The first of two remaining mountain stages. Today though in form of a 16,7km mountain time trial. It has a short flat section early on, some less steep parts on climb one and a descent in between the climbs. So while the mountain skills surely play a big role, the better time trialists could have an advantage.
This means basically, Abal, Nerz, Duarte followed by Krasnoperov or Penasa. If the time trialling actually is more important, Fraile could be the rider to beat.
A quick look on the GC shows some incredible close fights.
First the obvious. Just 18s between Nerz and Penasa for the GC win. Abal in 3rd looks set.
Kuss/Raileanu could be set, could become interesting...while Duarte in 6th should be able to keep off Brandt and Atapuma. Those two though within the same time. Better time trialist Brandt vs better climber Atapuma.
Denz and Fraile very close to earch other and so is Liphongyu. The fight for the top10 will stay close till the finish with Garby, Mannion, Gebremedhin just behind also within seconds and this goes on for the next couple riders from 15th to 17th.
Early on the good climbers that are awfully placed GC wise due to the time loss after being in breakaways. First Stetina and then beaten by Krasnoperov as one of todays favourites (on paper). The energy spent in breaks could be vital today. 1'11 faster than the US rider though shows, his time likely was pretty good.
Team mate Moschella though as 21st in the GC going 3s faster at the first time split.
Actually only in 3rd position as stronger time trialists Kiserlovski and Jones are another 8 or 4s faster at half time.
Burke and Gebremedhin finish the first sector as 5th and 6th at the moment, still all 6 within 24s.
Garby is one of the biggest surprises on any mountain stage. Between top and awful performances you can get anything. Unfortunately most times it`s underperformances though. Today it looks better. As he can go his own individual pace, it might be easier for him. First at half time, 14s faster than Kiserlovski, who meanwhile finishes the stage being 7s faster than Moschella! 11 to Krasnoperov, 47s then to Chhetri and a bit over 1min to Geniez or Sortveit.
Carter Jones will move in between the two Nordica climbers being 9s off Kiserlovski`s time.
Back to the 1st sector. Liphongyu struggled a lot yesterday on the hill stage but is on a better performance today. 5th for him so far ahead of Moschella. Just 23s off Garby.
Fraile being fast on the easier climb but not fast enough. 2nd behind Garby, 9s off. Denz losing a bit more. 10th and 36s loss at the moment. Not too bad though.
Atapuma wants to attack Brandt`s GC position and he goes into 3rd provisionally. 14s behind Garby and 5s to Fraile.
Brandt though plays out his time trial strength and goes even stronger. Actually moving 1s ahead of Fraile even, which is a surprise and shows his great form.
The second climb though is harder and might favour Atapuma again.
Duarte then with the next best time!
He goes 6s faster than Garby. Slowly the time gaps become bigger but it`s still basically 30s between 1st and 10th at half time.
Raileanu is having a nice race so far. Still sitting in 5th and while he is going to lose a bit today, it might not be enough. 11th and +32s at the moment.
Kuss is unlikely to attack the podium. At least not today, tomorrow might be his final chance.
8th for him at the moment ahead of Jones but behind most the top10 riders.
Abal is maybe todays top favourite. Though coming over the half time line in 2nd behind Duarte is surely not ideal. 3s off.
And Penasa then going another 4s faster beating Duarte. Is this enough to attack the yellow jersey to get it back?
At the moment, it doesn`t look likely. Nerz with a fantastic first term, 15s faster than Penasa showing his ambitions once again and onto the next Kraftwerk stage win?
A quick overview from the half time sector. So far Nerz wins the 1-2 fight and Brandt a bit surprisingly stays ahead of Atapuma while Fraile and Denz could swap positions.
Onto the finish line. Garby coming in and actually just passing Mannion. As with the first sector, it`s the new best time, 24s ahead of Kiserlovski followed by Moschella +32, Jones +34, Krasnoperov +36. Mannion despite being lapped still 11th actually.
More and more riders are coming over the line. In short: Liphongyu +41 Fraile +15 Atapuma +25
Can Brandt defend his GC spot? He was faster than Atapuma before and he still looks fast and indeed he comes over the line at +12, which means 2nd behind Garby and ahead of Fraile, Kiserlovski and Atapuma in this order.
Tomorrow surely favours Atapuma a lot more but the mental advantage is on Brandt`s side.
Duarte finished a bit offside the TV but was just caught, which is good as he sets the new best time. 18s faster than Garby. Solid ride. Maybe his best this race? Raileanu +1'07, which means he will remain 5th around 1min ahead of Duarte! Could be interesting tomorrow. Kuss +47 in the middle of nowhere or actually 4th.
Abal played out all his experience and timed the ride to perfection. Still behind Duarte at half time he saved enough energy to flip this around. New best time and 2s faster than the Colombian. The great Desigual performance continues. But can he also beat the two top GC riders who were faster earlier on?
Penasa failed actually with the timing. He doesn`t only drop behind Abal but also behind Duarte! Huge disappointment there. 7s off the Spaniard!
Nerz though continues the cannibal performance of Kraftwerk. It`s simply stunning how they never get enough from winning in this Tour.
21s in the end ahead of Abal, which is 28s to Penasa. Huge move forward to the GC title. But tomorrow he still needs all his team and a good day to defend the likely attacks of Penasa, who now sits much more comfortable 46 points behind him!
Whoever is interested in Ford? Timetrialist yes, but as one of the weakest clibmers he is adding 13'06 to his accound as 101st today, which means, only Kelemen was slower than him. Still, one of the most fantastic solo rides the MG has ever seen. One more day tomorrow.
