Hello and welcome to the Arenberg forest on this cool summer morning. It’s cloudy but, so far, dry and there’s a light breeze, but that shouldn’t affect riders too much. One bit of housekeeping before we get started: The commisaires have reshuffled starting times and released a new start list, now with the cobblestone specialists starting last. Make of that what you will:
Spoiler
I made the screenshot for the preview when the race was just one stage, noticed that and edited it to include both legs - now the start list looks like it does above. Just wanted to mention it here at the top in case you’re confused about changing back numbers or the order of riders.
The new starting order gives us an interesting duel right from the start: Polish TT champion Rekita is the first rider on the road, he finished 17th here last year as a good time trialist but a very poor cobbles rider. With some opposite riders following soon, we should get a first notion of how things are going to shake out. The way to the first intermediate time check is almost exclusively cobbled, so we would expect Rekita to struggle here.
And indeed, the cobblestone experts have the upper hand at that point: First Lecourt De Billot and then Sibilla are 7 seconds faster than Rekita on those first 3 kilometers. But 45 more are remaining.
And we quickly see the pendulum swing the other way. At the second time check after 20 kilometers, Lecourt De Billot, who is not even among the worst time trialists, is a whopping 45 seconds behind Rekita. Sibilla (who arguably is among the worst time trialists) is another 40 seconds slower. The impressions from the previous two years seem to stick: just cobblestone but no time trialing skills mean no glory here.
Have a little bit of both though and it’s even better: Matthews had already taken the lead at the first time check, and now at the second, he increases it to 13 seconds over Rekita. Weinstein, De Gendt and Stimulak are all within half a minute of him at the moment, compising the Top 5 at Chrono 2 alongside the Jura rider.
Rekita is the first to reach the finish line. It’s a very decent time from what we can tell so far, even if it won’t keep him in the hot seat long.
1h03’50
De Gendt, a decent cobbler with average time trialing, is 5 seconds faster than Rekita at the third checkpoint, but trails Matthews by 44 seconds, up from 24 at the second. However, at the second checkpoint, the lead has changed hands: Malecki was 3 seconds faster than Matthews, with Chokri at 4 seconds from the Pole.
Disappointing performance from Rajapakshage, who shouldn’t be as far off Rekita as he is (1’21 behind), but whose beautiful jersey deserves attention nonetheless.
1h05’11
Then Matthews comes to the line. As expected, he takes the lead with what looks like a very strong final sector, adding another half minute on Rekita on those final 12 kilometers alone.
1h02’40
A few guys come close-ish as the next riders trickle in. Weinstein is 25 seconds off Matthews, Nechita is 4 seconds faster than the German, then Chokri makes it closest so far, he’s second at +12 seconds.
1h02’52
The air is getting thinner for the current leader. Malecki is just 4 seconds slower!
1h02’44
Then comes his compatriot Sajnok. The Lierse rider actually had the best time at the second time check by 12 seconds, but then trailed Matthews by 11 at the third. And now … he slots in second place! A better final sector still leaves him 2 seconds short.
1h02’42
Meanwhile, some of the bigger favorites are on the road. Cataford has yet to find his footing though, he’s 11 seconds slower than Sajnok was at the second time check, one second faster than Matthews.
Cavagna is in the same ballpark, one second slower than the Canadian after 20 kilometers.
A similar rider to Cavagna, Scotson should be perfect for this race with above average time trialing and cobblestone skills. But he doesn’t perform up to expectations so far, finishing provisional 7th.
1h03’18
With one rider of each team done, here’s what the standings look like. Peng is another hybrid rider who disappoints a bit, while the pure cobblers, as expected don’t stand a chance.
However, without any cobbles skills, this won’t work out for you either. Want proof of that? Here’s Coppel, the worst cobbler of the field and perhaps of the entire pro peloton, but still a very good time trialist. At the line though, he’s 21st of 26 so far, almost 2’30 behind still leading Matthews.
1h05’18
Meanwhile, Cataford is seriously struggling! He’s lost half a minute between checkpoints 2 and 3, only good enough for 8th at the latter for now.
A worrying sign for someone like Lammertink, who was 25 seconds off the pace already at the second checkpoint. Vlatos has started the race, too, he had a pretty solid first sector, crossing the cobbles just 4 seconds slower than Matthews, which is, among others, 6 seconds faster than Cataford.
Eaton looks pretty solid so far, third at the moment at the second checkpoint, only behind Sajnok and Malecki there. But we’ve seen that things can still go in vastly different directions from here - both Matthews and Cataford were virtually on the same time here, and then 40 seconds apart 15 kilometers later.
Speaking of: Cataford recovers a little bit, getting back some 10 seconds on the final sector on his teammate. But with how close things are at the finish, that’s still only good for 7th right now, behind Weinstein. He’ll have some catching up to do in the second leg.
1h03’10
As does Cavagna, but much less! Overtaking Akhmaevi just ahead of the line, he is just 8 seconds behind the lead.
1h02’48
New best time at the second time check! Israeli champion Goldstein bests Sajnok by 4 seconds. A surprise for sure! And he’s not the only man in white and blue who’s doing well.
Vlatos doesn’t quite beat Goldstein, but he’s just 10 seconds behind, provisionally third. Meanwhile, neither Eaton nor Lammertink were able to make much of an impact at the third time check, provisionally 8th and 19th, respectively. At the moment, it looks like an early start time is advantageous, but for what it’s worth, the wind does not seem to have changed at all.
Eaton comes to the finish line, and just like Cataford, he gains time on the final stretch. He’s 6th for now, on par with Nechita.
Meanwhile, some of the pure time trialists are on their way. Kittel is 36 seconds off the pace at checkpoint #2, Atkins 42, Golovash 49. Further up the road Goldstein is still doing well, currently 3rd at the third time check, just 12 seconds slower than Matthews.
We have a new best time after sector one! Anderberg, one of the big favorites here, tops Matthews by 3 seconds - a pretty sizeable edge after only 3 kilometers. Now he has to build on that.
Ganna passes the second checkpoint in 9th, but just 16 seconds slower than Goldstein. That’s doable.
Lammertink comes to the line and it’s a disappointment for sure! More than a minute behind Matthews.
1h03’47
Another big disappointment is Gamper, who doesn’t even crack the Top 20.
1h04’09
Then comes Goldstein - and for the first time in more than 40 riders, we have a new best time! 11 seconds faster than Matthews, what a performance!
1h02’29
Here’s what we’re looking at with two thirds done. There are a few guys out there who can still shake things up, but those who are high up the ranks at the moment can already feel pretty good about themselves.
Janse van Rensburg won’t feel too good: 9th last year, but just a provisional 17th place for now.
1h03’44
Another few time trialists follow. Golovash is more than 2 minutes off the pace, Onodera just over a minute and a half, then comes Vlatos. He lost a bit of time to Goldstein in the middle, and he can’t quite make up all of it, but he is just 14 seconds slower - a good position for the second leg.
1h02’43
Anderberg keeps on chugging and takes the lead at the second checkpoint, too, but just fractions of a second ahead of Goldstein. Zmorka does remarkably well, too, and is just 5 seconds slower. Meanwhile, Ganna struggles a bit and is only 14th at the third checkpoint.
Kittel fails to crack the Top 20 at the finish line (+ 1’31), as does Atkins (+ 1’38), then Brändle is even worse (+ 2’16). But the more interesting man is the one that almost overtook him: Ganna finishes 10th, just over half a minute off the lead.
1h03’03
Zmorka struggled a bit between checkpoints two and three, he’s at +44 at the latter, which is about on par with Cataford and 15 seconds slower than Vlatos. Anderberg did better, but he’s 2 seconds slower than Goldstein, 14 slower than Matthews.
Many of the final riders on the road are cobblestone specialists who won’t have much to gain. But Zepuntke actually does surprisingly well, finishing 15th at the moment.
1h03’29
Zmorka ends up in 8th for now, 30 seconds behind the lead.
1h02’59
Then comes Anderberg, and it looks like he’s found a second lung in the final kilometers. He takes a commanding lead, 18 seconds faster than anyone else.
1h02’11
Gerts concludes the first leg, but like most all cobblers, he won’t score big here.
1h04’51
Here are the results of the first leg. Anderberg is no surprise at the top, and we also expected some of the hybrid riders and the top time trialists to be up there, but also some shockers in the likes of Goldstein and Sajnok. Let’s see if they can confirm their results in the second leg - especially the places from 3rd to around 8th are still incredibly close, as are the rest of the Top 15.
The second leg is on and, to the riders’ great delight I’m sure, it has started to rain! As a small consolation, the light breeze has died down completely.
The report is long enough already, so I won’t trouble you with the lower placements. Just know that with only the Top 30 left on the road, Harrison holds the best time at 1h03’19, which would have been 16th in leg 1 instead of his disappointing 33rd - was he just that much better now, or does the rain help make the road faster? We’ll find out.
What we can say for sure is that big changes are still possible. Cataford, perhaps the single biggest disappointment of leg 1, seems to be on a mission and sets an impressive best time on checkpoint 2. Of Weinstein, Ganna, Nechita and Eaton, who are the next guys ahead of him in the GC, only Ganna is even within half a minute of that time.
Zmorka crosses that checkpoint 39 seconds behind Cataford, losing virtual places to both him and Ganna. But it’s still a long way to the line, as we’ve seen in leg 1. Neither Chokri (+40) nor Cavagna (+32) fare that much better, but still not as bad as Malecki. Entering this leg in 6th, he’s just 35th provisionally at Check 2.
Vlatos is in a similar time range as Zmorka, losing 42 seconds to Cataford and virtual places to both him and Cavagna. He also gains two on Sajnok (+ 51) and a really struggling Matthews (+ 1’18).
Goldstein is doing fairly well (+ 43), but Cataford is already up to virtual second place (from 14th!) at this point. Though again, a tough 27 kilometers still lay ahead.
Anderberg is rather unimpressed by Cataford’s show, at least so far. While he doesn’t quite beat the time, he’s just 9 seconds off, his lead not in danger - at this point.
But Anderberg shouldn’t be slacking! Cataford pulverizes Janse van Rensburg’s previous best time at checkpoint three by 37 seconds and already has his eyes set on Scotson!
Ganna continues to be best of the rest in the group immediately following Cataford - eventhough that still means he’s 54 seconds behind. That’s around half a minute faster than Nechita, Eaton and Zmorka. Chokri is at + 1’07, which is not enough to keep Ganna behind him, who enters the virtual Top 10. Cavagna then equals his teammate’s time at the checkpoint.
We will accompany all Top 15 riders to the finish line individually today, but first, let’s take a look at the standings at the finish line with only those 15 left. Harrison and Janse van Rensburg lead, but Gerts is notable as one of the cobblers who seemingly have taken to these conditions well.
These results imply the following for the virtual GC rankings:
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
1h03'20
2h07'05
2.
Rekita
1h03'50
1h03'36
2h07'26
3.
Harrison
1h04'09
1h03'19
2h07'28
4.
Atkins
1h04'05
1h03'38
2h07'43
5.
Stavrakakis
1h03'29
1h04'27
2h07'56
As you can see, both Harrison and Atkins were able to make big jumps, from 33rd and 32nd, respectively, into the Top 20 and perhaps even further. The biggest losers so far are Zepuntke, Ulloa and Kukrle, who drop from 17th, 19th and 21st to ultimately 37th, 57th and 42nd, respectively.
Immediately, I have to correct myself, as we will start with a duo: Cataford obviously takes the lead, but Scotson did not handle himself as poorly as it may seem - the Canadian was just that much stronger.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
1h03'20
2h07'05
3.
Rekita
1h03'50
1h03'36
2h07'26
4.
Harrison
1h04'09
1h03'19
2h07'28
5.
Scotson
1h03'18
1h04'22
2h07'40
Weinstein was surprisingly strong over the first leg and he actually holds his own in the second, too. While he obviously can’t compete with Cataford, he doesn’t let anyone else pass him.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Weinstein
1h03'06
1h03'53
2h06'59
3.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
1h03'20
2h07'05
4.
Rekita
1h03'50
1h03'36
2h07'26
5.
Harrison
1h04'09
1h03'19
2h07'28
Teammate Ganna does even better, his consistently solid performances throughout the second leg give him provisional 2nd place.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
3.
Weinstein
1h03'06
1h03'53
2h06'59
4.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
1h03'20
2h07'05
5.
Rekita
1h03'50
1h03'36
2h07'26
Nechita likes the cobbles more than many others here, but he’s not quite the time trialists of the couple of riders who had finished before him. He drops a few places, but with just 10 riders left, he’s guaranteed a Top 15 spot.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
3.
Weinstein
1h03'06
2h03'53
1h06'59
4.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
2h03'20
2h07'05
5.
Nechita
1h03'02
1h04'14
2h07'16
A quick look back and we see that Matthews continues to be struggling. On podium course after leg 1, he is only 41st (+ 2’16) at the third checkpoint and is looking at a considerable loss of positions. Two riders ahead of him, Vlatos is holding up fairly well (+ 1’19), around on par with guys like Eaton and Zmorka, and a good bit faster than both Malecki (+ 1’48) and Sajnok (+ 1’36).
Anderberg continues at a steady, high pace. His deficit to Cataford remains at exactly 9 seconds - unless he collapses, this should be his. But a lot is still in flux, including where Goldstein, seen in the distance, ends up. So let’s turn our attention to the finish …
… where Eaton is the first of the Top 10 to come to the line. He falls behind both Puma riders, obviously Cataford, and then loses one more slot to Janse van Rensburg.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
3.
Weinstein
1h03'06
1h03'53
2h06'59
4.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
1h03'20
2h07'05
5.
Eaton
1h03'02
1h04'07
2h07'09
Zmorka is next and you have to imagine these conditions did not help him at all, being one of the worst cobbles riders among the contenders. He drops out of the Top 10, but can’t do worse than 15th anymore.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
3.
Weinstein
1h03'06
1h03'53
2h06'59
4.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
1h03'20
2h07'05
5.
Eaton
1h03'02
1h04'07
2h07'09
…
7.
Zmorka
1h03'00
1h04'17
2h07'17
Chokri is more comfortable here and it shows. With a provisional 8th place for the second leg, he manages to keep everyone bar Cataford behind him, cementing his Top 10 spot.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
1h06'36
3.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
4.
Weinstein
1h03'06
1h03'53
2h06'59
5.
Janse van Rensburg
1h03'45
1h03'20
2h07'05
Two Puma riders had already been in the provisional Top 5 and Cavagna makes it three! Fourth best time of the second leg so far, easily securing second place for now. Six riders left on the road.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Cavagna
1h02'48
1h03'32
2h06'20
3.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
1h06'36
4.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
5.
Weinstein
1h03'06
1h03'53
2h06'59
Malecki is next, he was rather surprisingly 6th after the first leg and can’t hold onto that even remotely, falling behind Zmorka to provisional 10th - but again, that’s at worst 15th, which is a solid result.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Cavagna
1h02'48
1h03'32
2h06'20
3.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
1h06'36
4.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
5.
Weinstein
1h03'06
1h03'53
2h06'59
...
10.
Malecki
1h02'44
1h04'39
2h07'23
Then comes Vlatos. He had his eyes set on the win, but that was already off the table after leg one. He will lose a few further spots here after a rather poor final sector, but ends up firmly in the Top 10.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Cavagna
1h02'48
1h03'32
2h06'20
3.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
1h06'36
4.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
5.
Vlatos
1h02'44
1h04'07
2h06'51
Next to Goldstein, Sajnok was arguably the biggest surprise of the first leg. After a 4th place in that, he only finishes 29th for the moment in the second, but that still adds up to a nice 9th provisional place, a decent consolation price after Gamper’s no-show.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Cavagna
1h02'48
1h03'32
2h06'20
3.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
1h06'36
4.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
5.
Vlatos
1h02'44
1h04'07
2h06'51
...
9.
Sajnok
1h02'42
1h04'31
1h07'13
Theoretically, we’re in the podium fight now, but the times at the checkpoints have already shown that Matthews isn’t up for that in the second leg here. He tumbles all the way out of the Top 15 and Podium Ambition may wish they could have combined his first leg form with Cataford’s second. But at the very least, the Canadian now has secured himself a podium place.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Cavagna
1h02'48
1h03'32
2h06'20
3.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
1h06'36
4.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
5.
Vlatos
1h02'44
1h04'07
2h06'51
...
17.
Matthews
1h02'40
1h05'09
1h07'49
Reading the intermediate times, the podium is actually not entirely out of reach for first leg sensation Goldstein, either! But it all depends on the final sector now. And that final sector is … not quite good enough. He drops to 5th, meaning Cavagna jumps on the final stage of the podium.
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
2.
Cavagna
1h02'48
1h03'32
2h06'20
3.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
1h06'36
4.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
5.
Goldstein
1h02'29
1h04'14
1h06'43
But the top step of the podium very clearly belongs to this man: Despite falling short of the best time for the second leg by 6 seconds, Hampus Anderberg comfortably wins the Chrono d’Arenberg! Congratulations!
Leg 1
Leg 2
Total
1.
Anderberg
1h02'11
1h02'32
2h04'43
2.
Cataford
1h03'10
1h02'26
2h05'36
3.
Cavagna
1h02'48
1h03'32
2h06'20
4.
Chokri
1h02'52
1h03'44
2h06'36
5.
Ganna
1h03'04
1h03'37
2h06'41
After a wild first leg, the Top 5 looks a little more like what could have been expected pre-race, with a few over- and underperformances obviously still. Anderberg makes the race his own and you could very well see this being the start of a dominating era for him here.
But he’ll have competition for sure, with Top 5 finishers Chokri and Ganna not having reached their full potential yet, and who knows whether Cavagna is at the end of his developmental journey, either … Plus, Cataford showed what he's capable of in the second leg. I expect we will continue to see very interesting racing here in the future!
Chrono d’Arenberg 
