The final stage of the Tour of Chile is mountain flavored. 145k, two Cat 2 and a Cat 3 before the climb to the finish where Cat 2 points will also be on offer. The finish comes just after the final climb and includes a steep ramp to the line.
The winner of the race will mostly likely be the winner of this stage given the minimal time gaps among the favorites yesterday. The climbers dominate the favorites list although Areruya sneaks on towards the bottom and Beltran will be hoping to stay with these guys and take advantage of the bonus seconds he scored yesterday.
The first Cat 2 climb begins with just 5k gone. 12 riders on the attack but the Sauber led peloton only 45 seconds off the front so no clarity yet.
2k later, breakaway riders are all together and their number is up to 17. They have a 1-minute lead, Sauber has eased off but more riders are attacking.
4k to climb, the peloton shut down the additional attacks and the 17-rider lead group is now 2’20 ahead. The riders are: Antunes, Bartl Erdenesuren, Miller, Watson Ahmad Zamri Manfredi Barbero, Barcelo, Serrano Mannion Croes, Le Court, White Chumil Fernandez, Sam
Barcelo best on GC at 2’56 and Babero best in the KOM with 4 points (8th). Some solid climbers in this group in Antunes, Bartl, Mannion and Manfredi.
1k from the top Ahmad Zamri, Mannion and Manfredi go out on the attack.
The three of them go over first, Ahmed Zamri taking maximum points ahead of Mandredi and Mannion.
Bartl and Serrano get the last two KOM places.
At the first sprint point with 115k to go their lead is 3’53. Serrano the only one interested in the points, but he started way too late and only takes 2nd behind Mannion.
100k to go for the peloton, the lead is 2’26. All the work being done by the three at the front who represent outsider GC candidates, they are– Kraftwerk (Vernon), Carlsberg (Cannister) and Phillips (Champoussin).
Serrano gets the timing right and easily takes the 2nd sprint. Peloton at 2’06, 73k to go. Same teams working although Bralirwa have started to contribute.
4k to the Cat 3 peak and 53k in the stage. The stage is much harder from here on in. The break’s lead is 1’51.
On the climb Riabushenko goes to the front of the peloton, Padun in second wheel. Lead down to 1’44.
1.4k from the top for the break, Manfredi attacks first, lots of riders trying to stay with him.
Manfredi can’t hold the lead to the top and Serrano takes maximum points ahead of White.
Manfredi hangs on for 3rd and 2 points which puts him on 10. He, Ahmed Zamri and Oomen are tied for first. The latter may well score at the finish so the others will want to score on the Cat 2 that starts after the descent from this climb.
Riabushenko and Khederi lead the peloton over 1’57 behind the front of the race.
The breakaway on to the 2nd Cat 2 climb. 9 riders up front with 6 more just 21 seconds down. Only Watson and Sam are completely out of it. But the peloton is just 1’30 back with Eg on the front.
3k to climb, 37k in the stage. 7 riders left out front: Bartl, Ahmad Zamri, Manfredi, Barcelo, Serrano, Mannion, and Fernandez. These 7 have 51 seconds, if they can hang on to the top a number of them will have a shot at the KOM jersey. Le Court and White are 23 seconds down, the rest of the break has been caught by the Mugisha led peloton.
1.8 k to climb, Bartl attacks, Manfredi dropped which dooms his KOM chances. Peloton at 51 seconds still, the Podium Ambition duo has been caught.
1.1k to go. 4 left at the front are the Caja Rural duo plus Mannion and Bartl. Ahmed Zamri was another one who would have been in a good position on the KOM but he couldn’t hold on. Lead has gone out to 1’17 so they will stay away over the top.
Bartl drove the pace as long as he could, and cracked Mannion, but he can’t master the Caja Rural duo. With 400 meters to the top it is Serrano ahead of Barcelo.
Serrano takes maximum points, with the points he scored on the last climb he has the virtual KOM lead, but to win the jersey he will need to hope that Oomen doesn’t score too much at the finish (or stay away himself, which seems unlikely although their lead is back to 2’18). With Manfredi gone from the break Crabbe are now working in the peloton.
With all the points recorded the KOM standings look like this. Serrano will win the KOM unless Oomen finishes first or second on the stage.
Just under 30k to go for the leaders as they complete the descent. From here they have the uncategorized climb they can see ahead and then about 20k of flat before the final climb. Their lead is 1’54 over a 36-rider peloton which is being led by Aranburu. Bartl is 17 seconds behind the leaders and Mannion 56 seconds. The rest of the break is caught or almost caught.
The peloton split over the top of the climb. Pluchkin (26th on GC) is in the second chase group pictured here, odd to see the Moldovan Champions jersey not at the front of the race. Slagter is also in this group, with Frankiny losing time yesterday and even further back today, it isn’t look good for Sauber to repeat in Chile. Other top 20 GC riders not in the main chase group include Chernetskiy (14th), Chaves (15th). Gaudu (20th), Meurisse (16th) and McCormick (19th) which means most of the pure puncheurs are gone, but race leader Moscon is still there, as is Edmondson (22nd). Also Stannard is in the front group but Rikunov is not which means the White Jersey is changing hands at the moment.
The Caja Rural riders reach the top of the uncategorized climb with a 1’29 lead. Barcelo doing all the work on the front. 5k to the final sprint point. With Mannion caught and Bartl almost caught the GC riders might have an interest in the bonus seconds. The peloton has swelled back to 59 with Rikunov, Pluchkin and Slagter all able to rejoin.
22k to go and 4k to the sprint point Berhane is the first GC rider to attack. Manfredi leading the chase.
20k to go, Gregaard closes down Berhane. 1’20 to the two leaders who look pretty spent. Rikunov has been dropped again but Stanndard is also dropped now. 3rd and 4th in the young rider competition, Nikiema and Kipkemboi are still in the main chase group.
The two Caja Rural riders take the first two sprint bonuses, Raileanu leads the peloton over to take the last bonus points. The gap is 51 seconds. 18k to go, mostly slightly uphill until the final climb starts with 6k to go.
10k to go, the front two still have a small lead, they were almost caught but then the chase group ran out of willing domestiques. An exhausted De Plus on the front at the moment.
The lead goes back to 50 seconds before Madrazo decides it is time to make a move. 7k to go, Berhane is responding behind.
Madrazo and Berhane catch the front two but Bardet has the chase group within 17 seconds of them. 5k to go.
The first attackers are caught and Padun is the next to try, Areruya and Aular on his wheel. Then Madrazo and Berhane.
3.2k to go, Areruya gets a small gap over a 7-rider chase group which includes Padun, Madrazo, Aular, Oomen, Guldhammer, Arndt and Beltran. But the gaps are small, the Yellow Jersey still in the large group just behind. He started the day with a 29 second lead.
The gaps begin to expand, Areruya caught and the front 7 open up 42 seconds on a chase group of 5. The 5 chasers include Beltran, who has been dropped from the front group, plus Carapaz, Min, Elissonde, and Slagter. These 5 have a 39-second edge on the 47-rider Yellow Jersey group. Moscon (1st), Berhane (10th) and Penasa (7th) are the only top 10 GC riders not in one of the two front groups. The latter is well back and looks in deep trouble which is ironic given how much chasing Phillips did.
The front 7 have completed the climb with a 48 second edge on the 5 chasers and 1’40 on the main chase group. They have a descent and the ramp to the finish. Areruya has an 8 second edge from yesterday all the rest are on the same time. He, Arndt and Guldhammer are the best finishers in this group. 1.8 k to go.
Aular attacks as they start the downhill.
600 meters for Aular, he is on the climb to the finish and has an 8 second edge on the rest. Elissonde has been dropped by the first chase group.
300 meters. Aular is holding his advantage.
200 meters Aular looks like the stage winner. If Areruya can snatch 2nd he will be tied with Aular on time, assuming no time gap, and should win the GC on placings.
Aular wins Stage 3. Padun seems to have the edge for 2nd.
Padun takes 2nd, Areruya 3rd and 2nd on GC. The race win escapes him by just 4 seconds. Arndt 4th ahead of Oomen then Guldhammer. Oomen’s finish means the KOM jersey goes to Serrano, a deserved reward for Caja Rural’s aggression today. Madrazo settles for 7th, not enough climbing for him today.
Slagter takes 8th from the 2nd group and 9th on GC, not as poor as it looked at one point. Min, Beltran and Carapaz finish 8th through 11th. The Cedevita rider not able to stay with the best on the day, his bonus seconds from yesterday will secure him 8th on GC, best of the rest.
Moscon finishes 24th, 2’27 behind the winner. He drops to 12 in the GC, still not a bad outcome for Jura. Just ahead of him is a group with Hirschi. The Swiss rider is the best finisher among the young riders and gains enough time to move from 5th to 1st in that competition. Not a bad race for Sauber in the end.
Areruya, Aular and Arndt finish in a 3-way tie for the points jersey with Robov finishing just 1 point behind after his escapades on Stage 1. Cedevita and Kraftwerk tie for the team’s jersey.
Tour of Chile 
