Welcome to Mexico for the unique experience that is the Monterrey TTT. We have 14 teams with us today, with cycleYorkshire, UBS, and Duolingo listed as favourites. However, with a degree of climbing on the route we could see some surprises!
First off are Desigual, who set a time of 18’39 at the first checkpoint.
Andorra Cycling Project are next through, 27 seconds behind at the first time check.
Duolingo were expected to go well, and they’re only one second behind Desigual at checkpoint one.
Next up are DK Zalgiris, down 23 seconds at the first checkpoint.
However, they may soon be caught as UBS, the next time on course, tie Desigual’s time at the first time check.
Valio are also impressive so far, 2 seconds behind at this early stage.
Less impressive are Kulczyk, 28 seconds down already.
Popo4Ever also haven’t had the best start, 21 seconds behind at checkpoint one.
And also struggling are Sauber, 40 seconds behind and provisionally in last.
Meanwhile, Desigual have now passed the second checkpoint in a time of 42’04.
Back to checkpoint one, and Adastra slot nicely into the midfield battle, 25 seconds behind.
They’re narrowly ahead of ISA - Hexacta at this point, who trail Desigual by 29 seconds.
Now for the big favourites to pass the first checkpoint in the form of cycleYorkshire, and they’ve had a terrible start - provisionally second from last, 37 seconds behind!
Up the road, and Andorra Cycling Project are through the second time check 2’08 behind Desigual.
They’re about to be caught however, with Duolingo within shot - albeit trailing Desigual by 45 seconds as they crest today’s main climb.
Back to the first checkpoint for the final teams to start the course - Minions are provisionally last, 40 seconds down.
That is until Glanbia Foods go through 10 seconds slower, 50 seconds off the lead.
Leaving the first checkpoint behind for good, we see DK Zalgiris crossing the second, 59 seconds off the lead.
UBS are next, but even they find themselves trailing Desigual by 35 seconds.
Better fortunes await Valio, but they can only reach the second checkpoint 29 seconds behind Desigual.
Next up are Kulczyk, who aren’t having a particularly good ride today - 2’32 down at this point.
Popo4Ever are also struggling, 1’53 down.
A long way down the road, Desigual complete a fantastic ride without dropping a single rider, in a time of 1’07’56.
That is in stark contrast to how Sauber are riding, starting to shed riders and 3’28 down at the second checkpoint.
Adastra have them in their sights, as they cross the time check 1’49 down.
Another struggling team, ISA - Hexacta, go through 2’10 down.
Andorra Cycling Project also finish without dropping anyone, but 2’50 behind Desigual.
Right behind them are Duolingo. Could they have overturned a 45 second deficit in the final part of their ride? Dempster and Razumov being dropped highlights how high their pace has been, but they remain 45 seconds adrift of Desigual.
Back at the second checkpoint, and cycleYorkshire’s poor day continues - they’re 2’04 down, suggesting that the weakness of their TTers on the climbs has been their undoing.
Minions continue to struggle, 2’40 down.
Ahead, DK Zalgiris complete a good ride from their perspective, with only Ovsyannikov dropped - provisional 3rd, 1’30 down for them.
UBS always go well in this format, can they overturn their 35 second deficit to Desigual? They finish strongly without any dropped riders, but can only narrow the deficit to 28 seconds for provisional 2nd!
We can also now report that Glanbia Foods have passed the second checkpoint, 2’34 down.
Valio have put together a great ride, and may be the last team with a chance of beating Desigual - can they manage it? The answer is no, although they take provisional 2nd from UBS - +27 against +28 - with Larsen and Brynjolfsson dropped.
Next to finish are Kulczyk. 3’16 down, with Laton and Tewelde dropped.
Popo4Ever lose Pronskiy and Lutsyshyn but still manage to slot into provisional 6th, at 2’13.
Sauber are provisionally last, 3’55 down. Zakaria the only rider dropped for them.
They are almost caught by an impressive Adastra, who cross the line with a full team in a provisional 6th, 1’54 down.
However the next team through goes 3 seconds quicker - ISA - Hexacta finishing strongly at 1’51 down, to move into provisional 6th.
cycleYorkshire were today’s favourites, but they’ve had a horrible day - they slot into provisional 8th, 2’04 down.
The penultimate team to finish are Minions. They end the day 2’19 behind Desigual in provisional 10th having dropped Bru.
Finally, Glanbia Foods complete proceedings, 2’54 down in 12th, confirming Desigual’s win, 27 seconds ahead of Valio, with UBS one second further back in 3rd.
