Hello everyone, this is stage number 6 of the 2019 Volta a Portugal - the mid-race stage, if you want. Five stages are behind us, five stages will be left tonight - but for now, let's focus on today's stage.
We will soon see the riders take off from Boticas, which is about 50km north-east of yesterday's finish line. We have now reached the very north of Portugal, where we're going to stay the whole day long - so the stage basically leads from East to West, pretty much as it did yesterday.
Boticas is yet another small city, having just around 5,000 inhabitants. It's probable that the Romans took over settlements from the Iron Age during the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. They operated mines and used the nearby hot springs of Carvalhelhos.
Today, the historic town center is a listed monument. A gastronomic specialty is the Vinho dos mortos - the wine of the dead - which has its origins back in the 19th century, when the inhabitants, facing invasion from the French, hid all they had. This included burying their bottles of wine, which, once digged out again, were found to have developed a very special style of taste.
But the wine's definitely not for now - at least not for the riders, as they start the stage with a 6km long climb to an unnamed 3rd category summit. But after a short descent, the climbing will continue, until they reach the first intermediate sprint in Montalegre, after 25 kilometers.
From there, the road will have a negative average slope until Cova, where the 2nd category climb to Covide begins. This hill does have some rather steep slopes, but it culminates after 97.5km, so there still are more than 70 not too hard kilometers left - probably too far away and too easy for a long-range attack. But you never know...
After the descent and a few short hills - there are plenty of them in this region it seems - we'll have the second intermediate sprint in Vila Verde, with just a little less than 50 kilometers to go. Some more uncategorized hills follow, until the riders reach the last intermediate sprint in Barroselas, with just 16km to the finish line.
The next few kilometers then lead slightly downwards, making an attack rather unlikely, before the riders reach Viana do Castelo, and therefore the Atlantic Ocean. But before it's time for a well deserved swim, there are these nasty final kilometers up to Monte de Santa Luzia awaiting. There's an elevator for tourists leading up there, too, but we're rather old fashioned and will take the road!
The finish line is next to the Santuario (Sanctuary) de Santa Luzia, the main monument of this historic hill-top settlement. The whole area of the former settlement is listed as a National Monument, though, and archeological excavations are still going on.
With a short yet steep climb, we don't have to think hard to come up with a favorites list for today: Bakelants, Skujins and Bobridge once more are the top favorites - none of them has a stage win to his name yet, though - challenged by the likes of McCarthy, Koretzky or Vogt. Buchmann, Anuar Aziz, Prevar and Betancourt make it on the list as well. Let's see if the mid-stage 2nd category climb will rule out some weaker climbers, but it's rather probable that the puncheurs will take this one - if it's not the breakaway, of course.
And with a KoM sprint coming after just 6 kilometers, we can be sure there will be plenty of action from the line - but beware: The wind is strong again, blowing with up to 30km/h from the North, so there will be crosswinds again during most of the stage. Positioning will surely be key for the final ascent - or am I wrong, Mr. Bobridge?
The final climb actually is a cobbled road, but it's by far not difficult enough to actually rate it as a "real" cobblestones section.
Well, we expected attacks right from the line, but there were none. So we've got some time to look at the profile of this first climb. It's nothing special, rather steady, with just a bit more than 5% average slope. It should have been an invitation for attackers, but - no.
Finally - already inside the last 2 kilometers of the ascent, there's some action! Stuyven and Gebrezgabihier are two expected names, and Wahyudi already has some KoM points, too. But Caruso seems to take a day off and sends teammate Honkisz in the breakaway. The KoM leader is actually in the rear third of the peloton - understandable, after two exhausting breakaway days.
Stuyven, who's the most dangerous man for KoM leader Caruso in the breakaway being 10 points down, doesn't get any points here.
The peloton, led by Power, lost 2'29" on the final two kilometers of the climb! And with no-one else attacking, I guess we got today's breakaway of the day right with the first try.
All of the 4 escapees are actually decent puncheurs, but Stuyven is clearly the weakest climber. Which could be an issue for the next long hill. For Gebrezgabihier, it's the third breakaway in as many days, so he might be a bit tired, whereas Wahyudi, as we've seen two days ago, is clearly inferior if it comes down to a sprint. Honkisz is the only one of this group who hasn't been in a breakaway previously, so he might have the freshest legs.
The breakaway reaches the highest point of today's stage - but it isn't a KoM sprint, just a "normal" one. Gebrezgabihier is easily sprinting away from the others to get maximum points.
The peloton is already 5'32" down, after just 25 kilometers of racing! They don't seem to be in a hurry. Manulang, Power, Vuillermoz are taking turns, but you can't call this a chase yet.
They can actually see the breakaway further down the mountain, but quite far away already. However, with Roe having increased the speed a bit, the gap has already come down by about 90".
And it's actually started raining once again... well, we're not having too much luck with the weather this year!
With the riders approaching the longest climb of the day, let's take a look at its profile. As for the first one, it shouldn't be a big deal, despite the fact that with 7km you can't really talk of a hill any more.
Wahyudi leads the four escapees into this ascent. Stuyven needs the first place to draw level with Caruso. But to overtake the current KoM leader, the points at the finish line would be needed, too.
But Power's really living up to his name, and the gap's just melting away - or rather going down the drain - like crazy. Less than 2 minutes remaining!
What a bad moment to have a puncture! The peloton's moving fast as lightning, and Houle has to wait for his team car!
The front group is entering the last kilometer of the climb, and Wahyudi tries to win the next KoM sprint with an early attack. Could it work out for once?
Well, no. It's Honkisz who does a great job of saving his teammate's leader jersey for now, taking maximum points here.
We now have 4 riders tied for 2nd, with Gebrezgabihier, Stuyven, Jaramillo and Vichot. Caruso will definitely need some more points to secure the jersey - but maybe not today. Or could he take the last 2 points available on top?
No, it's Roman who takes them:
5. Roman - 2 (10)
The peloton's gap has gone up to 2 minutes again, but we still have 70 kilometers to go. The pack surely doesn't want to give away the stage like two days ago?
Houle unfortunately had absolutely no chance of catching up again on this climb, crossing the line more than 3 minutes after the peloton. It's going to be a tough rest of the stage. At least, he isn't alone, as Boudat, probably the weakest climber in the field, has joined him back there.
The bunch is still going full Power, with Roe, Stoltz, Smirnovs, Dzamastagic, Schachmann, Manulang, Ioannidis and Vuillermoz now doing some real work, too.
Gebrezgabihier seems to be the only one really interested in the sprint points - the remaining points are uncontested.
This makes him move up to 4th in the standings. If he wins the next intermediate sprint, too, he could get up to provisional 3rd.
However, the pack, led by Manulang, is reducing the breakaway's advantage again. 1'48", with about 45 kilometers remaining, including another hump right now.
On the said ascent, the gap goes down quickly, as the escapees don't seem to have much left in their tank. They're just a minute ahead, with still more than 40km to go.
It's not really a fair game, full Power against no more power - but the breakaway ends with 43.7km to go. The peloton definitely didn't want to take the same risk as two days ago - but will more attacks result from this early catch?
It will be hard, as the speed is really high now. Vuillermoz and Stoltz are leading the pack, and you clearly see the impact of the wind here. They really have to beware of splits now! 30km remaining.
And yet another puncture! This time it's two-star stage favorite McCarthy! At least, he doesn't have to wait as long as Houle, and we're in a downhill section now - he might have some chances to get back into the pack.
Houle, on the other hand, is already more than 5 minutes down and surely won't make it back.
With just 16 kilometers left, the last intermediate sprint goes by uncontested. A seemingly never tiring Power gets maximum points:
1. Power - 6
2. Kastrantas - 4
3. Ackermann - 2
McCarthy made it back pretty much under the 20km arc, so he still has some time to get a good position - if his legs are not too sore after this effort!
10 kilometers remaining. Dzamastagic and De Souza lead the pack. The stage favorites and the GC contenders are slowly making their way to the front. Even McCarthy has made it to the first third of the pack in the meantime.
The riders are crossing the Lima river and are about to reach Viana do Castelo, from where the final hill climb will start. The name of the Bridge - Ponte Eiffel - might remind some riders of a monument they passed by roughly a month ago. And it's indeed the same architect who built both this bridge and the Eiffel Tower.
Bayly is leading the pack, and we've just got 4.7km left!
From that same bridge, the riders can already see the Sanctuary high up on Monte de Santa Luzia - I can understand now why some tourists prefer taking the elevator!
But the riders will of course do it the hard way. And "hard" here means mainly the final kilometer. Forget about the 5.6% average slope, that means nothing, given almost one kilometer of flat in between. The steepest slopes will be more than 10%, so it's definitely nothing for guys without a certain punch!
Just as the riders enter the cobbled road, we have a very strong presence of Bennelong and Evonik up front, with 5 and 4 riders respectively in the first 15 positions. But whereas Bobridge is right where he should be, Skujins is further back.
Monsalve, Betancourt, Schelling, Ji, Buchmann and Meintjes are well positioned, too. But there are still lots of helpers, making the whole situation a bit confusing.
It's become much clearer now, with 2.6km to go! Bobridge is already in 2nd position, with Koretzky and Monsalve right behind the Bennelong armada. Kastrantas is setting a very high pace, and there even seems to be a gap opening behind Monsalve!
Lane should probably be doing a leadout for Bobridge, but his leader is just too strong. All he's able to do is ride by his side.
Kastrantas is still pulling this group, as we're about to reach the flat part of the climb.
Furthermore, we have Stoltz, Bayly, Canty, Ackermann, Koretzky, De Souza, Sakalou, Monsalve and Sergis in this "group".
The first man behind is Power, who'll surely try to slow down the pack now - if he knows how that works.
But on that flatter section, many riders are catching up from behind - which makes Bobridge lose his patience! He moves to the front with 1.5km to go. Koretzky has overtaken Ackermann, too, and is trying to follow the Aussie.
Bobridge is the first to reach the red kite, and he's now followed by 3 Festina riders, while his teammates are slowly falling back.
Koretzky still has the outer lane and is in the wind, while Monsalve is trying to catch up with the Frenchman.
With 700 meters to go, Bobridge is still in the lead! Behind him are now Koretzky, Ackermann, Kastrantas, Monsalve, Canty, Bayly, De Souza, Sakalou, Lane and Sergis.
Betancourt is the next stage win contender, with Ji, Konig, Bennett, Meintjes, Buchmann, Kirsch, Skujins and Bakelants slightly further down the road.
Just 500m to the finish line, and Bobridge is still holding on to the lead! Koretzky is 2nd, but doesn't seem to be able to get past him. Monsalve is 3rd. The riders have now reached 10% incline!
Betancourt is finally passing the remaining helpers up front and will probably soon be 4th.
This guy's just amazingly fast, first passing Koretzky, and now fighting Bobridge for the lead! Monsalve clearly has the highest pace right now, while the two others, who launched their attack rather early, seem to be slightly fading. 400 meters to the line.
Monsalve is the clear leader now, with just 300m to go! Bobridge is still 2nd and Koretzky 3rd, but on both sides of the road riders are closing in fast: Sakalou on one, Betancourt on the other side! But let's actually take a more comprehensive look at the situation:
Monsalve
Bobridge
Koretzky
Sakalou
Sergis
Ji
Canty
Betancourt
Kastrantas
Meintjes
Buchmann
Dzamastagic
Ackermann
Bayly
Bennett
Lane
Kirsch
Venter
De Souza
Konig
Schelling
Power
Bakelants
Skujins
Smirnovs
Preidler
Moazemi
Monsalve is not fading at all - it's quite the opposite, he's extending his advantage! Bobridge is really tenacious, though, still holding on to 2nd. Koretzky has just some inches left on Sakalou, while Ji is closing in fast as well!
It seems like we'll have a hard fight for 3rd place! 200 meters to go!
Uh-oh, isn't that a bit early? Already 100m before the finish line, on a more than 10% slope, Monsalve raises his arms in the air to celebrate! Just don't fall off your bike, man!
Bobridge is still 2nd, it's looking good for him to secure at least a podium today. Koretzky is now level with Sakalou - and Bennett, who is going very strong!
But guess who's going even stronger, coming out of no-man's land? Skujins is already in Bennett's wheel and is clearly the fastest man on the road!
The early celebrations did no harm, as Yonathan Monsalve wins today's stage! After yesterday's second place, he timed his sprint much better today, benefiting from Bobridge's early launch.
And as he was just 15" behind Kirsch, he takes the leader jersey from the Luxembourger!
But the real drama is happening just behind him, as Bobridge completely cracks on the final meters! Skujins has gone past all other riders with an extraordinary sprint - if only his position had been better at the foot of the climb!
Bobridge and Bennett are now fighting for 3rd, with Buchmann currently 5th ahead of Sakalou, Koretzky and Ji. Preidler and Bakelants are having a rather strong finish, too.
Toms Skujins indeed takes 2nd place, 8" behind Monsalve. George Bennett easily outsprints Jack Bobridge for 3rd. Emanuel Buchmann actually finishes between the two and takes 4th.
Andrei Sakalou taking 6th place is surely a nice surprise for Evonik. Behind him, it's a photo finish of four riders.
The timekeepers come up with the following ruling: 7th Georg Preidler, 8th Jan Bakelants, 9th Jianhua Ji, 10th Clement Koretzky.
2nd to 10th places all lose 8 seconds on Monsalve, whereas a group of 57 riders are 18" back. Let's take a look at places 11 to 20:
11.
Louis Meintjes
+ 18"
12.
Leopold Konig
+ 18"
13.
Brendan Canty
+ 18"
14.
Kaspars Sergis
+ 18"
15.
Carlos Betancourt
+ 18"
16.
Charalampas Kastrantas
+ 18"
17.
Arvin Moazemi
+ 18"
18.
Alex Kirsch
+ 18"
19.
Patrick Schelling
+ 18"
20.
Patrick Lane
+ 18"
Talansky got the worst result of the pre-stage GC Top 10, finishing 40th, but still well within this 18"-group. Given the small gaps today, we don't have a lot of movement in the said Top 10, as we'll see later.
What this stage showed us once again is that it helps to be a good puncheur, but it isn't everything. With Monsalve, it was the best climber winning today, with the best puncheurs taking 2nd, 5th and 8th. But most of the 2nd-tier puncheurs - especially those with rather low climbing capabilities - didn't live up to the expectations. Well, tomorrow's another day - let's see.
But for now, let's head over to the victory ceremony and celebrate today's winners.
The strongest man on the road definitely was Yonathan Monsalve today. He wins the stage thanks to great positioning and an irresistible sprint, getting even a gap of 8 seconds on Toms Skujins and George Bennett. While the latter will probably be happy with such a result on a hilly stage, the former must curse his bad positioning once again. His team was right were it should be - at the front of the peloton, going into the final climb - but Skujins was nowhere to be seen. With a sprint that would probably have been easily enough for the win, he gets at least a podium place.
And Yonathan Monsalve also takes over the yellow jersey from Alex Kirsch, who drops to 2nd. Monsalve was the pre-race favorite for the Volta a Portugal, so to see him take over the jersey is kind of expected. And he definitely does have the team it takes to defend this lead - let's see how this works out.
Jack Bobridge's efforts weren't completely in vain, as he moves up to 3rd in the GC. Being already 40" behind Monsalve can't be what he expected, though.
The Top 10 are still very close together, though, with just 49" between 2nd and 10th. The only new name among them is Skujins, who moves up to 9th thanks to the bonus seconds for his 2nd place today. He kicks Tvetcov out of the Top 10.
Hugo Houle, today's most unlucky fellow, finishing almost 10 minutes back due to a flat tire, at least gets some consolation in the green jersey which he defends by a single point ahead of Yonathan Monsalve. Damiano Caruso, who took a day off today after his breakaways on the previous two stages, drops to 3rd. Monsalve should be the favorite for this jersey if he continues like yesterday and today, but a breakaway win could very well turn things upside down again.
Damiano Caruso gets one more day in the KoM jersey, as today's escapees weren't able to take it from him. Most successful today was his teammate Honkisz, making the Europcar strategy work perfectly well. Far more points will be available tomorrow, so taking a day off today seems like a good idea.
Behind him, we now have 5 riders on a joint 2nd place: Daniel Alexander Jaramillo, Amanuel Gebrezgabihier, Arthur Vichot, Jasper Stuyven and today's winner Yonathan Monsalve. All of them have 18 points, 4 less than Caruso. But this one is as wide open as it can be - I'm already looking forward for some more KoM fights tomorrow!
The white jersey stays on Mark Padun's shoulders. Four U25 riders were ahead of him today, with Ackermann, Power, Aidan Van Niekerk and Fritsch, but all of them finished in the same group as the Ukranian. And so did Laurens De Plus and Sam Oomen, so nothing changes in the Top 3 positions.
And what would be a day without a leader change in the team standings? Pre-stage leaders Isostar had a really bad day and drop to 7th, opening the way to Lierse SK - Pizza Ullo PCTeam! They weren't the strongest, either, and so they just lead 6" ahead of Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ, and 9" ahead of ISA - Hexacta. But the first 6 teams still are within slightly more than a minute, we're far from having a decision here.
That's it from today's stage. With Monsalve, the pre-race favorite has already taken the leader jersey today, so let's hope the others will still give him a good fight! All other standings are still wide open, which raises the hopes for more good racing tomorrow! Half the race is done - let's hope the riders have got something left in their tank, as it's still 5 hard days awaiting them! See you tomorrow, where we'll be having a stage with a potentially action loaded finale!
Volta a Portugal 
