The time trial event of the C2HC, welcome to Windhoek! The riders ride the same route twice and it's the aggregate which counts. Before we get started with the finale, a quick recap of the first leg:
Ford with an early start and a quick time which no one was able to reach. Robert lost over a minute, Van Baarle 43 seconds, Cheyne 42 seconds.
Cruz posted the same time as Ford on the first split, but in the end lost sixteen seconds for second at the time.
Hofer also with the same time as Ford on split one. He also lost time on sector two and three but a bit less than Cruz, only ten seconds.
Eastman the last starter. He was a bit behind the aforementioned trio on splits one and two but saved energy in the end to take third place on the first day, fifteen seconds behind Ford.
A full overview of the provisional standings after stage one:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Michael Ford
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
51'26
2
Andreas Hofer
DK Zalgiris
+ 10
3
Ryan Eastman
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 15
4
Freddy Cruz
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
+ 16
5
Jordan Cheyne
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 42
6
Dylan Van Baarle
CYBEX Platinum
+ 43
7
Sergio Ortega
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 46
8
Rui Costa
Euskaltel - Elior
+ 51
9
Alexandr Braico
OMV Petrom-albania.al
+ 55
10
Szymon Rekita
Netia - Vonin
+ 57
Spoiler
11
Stelly Robert
Euskaltel - Elior
+ 1'04
12
Steven Burke
GCN ProTeam
s.t.
13
Ramunas Navardauskas
Adastra - Hell Energy Cycling
+ 1'06
14
Gert Joeaar
Eddie Stobart
s.t.
15
Tushantha Rajapakshage
DK Zalgiris
+ 1'12
16
Vadim Ratiy
CYBEX Platinum
s.t.
17
Morten Reckweg
Netia - Vonin
+ 1'20
18
Nikolay Mihaylov
OMV Petrom-albania.al
+ 1'24
19
Krzysztof Marchewka
Adastra - Hell Energy Cycling
+ 1'28
20
Mohammed Al Murawwi
Euskaltel - Elior
+ 1'29
21
Manuel Betilson
OMV Petrom-albania.al
+ 1'30
22
Neil Van der Ploeg
Eddie Stobart
+ 1'33
23
Michal Kukrle
Adastra - Hell Energy Cycling
+ 1'34
24
Gaetan Bille
GCN ProTeam
+ 1'41
25
Campbell Flakemore
BNZ Cycling Team
+ 1'43
26
Carlos Quintero
CYBEX Platinum
+ 1'44
27
Sean Downey
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
s.t.
28
Kristijan Durasek
NENT Racing p/b Hootsuite
+ 1'45
29
Evan Huffman
McCormick Pro Cycling
+ 1'48
30
Hannes Bergstrom Frisk
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
+ 1'53
31
Davide Malacarne
Eddie Stobart
+ 2'06
32
Justas Beniusis
DK Zalgiris
+ 2'10
33
Azzeddine Lagab
Equinor Pro Cycling
+ 2'15
34
Miles Scotson
BNZ Cycling Team
+ 2'17
35
Daniel Habtemichael
McCormick Pro Cycling
+ 2'18
36
Ioannidis Kiriakidis
Centovalli - Fiat
+ 2'25
37
Taylor Gunman
BNZ Cycling Team
s.t.
38
Mathias Norsgaard
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
+ 2'29
39
Ka Hoo Fung
McCormick Pro Cycling
+ 2'42
40
Gatis Smukulis
NENT Racing p/b Hootsuite
+ 2'44
41
Michael Storer
Bianchi - Campagnolo
+ 2'47
42
Patrick Gamper
Centovalli - Fiat
+ 2'53
43
El Mehdi Chokri
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
+ 2'54
44
Stef Krul
GCN ProTeam
+ 3'20
45
Michael Kurth
Equinor Pro Cycling
+ 3'36
46
Mamyr Stash
NENT Racing p/b Hootsuite
+ 4'15
47
Miltiadis Giannoutsos
Centovalli - Fiat
+ 4'21
48
Fernando Barcelo
Bianchi - Campagnolo
+ 4'45
49
Rory Townsend
Equinor Pro Cycling
+ 5'27
50
Simone Velasco
Bianchi - Campagnolo
+ 6'52
So it looks to be a batt;e between four riders: Ford, Hofer, Eastman and Cruz. The hill in the final section doesn't seem to be much of an influence, although it might explain why Eastman gained time on the last section.
And so we open the second day with Velasco, who was slowest yesterday by nearly one and a half minute. Unsurprisingly he is the worst today as well, by over two minutes to second-a-last.
Downey with an abysmal performance yesterday, finishing only 27th at 1'44. We will use him as benchmark today, his time is 55'06 which is 23 seconds faster than Durasek. Note that the times are a bit slower than yesterday, due to a change in wind direction.
Meanwhile, the favorites reach the first split. Van Baarle had set the fastest time there so far and Cruz posts the exact same time.
Eastman arriving after him, and is eight seconds down which means Cruz passes him. But we saw yesterday he is good in the final section, so nothing lost yet.
Hofer in the green jersey, which isn't worth anything this race but the organizers had to please some sponsors. He is four seconds down on Cruz, which is just enough to keep him provisionally behind.
Final man on the course is yellow jersey Ford and he takes it slowly in the first section. Ten seconds down on Cruz and last out of the four contenders.
Virtual classification after split one:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Michael Ford
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
1h06'11
2
Andreas Hofer
DK Zalgiris
+ 4
3
Freddy Cruz
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
+ 6
4
Ryan Eastman
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 13
5
Dylan Van Baarle
CYBEX Platinum
+ 33
Kukrle is the first to dive under Downey's time at the finish line by eleven seconds.
Marchewka was leading Kukrle by twelve seconds after the second split but he struggled up the hill. It cost him dearly as he finishes seven seconds behind his teammate, which means Kukrle beats him by one second overall.
Mihaylov 31 seconds down on Kukrle, which drops him behind the Czech, Marchewka and Downey.
Reckweg is also making a drop in the GC with a subpar time today, behind all previously mentioned and even Betilson.
We are on for a new best time as Ratiy takes the lead on both intermediates, and with the climb he extends it to dethrone Kukrle by 12 seconds.
Rajapakshage had the same time as Ratiy at the start but loses 40 seconds today, slotting in behind Marchewka as fourth on aggregate.
The final dive to the finish line for Joeaar, who was fifteen seconds down on the second split. At the finish line it becomes 48, showing how great Ratiy's final section was. For the Estonian, provisional fifth behind Rajapakshage.
Lithuanian champion Navardauskas kept close to Ratiy but went down hard on the final section. 53 seconds meaning he too loses a lot of places, now behind Ratiy, Kukrle, Downey, Marchewka, Rajapakshage and Joeaar.
Moving back to split two for the GC battle, Van Baarle had the joint best time on split one, and is fifteen seconds faster than teammate Ratiy here. How does this compare against the riders after him? He gains 29 seconds on Cheyne, where the difference in the GC was only one second.
Cruz was tied but is now six seconds down. He had 27 over him so he can afford the loss.
For Eastman, thing look a lot worse as he loses that 27 seconds to Van Baarle. He was one second ahead of Cruz so now he is one second ahead of Van Baarle and 20 down on Cruz. He needs to perform on the climb.
Hofer is 23 seconds down on Van Baarle, meaning Cruz is past him as well.
And finally Ford. We get his time now and, no, this can't be right. He is 40 seconds behind Van Baarle, who has just become a podium contender with an amazing second section. Only the fourteenth time at the split for the Australian, who drops from first to third.
However, Glanbia should not panic as Cruz is now the virtual race leader by eleven seconds over Hofer. Ford, Eastman and Van Baarle are now separated by only three seconds for third. Here's the overview:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Freddy Cruz
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
1h29'15
2
Andreas Hofer
DK Zalgiris
+ 11
3
Michael Ford
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
+ 18
4
Ryan Eastman
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 20
5
Dylan Van Baarle
CYBEX Platinum
+ 21
Burke was twelfth heading into today, but will lose places today with a horrendous performance which isn't even provisional top ten. He just stays ahead of Reckweg but sees many others get past.
French champion Robert with a bit of a disappointment yesterday. Whereas his split times showed a good pace, close to Ratiy, he ends up losing a minute to the Ukrainian and with it a lot of positions: Ratiy, Kukrle, Marchewka, Rajapakshage, Joeaar and Navardauskas, so provisional seventh.
Rekita in white as best young rider, but his performance makes him lose that title to Kukrle. + 1'22 and goodbye top ten as that is his provisional position as well with nine riders left to finish.
Braico surprisingly in ninth but does not replicate his performance today. Seven seconds faster than Rekita to defend that position but also for him a top ten is now out of the question.
But the absolute disappointment of the day becomes Costa, who was eighth but doesn't even make the top thirty today. As a result he will drop to 27th in the GC, assuming everyone after him will not lose more.
Maybe the wind has changed as another rider performs considerably worse than yesterday. Ortega does not ride as bad as Costa but at +1'27, he too will go down to around 20th place.
With six riders to go, here is the virtual stage top five and GC top five:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Ratiy
CYBEX
54'43
1
Ratiy
CYBEX
1h47'21
2
Kukrle
Adastra
+ 12
2
Kukrle
Adastra
+ 58
3
Marchewka
Adastra
+ 19
3
Marchewka
Adastra
+ 59
4
Downey
Glanbia
+ 23
4
Rajapakshage
Zalgiris
+ 1'04
5
Rajapakshage
Zalgiris
+ 40
5
Joeaar
Stobart
+ 1'06
Van Baarle is expected to set the fastest time given he is the fastest at checkpoints one and two. But in a surprise twist, he loses 25 seconds on the final section to finish ten seconds down on Ratiy. The Dutchman does become the provisional overall leader but one has to wonder if he imploded or Ratiy took a shortcut.
Cheyne unfortunately did not play a role in the overall battle. His times on the road were not super bad, but at the finish line it's + 1'02. That means the CYBEX duo of Van Baarle and Ratiy is past him, and he will likely end up in seventh place.
From the four pre-race contenders, Cruz had the best splits. At the finish line he is 32 seconds down on Ratiy, so a loss of 41 seconds between intermediate two and the finish line. It is sixth place on the stage, but enough to get into the hot seat as virtual leader by just six seconds over Van Baarle.
Did Eastman make up a lot of time on the climb? From the 21 second deficit he had on Cruz, only five remain when he crosses the line. Unfortunately this does mean his fellow American jumps ahead on aggregate, but at only four seconds meaning he is virtual second.
Hofer was closest to Cruz at the previous split, and actually manages to maintain the difference they had there. It was seventeen seconds and thus stays seventeen seconds, which is 13th place on the stage and fourth in the GC. No podium for the Austrian, and only Ford remaining.
Here is Ford, who could not improve for the final part. He loses 1'15 to Ratiy to finish outside the stage top twenty but more importantly, he drops from first to sixth overall. What a disappointing day for the Australian who surely thought he had the win in his back.
The best rider today is Ratiy, whose massive performance on the final section gave him the edge. Teammate Van Baarle with the second time of the day at eleven seconds, Kukrle another surprise with third place at twelve seconds. The full stage two result:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Vadim Ratiy
CYBEX Platinum
54'43
2
Dylan Van Baarle
CYBEX Platinum
+ 11
3
Michal Kukrle
Adastra - Hell Energy Cycling
+ 12
4
Krzysztof Marchewka
Adastra - Hell Energy Cycling
+ 19
5
Sean Downey
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
+ 23
6
Freddy Cruz
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
+ 32
7
Ryan Eastman
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 37
8
Tushantha Rajapakshage
DK Zalgiris
+ 40
9
Nikolay Mihaylov
OMV Petrom-albania.al
+ 43
10
Kristijan Durasek
NENT Racing p/b Hootsuite
+ 46
Spoiler
11
Manuel Betilson
OMV Petrom-albania.al
+ 47
12
Gert Joeaar
Eddie Stobart
+ 48
13
Andreas Hofer
DK Zalgiris
+ 49
14
Ramunas Navardauskas
Adastra - Hell Energy Cycling
+ 53
15
Stelly Robert
Euskaltel - Elior
+ 1'00
16
Jordan Cheyne
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 1'02
17
Gaetan Bille
GCN ProTeam
+ 1'07
18
Morten Reckweg
Netia - Vonin
+ 1'08
19
Neil Van der Ploeg
Eddie Stobart
+ 1'11
20
Evan Huffman
McCormick Pro Cycling
s.t.
21
Alexandr Braico
OMV Petrom-albania.al
+ 1'15
22
Michael Ford
Glanbia Foods Cycling Project
s.t.
23
Steven Burke
GCN ProTeam
+ 1'17
24
Szymon Rekita
Netia - Vonin
+ 1'22
25
Sergio Ortega
Azteca - NBCSN
+ 1'27
26
Mohammed Al Murawwi
Euskaltel - Elior
+ 1'34
27
Davide Malacarne
Eddie Stobart
+ 1'35
28
Campbell Flakemore
BNZ Cycling Team
+ 1'52
29
Carlos Quintero
CYBEX Platinum
+ 1'53
30
Justas Beniusis
DK Zalgiris
+ 2'06
31
Miles Scotson
BNZ Cycling Team
+ 2'19
32
Rui Costa
Euskaltel - Elior
+ 2'24
33
Hannes Bergstrom Frisk
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
+ 2'27
34
Ioannidis Kiriakidis
Centovalli - Fiat
+ 2'28
35
Azzeddine Lagab
Equinor Pro Cycling
+ 2'38
36
Mathias Norsgaard
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
+ 2'40
37
Ka Hoo Fung
McCormick Pro Cycling
+ 3'26
38
Michael Kurth
Equinor Pro Cycling
+ 3'32
39
Gatis Smukulis
NENT Racing p/b Hootsuite
+ 3'36
40
Taylor Gunman
BNZ Cycling Team
+ 3'54
41
Daniel Habtemichael
McCormick Pro Cycling
+ 3'55
42
Michael Storer
Bianchi - Campagnolo
+ 3'59
43
Patrick Gamper
Centovalli - Fiat
+ 4'16
44
El Mehdi Chokri
Tryg Insurance Cycling Team
+ 4'21
45
Stef Krul
GCN ProTeam
+ 4'28
46
Mamyr Stash
NENT Racing p/b Hootsuite
+ 4'36
47
Miltiadis Giannoutsos
Centovalli - Fiat
+ 4'49
48
Fernando Barcelo
Bianchi - Campagnolo
+ 5'43
49
Rory Townsend
Equinor Pro Cycling
+ 5'57
50
Simone Velasco
Bianchi - Campagnolo
+ 8'09
Over the two stages, Freddy Cruz has the best aggregate time with 1h46'57, and thus wins the Windhoek ITT! Ryan Eastman goes from third to second, falling four seconds short. Dylan van Baarle's performance today sees him go up from sixth to third, at six seconds. Hofer fourth at eleven seconds, Ratiy the biggest mover of the day from 16th to 5th. Ford was the leader but ends up in sixth. The top ten is completed by Cheyne, Kukrle, Marchewka and Rajapakshage.
