Yes! After three boring hilly stages we finally reached everyone’s favourite cycling event, a team time trial! Yellow jersey Borges has some good papers to keep riding in yellow, as his team is one of the favourites.
Sauber Petronas had a very bad Tour so far and is the first team to start. Their time at the first chrono is 19’24”.
Aramco DP has no more riders in contention for a good GC result as well. They beat the Sauber Petronas time by nine seconds, 19’15”!
Glanbia still has Haas in the top-20, and they should actually be a good time trial team. One thing they don’t like is climbing though, so they’re not a big fan of the climb in the beginning of the stage. With a time of 19’18”, they are currently second.
Carlsberg is the only team here with only six riders. Their two national champions (Denmark and Latvia) can’t help Juul-Jensen uphill though, as the Dane has to set the pace himself. Their time at the first chrono is 19’38”, already 23 seconds slower than the best time!
The Valio boys are flying! They can already see Carlsberg ahead of them, and they improve Aramco’s time at the first chrono by 46 seconds, 18’28”!
Campari trying to save the GC of Di Maggio, and they’re doing a very decent job so far! They have the new best time at the first chrono, three seconds faster than Valio – Viking Genetics! Next team to cross the chrono is that of yellow jersey Borges, Duolingo!
And they are also doing a good job! The team of the yellow jersey has the second fastest time so far, one second slower than Campari Asahi Procycling!
They might not have the best time trialists, they do have some climbing gunpowder! Centovalli – Fiat with a good first part, as they are currently third at two seconds of the best time!
Somewhat surprisingly Andorra Cycling Project still has a rider in the top-10, Tizza. A fifth time out of nine, 22 seconds slower than the best time at the first chrono, is actually not too bad.
Glanbia has started gaining time on the teams that started ahead of them, as both Sauber Petronas and Aramco DP are around half a minute behind the time of 33’46” of the CT team at the second chrono!
Then it’s time for the Minions to show us their skills. Janse van Rensburg is proudly wearing the national flag in his home country. They do okay, but not amazing. Fifth time out of ten at the first chrono, only 10” behind Campari’s best time.
Valio – Viking Genetics destroys Glanbia’s best time at the second chrono and is more than a minute faster! Carlsberg has also just passed here, and they are surprisingly third out of five teams.
Adastra N Hell still has two riders in the top-20, so a good time trial would mean a lot to them. Their time at the first chrono says they really want to keep it that way, as with their 18’13” they have the new best time there! Ten seconds faster than the new number two, Campari Asahi Procycling.
Nordstrom – CA Technologies surprises at the first chrono, as they currently hold the second best time, only 7” slower than Adastra!
We have a new leader at the second chrono! Duolingo beats Valio’s time by seven seconds, while Campari is losing ground and is 31” slower than the green owls.
Buchmann has been quite absent in this Tour so far. His team might be the top favourite for the stage win, but so far they don’t impress us. They are seventh out of thirteen at the first chrono, at 20” of the best time.
The first five teams have already crossed the finish line. Valio – Viking Genetics has the best time with 45’18”, while Glanbia will be disappointed, having lost 1’12”. Carlsberg, with only six riders, is currently third at 1’33”.
Please make some noise for home team Project: Africa! They also still have two riders in the top-20 and are a decent time trial team. Not the best climbers though, as is shown at the first chrono. Tenth time out of fifteen, 37” slower than Adastra.
Team Europcar currently holds the polka-dots, which they’re obviously proud of, but are still working on their time trial positions. Almost a minute slower than the best time, 11th out of 15 at the first chrono.
Ten teams have now passed the second chrono. Minions have gained some seconds on leader Duolingo, but is still nine seconds behind them in third place. Centovalli does better than expected with a fourth place at only 26 seconds of the best time there, and Andorra currently in sixth at 46”.
Strava another CT team with two riders in the top-20. They also lack time trial depth though. Nevertheless, at the first chrono they now have the ninth time at 29” of the best time.
No surprises anymore for Duolingo, they remain in the lead at the finish line, being 13” faster than Valio and 46” faster than Campari, and Borges will probably hold on to his yellow jersey!
Xero Racing has three riders in the top-7, and they would love to keep it that way. The kiwis put down a good time at the first chrono, only 7” slower than Adastra!
All times at the first chrono
Adastra! Hasn’t lost too much speed and now takes the best time at the second chrono as well! Even though they have lost some seconds, they are still 7” faster than Duolingo! Nordstrom has lost some ground and is currently sixth there, at 38”.
Mapei has been riding strong in the second part, which translates to a second place at the second chrono! Six seconds slower than the best time!
Centovalli crosses the finish line without Mundle, who was dropped a bit earlier. A third time out of eight so far, at 37” of the best time, should make manager Fabianski a happy man. A bit later Andorra comes in fifth at one minute.
The Minions come a bit closer to Duolingo at the finish, but not close enough to take the best time! They are currently second at 6”.
Oh, how close! Adastra N Hell Energy Cycling is exactly one second too slow to have the best time at the finish! They will be disappointed now, but in general they should be very content with their efforts!
Meanwhile, the last team has passed the second chrono. Xero Racing has the fourth time there, 11” slower than Adastra.
All times at the second chrono
Can you believe it?! Mapei finishes milliseconds slower than Duolingo, so they’ll have to be happy with a second place! Nordstrom meanwhile in eighth at 50 seconds.
One team to go, as Strava is now tenth, Project: Africa eleventh and probably disappointed, and Team Europcar fifteenth.
And here they are! No miracle anymore for Xero Racing, finishing fifth at 11” of today’s winner Duolingo!
