The final stage of the Post Danmark Rundt takes the riders on a 38 kilometer time trialing course. There are some short climbs that get pretty steep at times and shouldn’t be discounted, but pure time trialing should still be the main factor. The GC is heavily in flux, with 13 riders within 12 seconds, most of them great time trialists. It is likely that the stage win will also be decided among those riders, but there are some strong contenders who’ve previously lost time and shouldn’t be discounted for today.
To underscore that point, four of the eight first riders on the road are guys that have been mentioned in the preview as either GC or TT contenders: Ligthart, Laizer, Verona and Viennet. The latter is the biggest name, and he lives up to that at least for now, as he leads Laizer by five and Verona by eight seconds at the first checkpoint.
Philips has seen better races, as Wippert wasn’t able to achieve much in the sprints and they don’t have anyone in GC contention. Ligthart was the hope for a decent result today, but he trails Viennet by 47 seconds at the third checkpoint already, and he’s behind Laizer and Verona.
Laizer had been the closest to Viennet at the checkpoints, so his time serves as the first benchmark, until the French comes in a few riders later.
50’45
Viennet’s time should stand for a long while, if everything goes as expected. It also illustrates the gaps that are possible today as he beats Laizer by more than half a minute.
50’09
But maybe it won’t! At the second checkpoint, Haugard beats Viennet’s time by just a second! Can he keep that pace up?
Kazakh champ Fominykh has a good day and finishes just 14 seconds slower than the French.
50’23
Haugard had extended his lead to 15 seconds by the third checkpoint and stretches it even further as he crosses the finish line! What an impressive ride!
49’44
Eaton finishes provisionally fourth.
50’29
Mottin did not make any waves at the checkpoints and went undetected by the cameras. He tied Eaton’s time.
50’29
Also unfortunately missed by the broadcast: Nepomnyachsniy! He bests Viennet and comes close to breaking the 50 minute barrier - second place for now.
50’01
With the first 67 riders finished and 100 remaining here’s a look at the leaderboard. Li and Ligthart among the disappointments, Gallopin with a solid time.
Kireva enters the provisional Top 10 with a solid ride.
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Martin finishes just ahead of him …
50’33
… with the same time as Koren.
50’33
Campenaerts probably had hoped for a better ride, but this was not his day.
51’17
Have another look at the standings, now with only 50 riders remaining.
Trofimov sets a very respectable time, better than many time trial specialists.
50’47
Sepulveda is the first rider who could realistically enter the Top 20. He started the day in 33rd place but is just 12 seconds behind 16th. His time isn’t great, but it should move him up a few spots as he finishes seventh for now.
50’31
A new best time at the first checkpoint comes from Sterobo. A strong first impression by the Dane …
… only made stronger when Dillier misses it by a whole 10 seconds. And Kittel falls short by three seconds as well!
Sterobo’s time holds at the second checkpoint as well, for now at least. Dillier seems to have a horrible day and is 30 seconds off, but Kittel is 11 seconds slower as well!
Sterobo crosses the finish line and easily sets a new best time, 25 seconds faster than Haugard. We was just 59 seconds outside of the Top 10 before today. That might seem like a lot, but considering he beat someone like Viennet by 49 seconds …
49’19
While we’re on the topic, let’s take a look at the Top 15 before today:
1
Ion Izagirre
Iberia - Team Degenkolb
15h45'11
2
Jerome Coppel
Carrefour - ESPN
+ 12
3
Omar Fraile
Desigual
s.t.
4
Dominique Cornu
Duolingo
s.t.
5
Luke Durbridge
cycleYorkshire
s.t.
6
Lars Van der Haar
Delvaux
s.t.
7
Ryan Mullen
Kulczyk - Alitalia
s.t.
8
Mikhail Ignatiev
Delvaux
s.t.
9
Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg
Minions
s.t.
10
Andrew Tennant
cycleYorkshire
s.t.
11
Stanislau Bazhkou
Xero Racing
s.t.
12
Mekseb Debesay
Xero Racing
s.t.
13
Walter Trillini
Duolingo
s.t.
14
Kris Boeckmans
Campari/Asahi development
+ 39
15
Rick Zabel
Desigual
+ 51
14 riders including Sterobo, Kittel and Dillier all tied at + 1'11.
All remaining riders are on the road now as Izagirre comes to the first checkpoint.
And this is what we’re looking at there. Sterobo is still unbeaten, but almost more interesting is the GC battle. Durbridge leads Fraile by two seconds and Coppel by four. Izagirre is seven seconds behind the Australian. But that doesn’t mean much at this point.
Dillier was incredibly disappointing today. Even at this point, he’s just barely inside the Top 20.
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Kittel does better. He’s provisional fourth, but if he was looking to break into the Top 10, this time might not be it.
50’06
He doesn’t even leave Goncalves behind him. The Portuguese champion beats him by five seconds.
50’01
The 2017 champion of this race, Ignatiev, is 26 seconds behind Sterobo at the second checkpoint. But of the riders with the same GC time, only Janse van Rensburg is a few seconds faster. But strong riders are still coming.
In his beautiful jersey, Bazhkou carries Xero’s GC hopes on his shoulders. And he fights bravely. At the third checkpoint, he’s 49 seconds behind Sterobo, but faster than for instance Tennant, who started behind him.
Durbridge is a man on a mission! He overtakes Van der Haar in the first half of this race already. But Storebo’s time holds at the second checkpoint as well!
At the second checkpoint, Fraile is just one second behind Durbridge, Coppel has lost a little more and trails by seven now. Remember, they started with the exact same GC time, as did Janse van Rensburg, who is fourth among those riders, but only one second ahead of Izagirre - who has 12 bonus seconds in hand. And now comes the most uphill section of the course, benefitting both him and Coppel.
Dempster, on the other hand, started the day in 16th place, 1’11 behind Izagirre. His time will likely move him up a spot or two, but the Top 10 seem like a long shot.
50’27
Mullen dons the white jersey and there’s no way he’ll lose it today. But he still has to fight for the best possible GC position, and he’s not doing a great job. Already a minute behind Sterobo at the third time check.
Cornu has been a bit under the radar so far and there’s a reason for it. His times aren’t terrible, but just not all that great either. He’s in the ballpark of Ignatiev and Bazhkou.
Speaking of: The Belarusian is the first actual contender to finish. He is provisionally 16th, just 10 seconds behind Dempster. Notably though, Sterobo actually jumps past him by a good 20 seconds. The Dane moves into the Top 10 now!
50’37
Tennant started the day in 10th place. He loses two places to Bazhkou and Sterobo and will regain at least one when Van der Haar comes through later, but one more rider has to fall behind him if he wants to stay in the Top 10.
50’58
Meanwhile, one Omar Fraile is making a very strong case for the overall victory! He’s just a second behind Sterobo at the third time check …
… and neither Durbridge nor Coppel can beat that!
Despite Fraile coming closer at the third checkpoint, Sterobo might feel comfortable in the hot seat - he had an incredibly strong final sector, more than 15 seconds faster on the final sector than the likes of Nepomnyachsniy or Goncalves.
Durbridge is now 16 seconds behind Fraile, a tall task for the final 10 kilometers. Izagirre had a really strong sector that puts him in second place even ahead of the Australian right now, while Coppel and Janse van Rensburg continue to be riders number 4 and 5.
Janse van Rensburg’s final sector wasn’t the strongest, losing another 20 seconds to Sterobo, but he’s easily ahead of Bazhkou and Tennant, and he’s the first to beat the Europcar rider in the GC. He has to wait now and see how many of the remaining 8 riders fall behind him.
50’07
Ignatiev is the first. He, too, is faster than Bazhkou and Tennant, but slots in behind Janse van Rensburg and Sterobo, which would be ninth overall, if all upcoming riders (except for Van der Haar) finish ahead of him.
50’31
But Mullen drops further. He ist faster than Tennant and just barely keeps his Top 10 place while the cycleYorkshire rider will finish 11th overall, but both end up behind Bazhkou.
50’51
In comes Durbridge! He bests his GC rivals, but really doesn’t come close to the stage win, finishing even behind the inspired Haugard, provisional third. He also contributes to cycleYorkshire winning the team classification.
49’50
Van der Haar and Cornu finish side by side. The Delveaux rider drops all the way back to 33rd, but I suppose he didn’t expect much in the first place, while Cornu might be a bit disappointed with today. He beats Ignatiev by fractions of a second, but stays behind Janse van Rensburg and Sterobo to finish seventh overall, currently 13th today.
50’31
Now Fraile sprints to the line. His times at the checkpoint were sensational - was he able to keep up the pace?
It looks like it! He’s the first guy to beat Haugard, he finishes 16 seconds faster than Durbridge and takes the overall lead for the moment! And only two guys can take it from him now.
49’34
World Champion Coppel was the big favorite before the race started, and he was possibly an even bigger favorite before today. But he can’t muster more than a seventh place here, 44 seconds off Sterobo and behind Fraile and Durbridge. Now he has to wait and see if he stays on the podium.
50’03
Izagirre was two seconds faster than Coppel at the final checkpoint, he also had 12 seconds of advance - that has to be enough, right?
Right! He loses only three seconds to Coppel on the final sector to stay ahead of him in the GC. But he does fall behind Durbridge by just a single second. A bit of a heartbreak, but third overall is certainly a great result for him and his team.
50’04
The Post Danmark Rundt 2019 ends with an upset. Coppel was the top favorite who didn’t even make the podium, Durbridge a close second favorite who actually finished second but it’s Fraile and Desigual who pop the champagne tonight. Sterobo will also celebrate his monster performance alongside his Top 10 finish, and Europcar get their stage win after all.
Post Danmark Rundt 
