After yesterday’s hilly stage saw only outside GC contenders lose time, today’s time trial should cause much more significant time gaps. At 26.3 kilometers, the better time trialists among the top favorites have enough room to gain a decent advantage on some of their rivals and they need it, since none of them count among the absolute best climbers.
But of course the pure time trialists also have big ambitions for today, so let’s have a look at them first:
FL
TT
PRL
FL
TT
PRL
Ganna
71
74
76
De Bod
71
73
73
Powless
70
74
74
Scotson
69
73
75
Oliveira
67
74
74
Anderberg
74
72
72
Gidich
72
73
73
Castrillo
73
72
72
Vlasov
71
73
73
Groselj
72
71
73
Ganna missed out on the prologue win by less than a second, but he’ll try again today and is the main favorite. But it’s going to be a close competition, as many riders are very similar in terms of their skills.
Powless, Gidich and Vlasov stand out as the main riders with GC ambitions among these top time trialists. Let’s have a look at the other top contenders and their TT abilities:
TT
MO
HI
TT
MO
HI
Padun
65
78
75
Areruya
64
74
74
Roman
64
75
73
Barta
71
74
71
Min
64
75
72
Gidich
73
73
76
Schleck
53
75
72
In addition to the guys mentioned above, Barta stands to gain the most. In contrast, Schleck will lose a lot today, he was already more than 30 seconds off of guys like Gidich in the prologue, and this stage is more than four times as long. But the likes of Padun, Roman, Min and Areruya don’t love time trials either.
Among the outside contenders who did not lose time yesterday already, Conci and Pogacar deserve a mention as decent time trialists.
With all that said, let’s get into the action of today:
The first rider on the road is already a contender for a good position today. Beniusis’ time at the first checkpoints will be the mark for the following riders.
The Lithuanian seems to have started a bit slowly, as Marryatt, not a bad but not a great time trialist, was just three seconds off at the first time check, but that distance has grown to 19 seconds at the second check. That’s more what you’d expect.
Another strong time trialist is in the saddle early. Scotson disappointed with a 10th place in the prologue and wants to do better today. He’s 2 seconds slower than Beniusis in the first sector.
Beniusis comes to the line and sets the first best time of the day. In anticipation of the GC riders later on, we’ll also take overall times into consideration today.
Stage
GC
1.
Beniusis
32’39
l
1.
Beniusis
13h01’59
Marryatt comes to the finish and he gets the provisional second best time, but he loses an additional 13 seconds and gives us a first impression of what the time differences can look like today.
Stage
GC
1.
Beniusis
32’39
l
1.
Marryatt
12h52’56
2.
Marryatt
+ 32
l
2.
Evans
+ 1’24
3.
Evans
+ 1’07
l
3.
Beniusis
+ 7’40
Scotson’s deficit has increased to 5 seconds at the second checkpoint, but with a strong final sector he could still take the lead.
Meanwhile, Erdenebat starts very hot, tying Scotson’s time at the first checkpoint, but we see a pattern already, with time gaps being much smaller than expected there, but widening considerably at the second checkpoint and all the way to the finish.
Scotson comes to the line but he didn’t have that final punch and only finishes second, missing the best time by 8 seconds.
Stage
GC
1.
Beniusis
32’39
l
1.
Scotson
12h49’29
2.
Scotson
+ 8
l
2.
Zakaria
+ 3’05
3.
Marryatt
+ 32
l
3.
Marryatt
+ 3’27
Beniusis’ time at both checkpoints is beaten for the first time: Groselj has a 10 second advantage after the first two sectors!
Erdenebat crosses the line more composed than most before him and he rode a very strong race. He finishes only 13 seconds behind Beniusis and the question is now whether his time was just that good or whether especially Scotson had another bad day, since on paper you’d expect a much bigger difference.
Stage
GC
1.
Beniusis
32’39
l
1.
Erdenebat
12h46’27
2.
Scotson
+ 8
l
2.
Resell
+ 1’57
3.
Erdenebat
+ 13
l
3.
Moricz
+ 2’29
Norsgaard finishes with a very solid time, relegating Scotson to provisional third right now.
Stage
GC
1.
Beniusis
32’39
l
1.
Norsgaard
12h44’06
2.
Norsgaard
+ 3
l
2.
Akhmaevi
+ 44
3.
Scotson
+ 8
l
3.
Chokri
+ 56
Groselj only increased his pace in the final sector and takes the best time comfortably.
Stage
GC
1.
Groselj
32’21
l
1.
Groselj
12h43’39
2.
Beniusis
+ 17
l
2.
Norsgaard
+ 27
3.
Norsgaard
+ 21
l
3.
Akhmaevi
+ 1’11
Kämna performs reasonably well, finishing in the provisional Top 10.
Stage
GC
1.
Groselj
32’21
l
1.
Groselj
12h43’39
2.
Beniusis
+ 17
l
2.
Kämna
+ 15
3.
Norsgaard
+ 21
l
3.
Norsgaard
+ 27
…
6.
Kämna
+ 36
Castrillo beats Groselj at the first checkpoint! Strong showing by the Spaniard so far, a good feeling after a disappointing prologue, I’m sure.
Very strong performance also by Noia, who’s second currently at the finish line, tied with Beniusis!
Stage
GC
1.
Groselj
32’21
l
1.
Noia
12h43’19
2.
Noia
+ 17
l
2.
Groselj
+ 20
3.
Beniusis
s.t.
l
3.
Kämna
+ 47
Castrillo led Groselj by 1 second at the first checkpoint, 2 at the second and consequently, he takes the lead by 3!
Stage
GC
1.
Castrillo
32’17
l
1.
Castrillo
12h41’56
2.
Groselj
+ 3
l
2.
Cardona
+ 1’22
3.
Noia
+ 21
l
3.
Noia
+ 1’23
After Castrillo, there’s a very long drought, even decent time trialists like Kiriakidis and Mano finish without making much of an impact at all. Yamamoto comes closest, but he just barely makes the provisional Top 10.
Stage
GC
1.
Castrillo
32’17
l
1.
Yamamoto
12h41’19
2.
Groselj
+ 3
l
2.
Mano
+ 22
3.
Noia
+ 21
l
3.
Castrillo
+ 37
…
8.
Yamamoto
+ 31
Then, Ivo Oliveira is underway. As one of the bigger favorites for the stage win, we’ll see how much the times so far are actually worth. At the first checkpoint, he trails Castrillo by a second, at the second, he’s ahead by less then that. It’s going to be super close!
The Portuguese has a very strong final sector and it’s enough to take the lead! But seeing how close it was, it’s also a testament to the performances of Castrillo and Groselj.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Oliveira
12h40’36
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Yamamoto
+ 43
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Christodoulos
+ 1’03
Again, there are not a lot of good time trialists over the next few dozen riders. Schäppi finishes provisional 11th, Bernal bounces back after a less than ideal day yesterday and finishes with a decent time by his standards, leaving a few nominally stronger time trialists behind him. He’ll also gain a few spots in the GC.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Bernal
12h39’48
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Oliveira
+ 48
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Schäppi
+ 1’27
…
14.
Bernal
+ 50
In immediate succession, Penko and Razumov, pictured here, both break into the Top 5 at the first checkpoint. At the second, however, Razumov drops back to 10th, while Penko keeps a better pace and stays in Top 5 contention, but that cluster of riders is currently very close together.
Penko ends up in sixth place at the moment, but he’s just one second behind both Noia and Beniusis. That one second could make all the difference in the battle for a Top 10 result today, since there are still quite a few strong time trialists left. A few moments later, Razumov comes to the line, but he continued to lose time, finishing just 12th for now, 38 seconds behind Oliveira.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Penko
12h39’03
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Razumov
+ 10
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Stork
+ 32
…
6.
Penko
+ 26
Prologue winner Anderberg was in that same area, time wise, at both checkpoints and he, too, falls just mere seconds short of a good result. Only 3 seconds separate Noia in fourth from the Volvo rider in eigth place.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Anderberg
12h38’29
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Sajnok
+ 32
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Penko
+ 34
…
8.
Anderberg
+ 28
The first GC contenders are on the road now, at least some of the more long shot candidates. Petelin, already almost a minute behind the likes of Powless or Gidich, loses almost 3 minutes to current stage leader Oliveira here. Foss does significantly better, and although his time isn’t great, it might give him the leg up in the battle for team leadership with Gregaard, who’s coming up in a bit.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Affini
12h38’13
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Anderberg
+ 16
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Foss
+ 20
…
36.
Foss
+ 1’09
Sivakov might also have hoped to have a shot at team leadership, but after already losing time yesterday, he will lose even more today to his teammate Vlasov.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Affini
12h38’13
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Anderberg
+ 16
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Sivakov
+ 17
…
34.
Sivakov
+ 1’07
Meanwhile, let’s not forget that there’s still a fight for the stage win going on. De Bod won’t have anything to do with that, though. He already trails Oliveira by 20 seconds at the second checkpoint, which is only good for 12th place there.
In contrast, Ganna sets a new best time at the first time check, albeit only by a single second!
Inkelaar is a Top 10 climber in this field, but he already lost time in the final meters of yesterday’s hilly stage and he’s a pretty terrible time trialist, adding another big chunk to his deficit.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Affini
12h38’13
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Anderberg
+ 16
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Sivakov
+ 17
…
118.
Inkelaar
+ 2’39
l
32.
Inkelaar
+ 1’48
At the second checkpoint, Ganna is only third, now that single second behind both Oliveira and Castrillo. Could this be another millisecond heartbreak for the Italian?
A quick look further back shows that the worst assumptions may come true for Schleck. After only the first sector, he’s already over a minute behind the best time, that’s fourth to last place of the entire field.
De Bod sprints to the finish line but there’s no denying that this is a disappointing result.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
De Bod
12h37’54
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Affini
+ 19
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Anderberg
+ 35
…
12.
De Bod
+ 37
Then it’s time for Ganna. Oliveira had a strong final sector, so he needs one, too. He manages to overtake teammate Steimle, but he actually loses a good chunk, falling behind even Groselj!
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Affini
+ 1’03
4.
Ganna
s.t.
Areruya is no great time trialist by any means, but it’s enough to overtake Schleck within the final sector. At the second checkpoint, the Xero leader is 1’19 behind the best time, which is not terrible, I guess.
Roman and Min pass that checkpoint with the exact same time, both 8 seconds faster than Areruya.
Meanwhile, Pogacar continues to leave a good impression. At the first time check, he’s only seven seconds behind the best time, currently 17th.
Gregaard comes to the line and as expected, he loses quite a bit of time, falling behind teammate Foss in the GC by a mere 9 seconds.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Dina
+ 58
…
83.
Gregaard
+ 1’45
l
7.
Gregaard
+ 1’32
Padun comes to the second time check and he, too, clocks in at the exact same time as Roman and Min!
Meanwhile, Barta is now on the road. In his quest for a top GC result, this is a crucial day. He has to put as much time into the riders mentioned above, for instance, as possible.
Areruya now comes to the line and he loses more than 2 minutes. Quite the burden for the upcoming stages.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Dina
+ 58
…
115.
Areruya
+ 2’16
l
7.
Areruya
+ 1’29
Schleck ends the day with a deficit of just over 5 minutes in last place and it’s not even close. He’s now around 3 minutes behind Areruya in the GC.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Dina
+ 58
…
168.
Schleck
+ 5’07
l
65.
Schleck
+ 4’25
Gidich passes through the first checkpoint on a provisional 9th place, 1 second faster than Vlasov, 2 seconds faster than Barta and 3 seconds faster than Conci, the riders immediately ahead of him.
Roman looked decent on the final sector, increasing his advantage over Areruya on this stage to 14 seconds.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Dina
+ 58
…
102.
Roman
+ 2’02
l
5.
Roman
+ 1’15
Immediately after him, it’s Min who comes to the line. Having been tied at the second checkpoint, he loses 2 seconds to Roman in the final sector.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Dina
+ 58
…
110.
Min
+ 2’04
l
5.
Min
+ 1’15
Next up is Cherkasov, currently Philips’ best GC rider. Also not too good of a time trialist, he stays ahead of the previous two in the GC.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Dina
+ 58
…
95.
Cherkasov
+ 1’52
l
4.
Cherkasov
+ 59
Unless Gidich or Vlasov can seriously step it up in the second half of the course, Powless is the only rider who can still topple Oliveira. At the first time check, he’s only a second slower.
GC top favorite Padun comes to the line and just like at the second checkpoint, he exactly matches Min’s time.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
De Bod
+ 44
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Dina
+ 58
…
107.
Padun
+ 2’04
l
5.
Padun
+ 1’08
Madouas continues his string of unspectacular but solid performances today:
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Madouas
+ 20
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
De Bod
+ 44
…
50.
Madouas
+ 1’16
After Aular lost a lot of time yesterday, Almeida is DK Zalgiris’ main GC rider now. For his on paper semi-decent time trialing, this is a rather bad time.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Ganna
12h37’10
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Madouas
+ 20
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
De Bod
+ 44
…
110.
Almeida
+ 2’05
l
6.
Almeida
+ 1’08
At the second checkpoint, Vlasov is pretty much on par with Conci and Barta, which is a bit below expectations for the Russian. All three are currently around 20th place, 24 to 26 seconds behind the best time.
I spoke highly of Pogacar earlier and he delivers at the finish line as well. Easily the best time by one of the GC riders so far.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Pogacar
12h36’58
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Ganna
+ 12
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Madouas
+ 32
…
19.
Pogacar
+ 45
Errazkin showed good form with a fifth place yesterday and he does well to limit his losses today, too. A strong 1-2 punch for Azteca with him and Barta going forward.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Pogacar
12h36’58
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Ganna
+ 12
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Madouas
+ 32
…
70.
Errazkin
+ 2’05
l
4.
Errazkin
+ 40
Gidich’s deficit to Oliveira has grown to 14 seconds. The stage win seems out of reach, but he’s still on pace for a Top 10 finish today, and he wants to gain more time on Padun and the other good climbers, of course.
Powless passes through the second checkpoint now five seconds off the best time. Oliveira isn’t safe yet, but he can feel more and more optimistic.
Euskaltel has three riders currently in the Top 8, but two of them will definitely drop out of the Top 10 today. Gaudu, the first one, loses almost 3 minutes. Despite being estimated as a worse time trialist, Zahiri actually does a bit better, although that is of course relative, so he will still drop a good number of places.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Pogacar
12h36’58
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Ganna
+ 12
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Madouas
+ 32
…
116.
Zahiri
+ 2’05
l
9.
Zahiri
+ 1’16
Vlasov had ambitions for a Top 5, at least Top 10 result today, but that’s not happening. With this time, he won’t even make the Top 20 and it also isn’t what he had hoped for with an eye on the GC.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Vlasov
12h36’43
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Pogacar
+ 15
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Ganna
+ 27
…
19.
Vlasov
+ 44
Barta finishes four seconds behind him, a good but not great result for the American.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Vlasov
12h36’43
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Barta
+ 3
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Pogacar
+ 15
…
22.
Barta
+ 48
The third of the Euskaltel riders, team leader Conci, slots in right between the two. Another good performance.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Vlasov
12h36’43
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Conci
+ 1
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Barta
+ 3
…
21.
Conci
+ 46
Only three riders remain. Gidich comes in first. He suffered a bit on the final sector, doubling his deficit from 14 to 28 seconds, coming in right in that time frame with now six riders within 4 seconds. He’s eigth for now and has a lead of almost two minutes against Padun, Roman and Min in the GC.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Gidich
12h36’26
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Vlasov
+ 17
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Conci
+ 18
…
8.
Gidich
+ 28
Then it’s time for Powless. He can’t compete with Oliveira’s fantastic final sector either, but at least finishes in the Top 5. With this result, he will also get to wear yellow tomorrow!
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Powless
12h36’05
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Gidich
+ 21
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Vlasov
+ 38
…
5.
Powless
+ 10
Van Niekerk was never going to keep yellow for more than just this one day, but I’m sure he will have enjoyed his time in it and he remains in an okay GC position.
Stage
GC
1.
Oliveira
32’13
l
1.
Powless
12h36’05
2.
Castrillo
+ 3
l
2.
Gidich
+ 21
3.
Groselj
+ 7
l
3.
Vlasov
+ 38
…
120.
Van Niekerk
+ 2’08
l
11.
Van Niekerk
+ 1’51
As expected, we have a new overall leader today in Neilson Powless. But other riders can feel like winners as well: The actual stage winner, Ivo Oliveira, obviously, as well as the other two podium finishers, Castrillo and Groselj. Gidich will also be happy with the almost two minutes he now has in the GC on Padun, Roman and Min.
Those three, as well as Areruya, have suffered today, although not as much as Schleck, of course. Among the riders who didn’t completely flop but finished below expectations are probably Ganna, Vlasov and maybe Scotson and De Bod.
Another hilly stage is up next, although one with a pretty serious final climb, so another opportunity to make some differences in the GC is right around the corner. See you then!
Stage Result
Note: As is often the case, the time differences displayed during the stage (which I use for the commentary) don’t match those in the results page 100%. Because of the many repititions, I did not want to go through the whole report to adjust the times like I normally do, I hope you don’t mind. The difference is only a second here and there.
Tour de l’Avenir 
