Welcome to the B Road Race World Championships. Some of the best riders in the world compete for the glory of a World Title and a chance ride in the big kahuna. This year the contest will be decide on 11 laps of the Nürburgring race course. Each lap includes one sharp climb with grades up to 9%. At a total of 286km the winner will need climbing and endurance skills to succeed.
The stage favorites are a mix of the GC guys and the puncheurs:
As the climb is completed for the first time a 5-rider group has established a 3’34 lead. It includes Clarke, Cataford, Mugisha, Cheung and Giannoutsos.
2nd ascent complete: Same leaders 7’33 ahead
3rd: Same leaders, 8’36 ahead
4th: Same leaders, 7’30 ahead, 190k to go.
The peloton begins the descent following the 4th climb still 7’27 behind. Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia and South Africa on the front.
5th ascent complete for the leaders: 6’26 ahead, same teams working behind.
6th ascent complete and the lead is down to 6’02. The riders are into the 2nd half of the race, nobody has been dropped from either the break or the peloton.
The peloton is on the 7th ascent being led by the same teams. The lead is 5’35 and they have 113k to go. On the front are Eislers, Pruus, R. Janse van Rensburg, Mahdar and De Bod. Sirironnanachai punctured but was able to rejoin.
Over the top Guillen is the first rider dropped. Not really his kind of terrain.
8 ascents in the book for the break, the peloton at 2'22, can be seen down the hill. Still only 1 rider dropped.
Over the top a handful more riders are dropped.
Midway up the 9th ascent and the lead is down to 51 seconds. Monsalve has sent his one helper, Abreu, to the front. Clarke is attacking the breakaway.
As they reach the top, all the breakaway is caught except Clarke. The peloton is down to 58 riders. It seems like you need balanced skills on this course, among the riders dropped are Anuar Aziz, Brenes and, most significantly, Choi.
Over the top of the climb more riders are dropped, including Shikai. Niu seems to be the leader for China. Peloton is down to 34 riders and is 30 seconds behind the leader, about 55k to go.
Kangert and Becis complete the catch. In 2 more laps this will be the finishing straight.
The 34-rider peloton begins the 10th ascent, Kangert still on the front. None of the riders mentioned earlier have rejoined.
36km to go, part way up the climb and Meintjes launches the first attack.
The South African gets a gap and Houle leads the response. Gaspar and Hadi also working. 7 more riders dropped including U23 Champion A. Van Niekerk, Kangert, and 3 of the Latvian domestiques.
But they can’t close the cycleYorkshire rider down and as they hit the downhill the lead is 47 seconds. Taaramäe doing the work himself.
The chase group is 22 strong. The last rider dropped was Roman. The Serbian soon rejoins as the pace slows, only 5 teams have domestiques left (Brazil, Rwanda, Canada, Greece and Latvia) and they don’t seem interested/able to work.
Meintjes' lead balloons to 1’50 before, with 27k to go, Gaspar, Hadi and Blums take to the front.
But they haven’t got much left and just a kilometer later, as the peloton hears the bell for the final lap, Sepulveda attacks.
The attack spits 8 of the weaker riders out the back but doesn’t really cut into the lead as the cooperation among the chasers is weak. With 20km to go they trail by 1’50. The 14 chasers are: Martin Sagan Amador Pluchkin Taaramäe Areruya Skujins Monsalve Berhane Boily, Houle Chiarello Sepulveda Kastrantas
12km to go for Meintjes as he starts the final climb. His lead is 1’48, as the riders behind are rotating but not chasing with any vigor yet.
As the chasers reach about the same spot a turn from Houle cuts the lead to 1’32. The lack of strong support riders like him has handicapped many of the leaders. There is a reason this is the B race.
11km to go and again Sepulveda is the first attacker. Th lead quickly down to 1’08.
Under the 10k banner and Areruya takes up the chase, the lead is 25 seconds.
Meintjes’ attack looked promising for a while but with 9k to go he is caught. Back to a 14-rider lead group as Houle has been dropped.
Skujins is the next to attack.
As they crest the climb for the final time he has carved out a 23-second lead. It is pouring with rain and there are 7.6ks to go.
The chasers again hesitate and as he rides under the 5k banner his lead is 37 seconds.
3k to go for Skujins, the uphill drag in the last k is going to hurt, but his lead is 53 seconds. The chasers need to commit soon.
Still no action behind, not surprisingly nobody wants to sacrifice themselves. The Latvian has almost reached the 1k banner. The lead is 1 minute, have they left it too late?
Nobody is willing to take the plunge which means they will all get a nice view of Toms Skujins celebrating his win in the B Road Race. A perfectly timed attack pays off.
As Skujins crosses the line Taaramäe takes the lead behind.
Sagan comes around to take 2nd ahead of Taaramäe and Pluchkin.
Clarke, 
Cataford, 
Mugisha, 
Cheung and 
Giannoutsos.
Eislers, 
Pruus, 
R. Janse van Rensburg, 
Mahdar and 
Sirironnanachai punctured but was able to rejoin.
Guillen is the first rider dropped. Not really his kind of terrain.
Monsalve has sent his one helper, 
Anuar Aziz, 
Shikai. 
Gaspar and 
Roman. The Serbian soon rejoins as the pace slows, only 5 teams have domestiques left (Brazil, Rwanda, Canada, Greece and Latvia) and they don’t seem interested/able to work. 
Sepulveda attacks.
Pluchkin
Berhane
