zyl and Niu are still 20" ahead.
First they are inattentive, and now they strike back with an EA Vesuvio trio attacking - Arslanov, Girdlestone and Pelikan. Will the pack react?
No, it's not the pack, but "just" Cabanas and Mas who join the three boys in red, with the leaders just being 16" ahead now. The peloton is only 20" down, too, with Ludvigsson, Goldstein, Pruus and Kalf chasing.
And it's Kalf who does the last bit of work to catch them all. "Gruppo compatto", and roughly 2km to the first intermediate sprint - who can grab these bonus seconds?
Surprisingly, none of the sprinters was actually interested in those points / bonus seconds, and so it's the next attackers taking them:
1. Madouas - 6
2. Boonratanathanakorn - 4
3. Mas - 2
That's a smart move by Madouas, as he takes the 2nd place in the U25 competition with these 3 bonus seconds!
Guess who's again missed out on sending someone in the breakaway? Right... So they're chasing once again - it's kind of a running joke in this race.
But at least they'll be happy now, as Bax breaks free, taking U25 jersey wearer Arashiro and Liechtenstein RR champion Mundle with him. Will the pack's pace finally drop now?
Yes, it does. The sprinter teams have taken over the control, with many of their leaders well positioned in the pack. The gap is already up to 3 minutes with 40km covered.
The chasing trio has finally made it to the front, and so we have 6 men in the Breakaway of the Day: Arashiro, Mundle and Mas are huge rouleurs, making the group a serious danger for the peloton. The Spaniard is the best sprinter among these three. Madouas matches his sprint speed, though, and Boonratanathanakorn isn't much slower, either, while Bax will need to try something before an eventual final sprint. All three might struggle to follow the three flat machines, though.
The pack is now 3'39 down with 50km already covered.
The sky is now covered, and it's even starting to rain! Is this a bad omen for the breakaway or the pack? The pack is 2'45 behind the leaders with exactly 100km to go - that's rather bad signs for the leaders. But we'll see.
In the peloton, we have riders from the usual teams in front: Alaphilippe, Burke, Seigle, I. Oliveira, Jung, Tolhoek, Minguez Ayala, Olesen, R. Oliveira and Walsleben.
The leaders are already under the 10km banner - but actually they still have 90 kilometers to go. They'll pass here again after an additional 80km lap - but the other way round.
The peloton's deficit is again up to 3 minutes; with just 15km to go until the next intermediate sprint, the breakaway will surely take these points.
They indeed do so, and Mas gets another 3 bonus seconds and 6 points:
1. Mas - 6
2. Arashiro - 4
3. Boonratanathanakorn - 2
Madouas, who had the last position in the group when approaching the sprint, is still one second ahead of Arashiro in the GC. But one intermediate and the final sprint are remaining.
The bunch has again lost some seconds and is 3'12 down when crossing this line. 75km to go.
Kennaugh must have very good legs, as he sends Martin, Olesen, Seigle, Andersen and later Bernaudeau to the front. They're riding really fast, as the gap goes down to 2'23 with 60km to go. 10 kilomters later, the deficit is 1'55 - but then the Air France riders are done. Who will take over now?
Well, actually one of them is still remaining, as Clarke leads the peloton now. Behind, eBuddy and Desigual seem to be ready to continue the chase: Lammertink, Verona, Goldstein, Brus, Jones, Burke and Tolhoek.
45 kilometers left, 1'32 is the current gap.
There's a split in the front group now, as the three strong rouleurs - Arashiro, Mundle and Mas - have just ridden away from Madouas, Bax and Boonratanathanakorn. Can they come back? 40km are left, and the peloton is still 1'37 behind due to this acceleration in the breakaway.
Oh no! With 35 kilometers to go, Zabel has a flat tire and needs to get his wheel changed! That's definitely going to be a hard piece of work to get back to a fast moving peloton now!
At least his teammates support him as well as they can! The whole Desigual team is now chasing the peloton, but the gap is already huge... He'll probably not be fighting for the stage win with this, but can Zabel at least keep his good GC position?
Meanwhile, Bernaudeau has recoved enough to again lead the bunch, and the escapees - still split into two groups - are already in sight! 20" between the two trios, and then 32" to the pack. Zabel and his teammates are already more than 2 minutes back!
With 28km left, the first trio with Madouas, Bax and Boonratanathanakorn is reeled in, with the leaders just 30" ahead. It's still 10km to the final intermediate sprint - will the sprinters finally grab these points?
Zabel has gained back a few seconds, but there are still about 2 minutes remaining. Hopefully his teammates have got enough energy left!
And that's the end of the breakaway, 4km ahead of the intermediate sprint. Boeckmans seems to be really determined to get these three bonus seconds, as Naud is doing the leadout for him. The other sprinters are safe in the pack.
Oh well, what's that? Boeckmans, Cavendish and Ewan are all there - but they don't even sprint and leave the points and bonus seconds to Cavendish's teammates! Another really, really strange situation...
1. De Vreese - 6
2. Gough - 4
3. Park - 2
Just about 17km to the line - we expect the sprinter teams to start building their trains soon!
Unfortunately, we probably won't see a Desigual train today, as Zabel is still 1'36 back, and has only Jones, Verona and Landa left by his side.
The riders have reached the 10km arc again - but this time the indication is true. In the first 20 positions, we see quite much just 3 teams: Aker, Iberia and Volvo. Ewan again doesn't get any help, nor does Coquard. Kennaugh's domestiques probably are too tired to help him now, too. But let's wait and see in a few kilometers.
Meanwhile, Zabel definitely waves goodbye at his GC ambitions, as he's lost some time again. His last hope is that the peloton will be spread out so much that there won't be any gaps - a rather improbable scenario, unfortunately.
It's almost the same image 5 kilometers later. Swift, Degenkolb and Ahlstrand still have multiple teammates with them. And whereas Cavendish, Coquard, Ewan, Avelino and Guerao at least have one leadout left, many others are already on their own!
3 kilometers to go, and we get a clearer picture now. There are several 2-3 men trains: Gjolberg - Scully - Swift Markus - Roelandts - Ahlstrand Nych - Merino Criado - Degenkolb Cataldo - Coquard Nelson - Ewan I. Oliveira - Avelino Kupfernagel - Silvestre
Grosu, Appollonio, Guerao, Cavendish, Vantomme, Vanderbiest, Groenewegen, Nizzolo, Itami, Salleh, Kip and GC leader Boeckmans are on their own. And in the absence of KoM sprints, Kireva seems to be trying to get a good result on his own, rather than helping his sprint leader.
Two kilometers left, and there are now three clearly distinguishable trains at the front: Haddi - Scully - Swift, followed by Kennaugh, Guardini Markus - Roelandts - Ahlstrand King - Merino Criado - Degenkolb
Guerao, Coquard with his leadout Cataldo, Groenewegen, Grosu, Ewan and Boeckmans are well positioned, too. I. Oliveira - Avelino, Appollonio, Vantomme and Cavendish are next, with the others still further behind.
Last kilometer, and there seem to be just 8 sprinters (and two leadouts) in the mix for the win! Let's take a close look at the situation at the front:
Scully
Merino Criado
Swift
Roelandts
Degenkolb
Ahlstrand
Kennaugh
Groenewegen
Guardini
Boeckmans
Grosu
Cavendish
Out of the three riders having the same time in the GC, Boeckmans is the only one having made this split - which should give him a good chance to preserve his jersey!
700m to the line, and Degenkolb has taken the lead, closely followed by Kennaugh, Groenewegen and Swift! Ahlstrand in the second row, then Boeckmans and Guardini with Grosu at the end of this group. Merino Criado, Scully and Roelandts will probably lose some positions.
500 meters to go, and it's still Degenkolb leading! He already did that yesterday, when he faded in the end - can he stay ahead today?
Kennaugh and Groenewegen are still about level, which holds for Swift, Ahlstrand and Guardini one row behind. Boeckmans is fighting to hold on to his GC lead, whereas Grosu needs to find the next gear yet!
Just 300m remaining, and whereas Degenkolb still holds on to the lead, there are still 7 riders in contention for line honors today! Grosu in 8th might struggle to find enough place to overtake the others, despite the wide road. Cavendish is closing in on this group, but he'll probably not get any more than 9th out of this stage.
There's a more important question, though: Will there be any gaps awarded between this front group and the rest of the pack? There definitely is a time difference right now!
200 meters to the line, Degenkolb is still in the lead - it's looking good for the German today! Kennaugh, Guardini, Ahlstrand and Swift are still in the mix, with Boeckmans not far behind. Grosu might struggle to overtake the riders ahead of him, whereas Groenewegen is clearly fading now!
150m, and now it's Kennaugh who has overtaken Degenkolb! Guardini is about level with the German, with Ahlstrand and Swift currently 4th and 5th. Boeckmans is still some inches ahead of Grosu, who is closing in quickly, though! Groenewegen is fighting his way back, whereas Cavendish is still hoping to pass Scully and Roelandts.
Okay, it's yet another day where we've got no clue about who will win with just 100m to go! All of Kennaugh, Guardini, Ahlstrand, Swift and Degenkolb still have their chances - and shouldn't we even rule out Grosu, who's passed Boeckmans now and is approaching fast?
And the winner is - Peter Kennaugh! The hard chasing work of Air France - KLM definitely paid off today!
Andrea Guardini takes 2nd, whereas Ahlstrand and Swift are fighting for 3rd!
It's Jonas Ahlstrand who completes today's stage podium, with Ben Swift clearly improving on the results of the first two stages, but he'll still be disappointed with being 4th.
Grosu's acceleration could be worth a 5th place, as he seems to already have passed Degenkolb!
Indeed, Eduard Grosu finishes this stage on 5th place, edging out a clueless John Degenkolb - his team got everything right, he was in the best position - but simply was unable to pull through. One chance left.
Kris Boeckmans then only gets the 7th place, meaning 6 bonus seconds. Kennaugh got 25, but was just 13 behind - we again have a new race leader!
Dylan Groenewegen will be rather clueless as well, as he had a great position, but his speed and resistance just weren't enough today. Well, it was enough for coming in 8th, which is still better than some stage favorites...
Ehm, well, where is Mark Cavendish coming from? He actually overtakes Groenewegen on the line, getting the 8th place. Groenewegen therefore is 9th.
Tom Scully gets today's final Top 10 spot, ahead of Roelandts and Merino Criado, two other leadouts.
Coquard at least edges out his leadout Petit on the line - that definitely was a bad sprint preparation!
But there are some more disappointing results today:
15. Guerao
16. Avelino
17. Ewan
18. Appollonio
19. Nelson, whose leadout was about as good as Petit's
20. Vantomme
Among our three pre-stage co-leaders, only Boeckmans was able to snatch some minor bonus seconds - which surely isn't great news for Ewan and Coquard, but at least the race should still be wide open after today!
It's definitely not open any more for Zabel, though. The German had a puncture with 35km left, and finally lost more than 4 minutes. Really bad luck - can he at least transform his bad feelings into a great stage result tomorrow?
But we don't just have a big loser today - we have a big winner, too! Peter Kennaugh wins today's stage, and he takes the lead in the GC as well as in the points standings!
Kris Boeckmans is still 2nd in the GC, thanks to the bonus seconds he won today. And 6" is nothing, given that tomorrow's winner will get 25"! Guardini is currently 3rd, 9" back, ahead of Coquard and Ewan, both 12" down. But all riders up to Swift (11th, 25" back) could still win this race!
In the absence of KoM sprints, Albert Kireva keeps his jersey - but he'll have to fight hard to defend it on the final stage with two 3rd category KoM sprints!
Caleb Ewan of course preserves the U25 jersey, with Valentin Madouas now 2nd thanks to his 3 bonus seconds. Yudai Arashiro won two seconds, and is now 3rd.
Aker - MOT meanwhile keeps the lead in the team standings; with two riders in the Top 10, this isn't really surprising. However, anything is still possible, as only Desigual with their very, very bad luck today are out of contention.
And that's all for today. Third day, third stage winner, third GC leader - and tomorrow? Let's see what awaits us!
Barbados Cycling Festival 
