Day one of the Baltic Chain Tour. A quick appetizer for whats to come. 3km around Tallin’s streets which include relevant sections of cobblestones.
Eugert Zhupa takes the first interesting time with 4’35
Ruben Zepunkte goes 4’34 to take the hot seat for just 1 second
His reign doesn’t last for long though as Mihkel Raim beats him at 4’33
The experienced Van Avermaet comes close but spends one more second with 4’34.
And here’s a surprise for you: Ngamdamba seizes the lead by 2 seconds! (4’31)
The next relevant time comes from Matthews: 4’32 (+1’’)
We’re entering the last third of the field now.
Yannick Martinez takes the lead now with a time of 4’30 (-1’’)
Riders keep on rolling through the streets of Tallin. Ovsyannikov at 4’32 (+2’’) and Edmondson with the same time find their way into the top10.
Some big names finally start to pop up in the screens. Soon enough we have major news to report:
Alexander Kristoff breaks into the lead with a stupendous time of 4’29’’ (-1’’)
He won’t last long at that time slot for long as Maxime Daniel takes the same exact time at the finish
Another Adastra rider challenges the lead. This time it is Jempy Drucker with a time of 4’30 (+1’’)
We’re in the last 20 riders of the day now. Most of the pre-race favourites have finished, but our reporter seems to have missed a good chunk of those so we'll have to wait for the final results I'm afraid.
There’s another surprising result though.
It’s Wout van Aert! The Belgian equals the best time of 4’29.
Because of technical difficulties the organizers have asked for the end of the stage to let us know of the verdict between these many ties.
Last year’s winner is on the road now. Can he beat this?
Again, it’s as close as you’d imagine. Meksel Debesay adds himself to the list of the 4’29 finishers.
It’s almost over so it looks like that tie-break is going to be deciding today’s winner and first yellow jersey.
But wait.
It’s not over just yet!
Marcus Altur is reported to have clocked a very strong time at the intermediate…
…and he goes on to conclude his ride in 4’28’’ dramatically grabbing a sensational victory, defying all the naysayers who criticized his inclusion in this event.
The Spaniard thus grabs yellow jersey no.1 relieving Caleb Ewan of some pressure. Kristoff though is the best well positioned sprinter. We'll see if he can make use of that tomorrow.
