Mount Fuji. That’s it. Today we’re climbing it and afterwards we go home. 11.8 cruel kilometers of uphill suffering are in store for these poor souls today.
It’s a do or die for some of the GC contenders. The ‘purer’ climbers will want to see things settled today, while the rest of them will be looking to limit their losses and wait for a better opportunity tomorrow. Let’s get on with it then.
At times it may seem we’re on a regular road stage with lesser climbers grouping up and being passed by better equipped men on this sort of terrain. As Adriafenomanainana shows here:
Nitu sets the benchmark for today at 45’14. He also leads the first sector with 25’06, which we will focus on now.
Scarponi seems to be on a good day as he lands 25’11 in the first intermediate.
Serry marks 25’41 while Paulus disappoints with 26’20
Boily also does worse than expected with 25’51
Henao on the other hand is doing well as he takes 25’19
Nitu’s time is finally beaten. It takes another Popo4ever rider to do that though. His name is Padun. His time 24’55
Grmay another rider dealing well with these ramps! He passes with 25’08.
But he has Pomoshnikov right on his wheel. The Russian takes a new best time of 24’45!
His mate Stancu loses only 14’’ to him. The best climbers are all about to finish their 1st sector now!
Bennett is the first of those. He marks 24’25 on the clock as he passes with a new best time!
Costagli with a remarkable time just 11’’ after the kiwi.
Schelling takes 24’40 there, not far off either.
The white jersey of Rawaneera is next with 24’42.
Ji comes pretty close to beating Bennett with a time of 24’28
Feat that is finally achieved by Krasnoperov – 24’17
It’s the third time Popo4ever has taken the provisional best at this checkpoint. Will it change hands again?
Faiers is the next rider with a time of note – 24’55 for the Brit champion.
Then Choi with 24’31.
Kwiatkowski takes 24’51. He needs to limit losses to delay all decisions for tomorrow.
As needs Slagter who can’t manage to stay below 25min with 25’02 there.
And as the yellow jersey passes with an irrelevant time, we now have the full picture at the intermediate point. Let’s have a look:
Had your look? Great let’s move on.
Scarponi ties with Nitu in the end with 45’14.
Serry and Paulus won’t be happy with their efforts as they finish with 46’02 and 47’12 respectively. Domestique duties for tomorrow?
Another disappointing ride is Boily’s of 45’19
Henao keeps his pace at the end finishing his ride with 45’21.
Padun cuts 38’’ to the previous best time finishing with 44’36
Thus, holding his lead over Grmay whose final time is 45’03.
But not enough to beat Pomoshnikov – 44’18 for the Russian.
Stancu takes provisional third with 44’45
And now Bennett! Does he have enough to claw back the 8’’ lost to Krasnoperov?
Well, it’s rather soon to tell isn’t it? We can tell his time is 43’41. Good enough for provisional 1st at the moment.
Costagli loses a bit more time in the end but it is a strong ride from him 44’05.
One man will be disappointed with his effort though. Schelling should be fighting for the stage but he can only get provisional 3rd with a time of 44’14.
Rawaneera stops the clock with a very similar time of 44’21
Ji is also in with a chance of stage triumph. He only lost 11’’ to Krasnoperov in the first sector. Can the Chinese do enough to overtake his rivals?
No, he has not. 12’’ slower than Bennett (43’53)
It is now time for Krasnoperov to finish his ascent. The Ukranian had a superb ride in the first half of the stage. Has he spent too much there?
He has not. In fact he seems to have timed it perfectly to keep it stable enough to hold Bennett for 8 precious seconds – 43’33
Faiers on the other hand didn’t seem to be using his TT skills to pace himself well enough – 44’49
Choi is the last rider with a chance at victory today. The Hongkongese can’t do enough though as he finishes with 44’06.
The last riders are approaching the finish line now. Kwiatkowski lost 34’’ in the intermediate point. He needs to keep that difference as small as possible.
But it’s just not his day. The Pole’s final time is 44’42, good enough for 10th place.
Slagter isn’t going to celebrate today either. With 45’02 his total loss is 1min29. Can these two team up for tomorrow?
That’ll have to wait. Today’s winner is Kransoperov. His strong ride gives him the right to wear the yellow jersey too. Maybe it’ll give him some inspiration for tomorrow.
