Welcome! This is the closest we'll ever get to a hillclimb as actual race. A flat start followed by a climb to the top of the Transfagarasan, may the best climber win!
The race is short so little time to attack and form a breakaway. Lopez, Bissegger, Monaco, Bercz and Simpson are brave enough.
Simpson couldn't make it but Hansen did instead. The five leaders have 1'30 with 75 kilometer to go.
The gap tops at 2'30 with 60 to go. Nordica, Los Pollos, Project: Africa, BNZ, Sauber, Philips chasing.
The road slowly goes up, but the proper climb starts at 22 kilometer from the finish line, which is right here at this hairpin turn. The lead of the breakaway is down to just one minute.
Extreme fog makes the break invisible, but they are at 40 seconds. Pinot and Marquez in the front positions of the peloton already, Ranaweera and Ratiy a bit further down.
And now it also starts to rain. Bercz and Monaco have attacked from the breakaway. The peloton can't see this development.
Hansen grinds to a halt, and Bercz drops Monaco, or at least that's what we can see. Cepeda Hernandez is leading the pack with Seboka pacing for Marquez.
Bissegger is also caught. Project: Africa takes control of the peloton with Van Heerden in front of Pinot. 15 kilometer to go, Lopez closing in on Monaco who is back in the wheel of Bercz. The extreme fog is gone, visibility is fine again.
Bercz accelerating away again which signals the end for the other two, though no way the remaining leader will survive.
He is indeed caught with 12 kilometer to the top. Berard and Bardet leading with Keinath, Ranaweera, Garby, Pinot, Marquez, Lunke and Ratiy in the front positions.
The weather conditions keep worsening, we have snow as well under the banner for 10km. Augustyn, Janse van Rensburg, Pernsteiner, Frankiny, Seboka, and Bardet assisting their leaders. Inkelaar is the best climber to have been dropped.
Five kilometer of nothingness on the front, though the group is down to only 40 riders thanks to Frankiny...
...and Seboka is not amongst them. The one race suiting him to a cup of tea and he still can't score. Jang, Hoem, Henao, Medvedev, Silva, Brandt and Signorini dropped as well.
The group splits in two. The front 23 in order of appearance: Frankiny Paulus Ranaweera Marquez Pinot Keinath Fabbro Eg Chamorro Manfredi Parra Bustamente Ndayisenga Lunke Bardet Schultz Maesen Ratiy Garby Jaramillo Janse van Rensburg Burmann Eyob Petrovski
Battaglin Cort Nielsen Kuss Mai Saggiorato
in the second group but the gap almost a minute already.
Pinot finally opens the attacks a kilometer later, Marquez follows. Frankiny, Ranaweera, Keinath, Chamorro, Lunke, Fabbro, Parra Bustamente, Paulus and Ndayisenga remains as chasers, meaning Ratiy and Garby are amongst those dropped.
Ranaweera and Keinath rejoin the duo as Frankiny has done his job. Fabbro and Paulus are dropped with him.
Two kilometer where Keinath loses contact with Marquez, Pinot and Ranaweera. Chamorro, Lunke, Ndayisenga and Parra Bustamente at 35 seconds with Frankiny just behind. Group Garby/ Ratiy at 1'30, group Cort Nielsen/ Kuss/ Seboka at 2'45.
The matadors enter the final kilometer. Marquez seems to be on the limit, Pinot slightly accelerating to eliminate a competitor. The snowflakes hopefully won't disrupt the battle. Keinath at 40 seconds just in front of the chasing group.
Marquez indeed cracks, accepting third position. It's Pinot versus Ranaweera with the Frenchman leading for now.
Further back, Keinath maintaining his lead with Frankiny slowly getting back to Chamorro/ Lunke/ Ndayisenga/ Parra Bustamente. Places four to nine are still open.
Ranaweera takes the outside turn but draws alongside Pinot. Both are out of breath despite the shortness of the stage. It can hardly be called a sprint as neither seems to have an extra gear.
Thibaut Pinot takes the win in the Transfagarasan GP! Celebrations are reserved for the podium ceremony. Suranga Ranaweera draws the short end of the stick this time.
Florentino Marquez takes the final spot on the podium, dropping off just before the sprint. It's the best he had in store today.
Parra Bustamente fancies a sprint for fourth place, passing Keinath. Lunke also looking relatively fresh.
It's Heiner Rodrigo Parra Bustamente taking fourth, saving the best for last. Nico Keinath fifth, Sindre Skjostad Lunke sixth.
Not sprinting for their positions, Valens Ndayisenga rolls over the line in seventh ahead of Juan Ernesto Chamorro and Kilian Frankiny.
The top ten is completed by Daniel Paulus, beating Fabbro who takes eleventh.
Schultz leads the next group over the line, taking twelfth himself. With him are Bardet, Eg, Maesen, Burmann, Ratiy, Garby, Manfredi, Jaramillo, Eyob, Petrovski and Janse van Rensburg.
The final two ranking points are claimed by the first two riders from this group, and there is a sprint for it. Rosa and Hardy are the lucky ones, and not Cort Nielsen, Seboka or Kuss.
Thibaut Pinot has recovered enough to step on the podium, receive the award and be kissed by the podium girls!
