Welcome to one of the stranger races of the MG season, the Portuguese Viana do Castelo. The organisation is looking at Benoot as favourite in this 90-riders startlist, which isn’t the biggest surprise looking at his stats. Will his team be able to handle a possibly big breakaway, and who will his biggest rivals/friends be today? Let’s find out.
Small peloton, interesting to see. We had of group of six, including last year’s number three De Plus, gain thirty seconds, but the other teams didn’t allow it to happen after all. Strava, Sauber, Philips and Amaysim setting the pace in the peloton as we wait for the break of the day to be formed.
Right before the climb of the infamous Viana climb Hermans launched an attack. At the top this has led to a leading group of eleven, with already almost three minutes over the peloton. The names up front are Hermans, De Plus, Fedeli, De Vos, Paulus, Cuming, Wright, Aleotti, Senyenov and Weiss.
The rain is making the cobbled downhill even more dangerous. Let’s hope nobody gets hurt today. Immediately some bad luck for Wright though, as he punctures! Can he make it back to the leading group?
The Cedevita rider makes it back. The peloton has to overcome a 3’30” gap at the top of the second out of six ascents of the long and steep hill. 146 km to go.
Movement in the peloton just before ascending the Sao Mamede for the third time! Siric attacks, Monk and Paprstka want to go with him!
As those three are close to joining the leaders on top of the climb, Hermans suffers a puncture. Peloton at 2’30” of the race lead with 110 km left, as Philips, Strava and Sauber set the pace.
Exactly three laps to go, 102.5 km. The three chasers are with the original break, but Hermans has almost been swallowed by the peloton at 2’15”, where the same three teams keep chasing. Two good puncheurs in Waeytens and Quevedo just suffering a puncture in the peloton. Top domestique Schoonbroodt also with a puncture now.
Another puncture for an important domestique, this time Marzuki. The teams in the breakaway like to see it happen, as they have two minutes over a peloton of only 45 riders, approaching the fourth ascent of the Sao Mamede.
The leaders almost at the top with 78 km left. Paprstka wasted too much energy with his attack and is done for, the twelve up front remain 1’45” ahead of the peloton.
The three teams working in the peloton have a hard time getting time on the twelve leaders! Two laps to go as the gap is back to 1’55”!
Always the same names from the same three teams doing the work in the peloton, but they’ve come a bit closer again. The gap of the eleven leaders to the peloton of 55 is 1’35” with 54 km to the finish line. Bad luck for Paulus now, as he punctures!
Fenn punctures on the same place in the peloton then, which probably means it’s game over for him! At the same time more attacks come from the peloton, now with Marcos and Rowe!
Those two still have a fifty second gap to bridge to the eleven leaders at the end of the cobbled sector leading onto the Sao Mamede climb. Nevertheless, the race has really started now, as 2020 winner Meurisse attacks there as well!
Wow! The Belgian flies past Marcos, Rowe and Paulus to join the other leaders on the climb! Peloton of 34 at 1’30” of the leaders with 45 km to go!
The HelloFresh rider orders teammate De Vos to dictate the pace up front now, and it looks like this is the end for Wright. As we start the cobbled descent with 40 km to go, a peloton of only 31 riders is now 1’30” behind! Strava, Sauber and Philips sacrificing a lot of riders, but so far with no result!
Final 34 km lap now, as the eleven leaders still have 1’25” over the peloton of 31!
Lierse has three pawns in the leading group and wants to use them to their advantage by tiring out other domestiques and leaders! Aleotti attacks!
After draining some energy from Monk, Cuming, Siric and Meurisse he gets caught on a small cobbled section with 28 km to go. The peloton at 1’10” now.
But teammate De Plus is breaking! Just too many cobbles for him today apparently, having to let the other leaders go! Other teammate Fedeli also has to let the others go after protecting De Plus all day. Nine leaders with a 1’05” gap as there are 26 km to the finish line!
Meurisse feels the peloton coming closer, he uses a small non cobbled ascent to attack with 22 km to go!
And he gains time! Twenty seconds on eight chasers with 20 km left, and an additional minute over the peloton of only 21 riders!
Still 12.5 km away from a possible win, but the Belgian is doing well so far! At the end of the cobbled sector leading into the final ascent of the Sao Mamede he still has 20” over the eight chasers and an additional 1’05” over the peloton!
Top favourite Benoot is followed by other favourites Gaday, David, Bewley and Declerq and he tries to catch everyone else. Meurisse still 1’25” ahead of this group though!
10 km to the finish line as Meurisse is close to the top! At over a minute we see Aleotti, Senyenov, De Vos and Cuming close to being caught by the Benoot group!
But it’s looking great for the Belgian from HelloFresh! He has a 1’38” lead over a group of fifteen chasers as he starts the cobbled descent, as in this group the favourites are really looking at each other now! 6,5 km left!
Gaday, David, Bewley and Benoot followed by Centrone and Eriksson come twenty seconds closer in the descent, but with 1’20” and only 2 km to go, it looks like Meurisse will repeat his 2020 trick!
And here he is! Xandro Meurisse wins Viana do Castelo 2022! Not the worst day for HelloFresh!
David (2nd) and Gaday (3rd) complete the podium ahead of Bewley (4th).
Top favourite Benoot will be disappointed with a fifth place, whereas Eriksson just manages to hold of Centrone for sixth.
The top-10 gets completed by Sweeck, Poljanec and Schlechter.
