The pre-race favourites’ GC chances are more or less gone unless something crazy happens today. This probably means that the teams of these riders won’t bother keeping it all together now as their only chance of winning will be to get a rider in the break. Nvidia who capitalized on yesterday’s happenings by taking the yellow jersey should be interested in keeping it all together, but will any teams try and help them out today, or will they will they just do nothing, like they did to Slipstream yesterday? There’s a lot of questions to be asked.
A lot of riders tried to get clear right from the outset but time after time the groups were reeled back in. It wasn’t until just before the first categorized climb the pack finally gave in for a group of riders. Fedrigo kicked things off with a lot of riders trying to follow the Frenchman.
Lefevre won the KoM Sprint at the top of the climb and took 5 points. There are 20 points up for grabs today and as Lefevre already has 2 points, he could take over the lead if he wins the two remaining KoM Sprints. 5 riders join up with Lefevre after the climb and Frischkorn isn’t one of them, in fact he is still back in the pack.
Lefevre, Butterfield, Raabe, Bañoz Ballester, Swindlehurst and Gabrovski.
As expected we have Nvidia at the front in the pack, or at least one rider is.
With 120 kilometres to go the advantage has grown to 11 and half minutes before the pack wakes up and starts cutting into the lead. Lefevre attacks at the first of the two remaining categorized climbs, which come in quick succesion.
He doesn’t get a gap but the increase in pace has forced Butterfield to drop off. The group is still consisting of 6 riders though as Corwin managed to bridge up a bit earlier.
Lefevre takes the KoM Sprint and bags another 5 points. He’s now just 8 points after Frischkorn. If he wins the KoM Sprint he will win the KoM Competition.
And he does it! Also the lead group is looking like it could shatter any moment.
The pack sat an incredible pace up the two climbs aswell and it break into atoms, this is impossible to keep track of. We can confirm that Garcia Acosta (3rd in GC), Kirsch (4th in GC) and Jacobs (5th in the GC) has been dropped!
Garcia Acosta drops off the back in a large grupetto – Kirsch and Jacobs are also in there.
What’s this? Jason Donald and Francis Mourey are also dropped!
Things are crazy right now, let’s look at the gaps. With 85 kilometres left we have a group of favourites of 25 riders, which is the group closest to the break. They are about 5 minutes down. Mourey and Donald’s Group is 1’30 behind the Favourites’ Group. Garcia Acosta, Jacobs and Kirsch’s Group is almost 4 minutes behind the Favourites’ Group.
This is what’s left of the peloton, a lot of Top 10 riders are absent.
With 70 kilometres to go the Mourey-Donald Group merges with the Favourites’ Group.
Mourey and Donald are back in it.
5 kilometres later Butterfield from the early break is reeled in.
With 60 kilometres to go Swindlehurst, Bañoz Ballester, Lefevre, Raabe and Gabrovski lead the Favourites’ Group by 2’37 and the big group with Garcia Acosta, Jacobs and Kirsch by 6’25.
Disaster then struck for Procycling as Ben Jacques-Maynes hits the deck!
Chris Froome dropped back to his team captain, but is not going to be easy.
But apparently the pace in the Favourites’ Group has gone down considerably and 20 kilometres later Froome and Jacques-Maynes make the junction. This also means that the Garcia Acosta Group is gaining. Donald has a chance to get onto the podium if they keep that group behind though.
With 27 kilometres left Gabrovski is dropped from the break. It’s now just Swindlehurst, Bañoz Ballester, Lefevre and Raabe left. They have 2 minutes on the Favourites’ Group.
A few kilometres later the Garcia Acosta Group has bridged up. All of the Top 10 riders are back in the Favourites’ Group.
Bañoz Ballester and Lefevre have left Raabe and Swindlehurst behind and they are now fighting to keep the pack behind, but with 10 kilometres to go the advantage has gone down to just 47 seconds. They are caught with 6 kilometres left.
We will have a sprint. Igor Astarloa leads out Allan Davis and Heinrich Haussler.
Davis hesitates as Haussler moves into the lead!
But Allan Davis takes it! Finally a win for the Australian who takes over the Points Jersey in the process.
