Seventh and final day here in Vancouver. We’re finishing the same way we started with a time trial event. However, unlike day one, we’re in for a collective effort.
That means we’ve got a race on our hands. Suranga Ranaweera got a hold of the yellow jersey yesterday but has only a slight 23’’ margin to his season rival Thibaut Pinot who also has a theoretically better TT team.
Behind these two other top10 duels should resume, while we’ll also want to know who actually wins this final stage.
Let’s get cracking then.
The first ten teams are in at the intermediate checkpoint. Gjensidige has managed to find itself at the top of the provisional board, just one second ahead of Trans.
At the finish line Gjensidige goes on to take 20’48 which seems like it’s going to be a very reasonable benchmark
Europcar is the next to finish their race with a time of 21’33 (+42’’)
--- Bralirwa is the next team to pass the intermediate, just 4’’ off the pace of the best time with 10’34, for third best.
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Strava’s approaching the finish line now as well. Not their day as you’d expect but not bad either. 21’20 is their time.
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The next team on the intermediate is the one everyone is waiting for. Project: Africa easily takes the best time with Pinot well tucked inside their train. At 10’14 they cut 16’’ of the previous leader’s time!
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At the finish we have McCormick now. They’ll need a good time to keep Kuss in with a chance of keeping his 8th place in GC as he has 3 rivals within 15’’.
They spend 32’’ more than Gjensidige which is not good and may mean the Americans lose their top10, but they’ll have to wait. (21’23)
--- Philips now on the road. Keinath doesn’t have much to gain or lose today, with a half minute buffer to the riders directly ahead and below him, he’ll just want to finish today quietly in his 3rd place. Their first time is 10’27 (+13’’)
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Back at the finish we have a new best time! It’s Trans Cycling Team with 20’51 (3’’ better than the previous leaders)
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Yo-yoing again to the intermediate point we find one of the contenders for today’s stage. It’s Glanbia with their leader Brandt, who could perhaps overtake Eyob for 12th who’s 28’’ ahead of him. They start very well just 2’’ off the pace of Project: Africa for now at 10’16’’
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The next team to end their race is Sotto il sole di Riccione, who unsrurpisingly won’t have much of an impact today. Their final time is 21’30 (+39’’)
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More interestingly we find Centovalli nearing the checkpoint. Their 2 leaders (Sagioratto 15th and Manfredi 16th) could yet change places with Ndayisenga just 17’’ ahead and Lunke 3’’ behind them. They usually fancy their TTTs but so far it’s not going their way as they spend 22’’ more with a time of 10’36.
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A team which doesn’t really like the race against the clock though is Los Pollos Hermanos. The South Americans will want to limit their losses as best they can so as to give Marquez the chance of retaining a good overall position (currently 5th). Holding off Novak (+2’’) is going to be, let’s be honest, impossible, but 7th is a very realistic prospect for them.
Well, so far they do very well to take provisional third, 23’’ behind Trans which should be good news for them.
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The race is heating up now as we find the yellow jersey on the road now. The colourful setup of Sauber knows they’ll need every watt they can find in their legs to fend off their African rivals. The stress of the occasion seems to be getting the better of them though as they already find themselves losing 21 of the 23’’ they can manage to afford to Pinot!
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Speaking of yellow jerseys, we have the first of the race closing in on the finish line. Ratiy took the first TT but was always going to find today a massively different affair, even more so with a reduced squad of just 6 riders. The question was always going to be how much time would he lose.
It’s no surprise to anyone to see them at dead bottom with a 1’04 deficit to Trans, with 21’55. It’s going to be a big tumble which could see him as far down as 13th I’d reckon.
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One of the riders who could benefit from this is Eyob, who’s out now with his team. He should probably be more worried about defending his place to Brandt though who’s much closer to him. They take a rather modest time at the intermediate time check with 10’40 (+26’’)
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Back at the finish we have BNZ. They have been regular entertainers in this event and will want to see Garby secure that 4th position from Cort Nielsen, whose 28’’ behind him.
They finish in 21’16 (+25’’) with a provisional 4th which is not bad at all. Let’s wait to see what this means for them.
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There are only 3 teams left to pass in the checkpoint now. The first of those is Carlsberg! Their mountain set up has been sort of underwhelming but they know they can make amends today. Warbasse especially has a great chance to climb back a couple of places with a good ride ( Ratiy 9th -11’’, Kuss 8th -15’’), while still having to contend with Chamorro who has the same time in the GC.
They trail by 9’’ (10’23) for now, which gives them a good shot for now.
--- Eddie Stobart finishes in the meantime clocking in 21’34 (+43’’). Lovik is going to be 2nd in the KoM rankings and that’s all that matters for them.
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Tryg had a bad day yesterday but could well turn the tide on their side today. Cort Nielsen is just 18’’ off the 4th place and needs to defend a 9’’ lead to Novak, while Lunke could also benefit from today’s ride.
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Their first time isn’t spectacular though. 10’34 (+20’’) means they’re just 7th best at the moment.
Ndayisenga and his Bralirwa squad finish their run with a time of 21’06 (+15’’) good enough for 3rd.
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The last team on the road is Carrefour. They are a solid contender for today and also have aspirations in the GC as both Novak and Chamorro could see themselves up into the top5 and top10 of the GC respectively.
They start very well losing just 2 seconds to Project Africa with 2nd best there at 10’16, which means Novak is currently 5th and is eyeing Garby’s 4th place!
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Final standings at the intermediate checkpoint[center]
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Let’s focus our attention at the end of the stage now, shall we?
Project: Africa’s well-routined TT train choo-choos its way into the hotseat with 20’27 (-23’’) as a spent and relieved Pinot finishes another grueling race against the clock.
All he needs to do is wait for Sauber not to turn their engine on.
Next up on the final stretch is Philips. Keinath does well to take the same time as the previous best of Trans, securing provisional 2nd (20’50 +23’’) which should be enough for him to take the last step of the podium.
We have Glanbia on the screens now and they look fast. Are they going to dislodge the African zebras from the top spot?
They are not. Spending 4’’ more they overtake their predecessors for provisional 2nd at 20’31. Brandt is bound to climb a few places with this strong ride, but it is not enough to reach Kuss.
The Swiss train of Centovalli is luring in now, will they improve on their first sector?
The answer is no as well. Quite the opposite actually. A final bad day for them as they see themselves spend 40’’ more than current leaders with a time of 21’07. This means they won’t move up in the GC and may even face a drop.
The all-decisive formation of Sauber is the next to take its turn at stopping the clock. Ranaweera can be seen biting his tongue, profusely sweating trying not to lose ground to his team mates.
What is their time?
Well,
I’m going to tell you now,
Just a second,
It is
21’03 (+36’’)
Which means. Thibaut Pinot dethrones Ranaweera from the top of the GC and wins the Tour of Vancouver. Sauber kept its pace rather well, but just weren’t able to emulate Project: Africa’s speed. Second place is nonetheless a very worthy result for the team.
Guave is close to the end as well now. They haven’t raised any eyebrows so far and as expected they finish with a modest time of 21’22 (+55’’)
Eyob thus loses its place to Brandt, but overtakes Ratiy to keep 12th provisionally.
Moving onto our last 3 teams. We have Carlsberg brandishing their fancy kits. Will a celebratory pint be motivational enough for them to strike a good result today?
Well, it’s definitely not bad, but they can’t get close to the leading time, finishing in 20’42 (+15’’), good enough for 3rd.
Warbasse manages to climb two places in the GC overtaking Ratiy and Kuss, while Fabbro overtakes Manfredi for now.
The floater kits of Tryg appear on the horizon now as well. They were 8th in the intermediate checkpoint, can they change that?
The answer is no. Well, provisionally they finish 7th but there’s still one team to go. Their time? 20’42 (+35’’), just marginally better than Sauber.
This is a very close call for Cort Nielsen who fails to pass Garby for fourth by just 4’’, while Lunke overtakes Manfredi further down the ranks.
There’s just one team left to finish, the French outfit of Carrefour. They were just 2’’ off the pace of current leaders in the intermediate. Have they left enough in the tank to produce a late plot twist?
For the final time the answer is…
Yes! They did it. A late upset for Project: Africa who were holding their champagne bottles already, but they are overtaken by just 4’’ with a fabulous time of 20’23!
This is fabulous in many ways for Carrefour as Novak sees himself promoted to 4th place at the expenses of Marquez, Cort Nielsen and Garby, while Chamorro also passes Marquez, but even Warbasse, Ratiy and Kuss to finish 7th! Brilliant day for them.
Project Africa pop they champagne caps all the same as they have an overall victory to commemorate!
Ranaweera clinches both the KoM and U25 classifications. Reinhardt secures the green jersey, while Carrefour goes home with the team classification.
