The final road stage before tomorrow’s short concluding time trial mirrors the ones we previously had: flat, three intermediate sprints, most likely a sprint finish. It’s almost like there’s no other terrain in the Netherlands …
After two stage wins, Manninen has the points competition almost certainly wrapped up, unless he finishes outside the Top 10. In that case, Silvestre or Lo Cicero could take it from him with a stage win - which is generally of course the main goal for every sprinter involved today.
It should also be noted that Manninen is currently 13th overall. A win could see him climb as high as 7th and he actually has a pretty solid prologue stat. He would probably still lose a few spots again tomorrow, but it’s something to keep in mind for at least the GC Top 20 or so.
All that being said, let’s jump into the race!
It took a while to form a breakaway, because KazMunayGas were hellbent on having a rider in the group of the day and neutralized all other efforts with a full team effort.
Eventually though, Yang made the jump and the rest of the peloton was happy to let him get away with five other riders, namely Sorensen, Van Wyk, Jenko, Boudat and Cras.
We jump ahead towards the backend of the stage because not much happened up until that point. Jenko, Boudat and Sorensen had been in breakaways before, as evidenced by some points from intermediate sprints, and they were the ones caring most about them today, trying to add a little to their respective point totals:
1. Boudat
2. Jenko
3. Sorensen
1. Boudat
2. Sorensen
3. Jenko
1. Sorensen
2. Jenko
3. Boudat
The group has also been fairly resistant, only just now dropping below a two minute gap. If the pack doesn’t hurry, they could be reeled in pretty late - if at all -, complicating sprint preparations.
And hurry up they did, pacing so much that a pretty signifiicant gap opened within the peloton! No Top 10 rider was caught on the wrong side here, 17th overall Schär is the best placed rider in the back, but more importantly: White jersey Oliveira has fallen behind! As have a few other time trialists like Van Baarle, Van Zandbeek, Sterobo and Olman. If they don’t close the gap, they squander any opportunity to salvage a decent GC position tomorrow.
10 kilometers left and the breakaway is still just under a minute ahead. Sauber, Desigual and Europcar have taken the lead at the front of the peloton.
Chavanne takes a big turn up front as he tries to get the escapees closer. 34 seconds now as we approach the 5-kilometer banner. The sprint preparations begin nevertheless: Lo Cicero sits behind his Europcar teammates in the middle of the pack here, with Wippert and Selig behind him.
Silvestre is to their left, Zabel and Salleh to their right, each with one teammate. Manninen is already much closer to the front in his green jersey, chosing to follow Suryadi at this point.
The group that was caught off guard by the split, consisting of 28 riders, has not made up any ground yet. They’re around 1’40 behind the peloton - this is not looking good for them!
Just over 3 kilometers to go and the sprinters move to the forefront. Europcar looks very strong on the left-hand side, as does Desigual to the right. Sauber have taken up the middle of the road, but their leader Salleh is a few positions behind. A lot of sprinters are spread out all over the road, we’ll have to wait a little to see how this develops - and the breakaway still has a small gap!
2 kilometers left! Van Wyk opens the sprint in the breakaway with Boudat, the best sprinter of the group, in his slipstream. The French may be in the best position to win it all here, as Matthews and Aregger charge at the head of the peloton.
And they come closer, this looks like an absolute heartbreaker for the breakaway! Aregger leads Salleh, Selig directly behind him. Zabel follows Osei’s wheel, not the greatest leadout.
On the right, Lo Cicero still has two teammates ahead of him, he’s chased by Wippert and Suryadi. Manninen is still looking for a good wheel to follow, while Silvestre has lost many positions and is just outside this shot.
Just under the flamme rouge, it’s over for the break. Page, who got ahead of Salleh to give his leader another bit of slipstream, charges past Van Wyk. Next to him Lo Cicero is in the wind early. He didn’t even wait for Lay to take over and just sprinted past both his leadouts.
Zabel is not in a great spot right now, but he’s better off than Manninen, who you can see just at the top of the screen with a lot of ground to make up. That Berg Cycles rider by the way is former escapee Cras, not Silvestre. The Portuguese is even further behind than the green jersey, he’s out of contention!
We have a very straightforward way to the finish today, thankfully. Lo Cicero still leads as the finish line comes closer, but the fastest on the road currently is Suryadi! Selig and Wippert also have a good pace, Salleh doesn’t look as fresh anymore. Zabel is the only other sprinter who has a chance to catch up at this point, while the breakaway riders try to save a good position on the left side of the road.
Suryadi does take the lead as Selig and Wippert try to move forward. But all of a sudden, it’s Sorensen who finds a second set of legs, it seems! Has he saved himself in the final kilometers to have some energy left in these crucial moments?!
Suryadi is fading quickly, so is Sorensen, whose acceleration proved short-lived. But now it’s Boudat who comes to the front on the left side of the road! Only one rider is currently faster: Zabel is at high speed, but he’s blocked by the two former escapees! Can he get through?
He can! But Suryadi proves tenacious, still leading by just a few inches! Who will take it? With Boudat also rapidly slowing down again, it looks like it’s Wippert vs. Selig vs. Lay for the final podium spot, as Lay passes his leader.
It’s close, but Suryadi parries all attacks and takes home a stunning win! He was on the radar, but no one would have anticipated this! Zabel is just short, but this is his best finish here.
As the Indonesian champ celebrates, Wippert crosses the line third, his second podium place, a good haul for him here. Lay finishes fourth, capping of a weird and ultimately unsatisfying three sprint stages for Europcar. Selig is fifth ahead of Lo Cicero.
Breakaway riders finish next with Sorensen, Boudat and Yang, in that order, as Hofstetter completes the Top 10. Certainly the most any breakaway has achieved here this week, but a bit frustrating as they came so close to taking it all.
Manninen and Salleh ultimately finish 12th and 13th, respectively. Their disappointment is only topped by Silvestre, who comes in 17th, still one place behind his teammate Cras.
The pack split in a number of places over the final kilometer or two, which seems to have been the saving grace for those left behind earlier. Despite a pretty clear visual gap, they are ultimately awarded the same time as the rest of the peloton. Certainly lucky for them, but we’ve seen similar situations many times before.
So while the two sprint stages prior to today were pretty straightforward, this one was anything but. From the breakaway interfering until the last second and many a top sprinter failing miserably to the surprise winner, this stage had a lot to offer for the neutral viewer, and both excitement and frustration in spades for everyone involved.
Olympia’s Tour 
