Hello, and welcome back once again to the state of New York! We're about 220km east of yesterday's arrival venue, in Binghamton, start location of the second out of four consecutive hilly stages.
Situated in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers, it has been a transportation crossroads from the days of the railroad. The Chenango Canal, connecting Binghamton to the Erie Canal, was an important milestone for the industrial development of the area, too.
When speaking industry, there's no way past IBM, which actually was founded here. The city once was an important manufacturing center, with many defense-oriented firms located here, too. This changed after the end of the Cold War, and nowadays the local economy has transitioned toward services and healthcare.
More recently, the city is unfortunately also known for the "Binghamton shooting", where 13 people were killed at the American Civic Association's offices. More positive aspects of the location include some interesting buildings by local architect Isaac G. Perry, for example the Broome County Courthouse, or the NYS Inebriate Asylum.
Let's hope none of the riders will have to deal with the latter! Of course there will be some champaign for one of them, but that's probably not abusive enough to get there.
But before they can party, the riders first have to reach Ithaca. Underway, they'll pick up some sprint points after 21km already, in Hinmans Corners. Next is Victory Hill, a 4th category climb reached after 54km - before they'll already reach Ithaca!
However, after 79km there will just be an intermediate sprint, and not the finish line yet. Instead, they'll tackle a circuit including Harvey Hill, which they'll have to ride three times. On the first and third laps, Cat. 4 KoM points will be awarded.
From the last passage over the hilltop, there will be about 30km left. Next up is another extra lap, this time containing another 4th category KoM sprint on Cliff Street. After the downhill, we'll have one final ascent, two more flat kilometers - and the finish line!
Ithaca, named after a Greek island, is a college town. Cornell University is ranked among the world's best, and alongside two other major colleges thousands of students seasonally increase the steady population of 32,000 by a significant amount.
The city is located at the southern end of Cayuga Lake, which helped the city become a transshipping point for salt, and later a trade center for Cayuga gypsum. Economically speaking, the Ithaca Gun Company might be the best-known firm of the region. Ithaca also claims to be the birthplace of ice cream sundae - let's taste some after the race!
But before, there's some work to do, and there are 20 KoM points on offer. Top candidates for the latter are probably early attackers - but for the stage win, the bookies chose roughly the same riders as yesterday. For 3 and 2 stars, it's exactly the same riders as for stage 3, actually - meaning that Bennett, Edmondson and Hoelgaard top the list, followed by Barta, Senni and Rumac. While Velasco and Bonnamour get one star again, Eenkhoorn and race leader Moazemi are the only new names on the list.
Let's see how things unfolded on the way to Ithaca, before joining the live action for the hilly circuit!
What happened so far
Another nice day awaited the riders as they took off from Binghamton. Moazemi's team finally managed to organize a shirt WITH sponsor logos, so the all-yellow one he wore during the victory ceremony yesterday is gone.
The race director was still waving the flag as the first three riders attacked on a slight uphill slope - Kroonen, Piccoli and red lantern Taillefour.
While the first three attackers weren't exactly the best suited riders for this kind of stage, Bonnin is much more capable on the uphills. He pulled Van Aert with him.
Costagli is an even better climber, but doesn't like the hills that much. Antonelli and Weemaes joined him.
Maybe Vanmarcke has some insights we don't have, as the profile doesn't seem to favor strong cobblers. He was chasing after the 8 frontrunners nonetheless.
Hecht, Van den Berg and Kmieliauskas tried the same - but this time the pack was having none of it.
With all this action going on, the sprint point in Hinmans Corners was reached in no time:
Sprint - Hinmans Corners
1.
Antonelli
10 (10)
-6"
2.
Bonnin
6 (6)
-4"
3.
Taillefour
4 (4)
-2"
4.
Kroonen
2 (2)
5.
Piccoli
1 (1)
Right before the peloton reached the sprint, we had yet another attack - Magnusson can be seen crossing the sprint line. The Swede trailed the leaders by 1'35", with the bunch another 20" behind.
10km later, Magnusson made the catch, making it 10 riders up front. Croes, Hecht and De Tier tried to ride away from the pack as well, but to no avail.
So here's our breakaway of the day:
Costagli
Bonnin
Piccoli
Magnusson
Antonelli
Van Aert
Weemaes
Kroonen
Vanmarcke
Taillefour
Bonnin, Piccoli and Magnusson are similarly strong on the hills, with the former actually preferring longer climbs. The same holds for Costagli, who is worse than the other three on the hills and lacks some kick as well.
If they should reach the final straight together, Weemaes should be the favorite, being the strongest sprinter - but he'd need to conserve enough energy until then!
GC-wise, Bonnin is clearly the biggest threat for the top positions, trailing by just 1'19" and virtually riding in yellow now!
In the peloton, we had the teams of the strong puncheurs doing most of the work. Kaloniatis for Hoelgaard, Champoussin and Van Asbroeck for Barta, Itami for Betancourt, Haller for Moazemi and Fenn probably for Pernsteiner - just the presence of Van Den Bossche was rather unexpected.
They trailed the breakaway by 3 minutes with 130km - and lots of hills - to go.
Antonelli went early on Victory Hill - a pretty easy warm-up climb - but ultimately had to settle for 2nd. Magnusson may have been late to the party, but he grabbed the first KoM points of the day.
KoM - Victory Hill (4th)
1.
Magnusson
5 (5)
2.
Antonelli
3 (3)
3.
Piccoli
1 (1)
Everyone eventually rejoined, with the pack trailing by 2'30" on top of the hill - and now let's see how things unfold as we reach the second half of the stage!
LIVE +++ LIVE +++ LIVE
The riders are about to arrive in Ithaca, welcomed by the second intermediate sprint of the day. Antonelli makes it two for two.
Sprint - Ithaca
1.
Antonelli
10 (20)
-6"
2.
Bonnin
6 (12)
-4"
3.
Vanmarcke
4 (4)
-2"
4.
Van Aert
2 (16)
5.
Piccoli
1 (2)
Kaloniatis leads the pack across the line 2'24" later. Let the hilly circuits begin!
The climb up to Harvey Hill actually consists of two sections. Enfield Falls is the first one, with the first 2km being pretty tough and the climb easing off after that.
At least they shouldn't lose too much time yet to the Fenn-led pack, as the Brit isn't exactly a strong uphill rider.
It was bound to happen - Taillefour soon loses touch; let's see if he did enough to move away from that last place.
Now the escapees have arrived at the "actual" Harvey Hill climb - a really steep one, as you can see! Antonelli goes first again - can he pull through this time?
And Bonnin missed out on the move again, due to some bad positioning - can he still score some points?
The answer to both questions is "No". Magnusson takes full points for the second time in a row - and therefore is our virtual KoM leader! Piccoli was the only one able to keep up with the Swede, while Vanmarcke, Antonelli and Bonnin are 10" behind.
KoM - Harvey Hill #1 (4th)
1.
Magnusson
5 (10)
2.
Piccoli
3 (4)
3.
Vanmarcke
1 (1)
The pack is still about 2'30" behind, taking it pretty easy so far.
Two more Harvey Hill ascents until the riders can take the road to the right here, leading them onto the final 25km. The two front groups have reunited, with Costagli not too far anymore, either. Kroonen and Van Aert are a little further behind, with Weemaes struggling again.
Ascent number 2 is about to begin, and all but Weemaes and Taillefour have made it back. The latter has now been swallowed by the pack.
The peloton has gained some seconds on the downhill, trailing the front of the race by 2'11".
Enfield Falls has again caused some casualties - Kroonen and surprisingly Costagli are gone.
Weemaes was caught and Taillefour dropped by the pack, which has again come a bit closer - 1'51" is the current gap.
Bonnin leads the breakaway over the line atop Harvey Hill, but there are no points awarded in this lap.
Those dropped before have been caught by the pack, leaving us with just 6 escapees:
Bonnin
Piccoli
Magnusson
Antonelli
Van Aert
Vanmarcke
The pack, currently led by Richardson, is just 1'26" behind.
The downhill is over for the breakaway, they'll soon tackle the final ascent of Harvey Hill.
Adria and Bellan are currently setting the pace, with Hocevar and Kolev adding some more CT power. The breakaway's advantage is dwindling and currently stands at 1'06".
Can they at least make it to the KoM ahead of the bunch?
It will be tough, but it should be possible. With 1km to go, they still have a 44" gap, and it doesn't look like anyone would launch an early move from the peloton.
As on every KoM sprint before, Antonelli doesn't have the patience to wait and again is the first to pull. Can Magnusson make it 3/3 and definitely secure the jersey for today?
No, this time Antonelli had enough left, or rather, the others are as empty as the Sammarinese.
KoM - Harvey Hill #2 (4th)
1.
Antonelli
5 (8)
2.
Magnusson
3 (13)
3.
Piccoli
1 (5)
Which means that Groselj would have to win the final KoM sprint of the day to keep his jersey!
Tusveld leads the pack over the top just seconds later - and within just another couple of meters sets an end to today's breakaway!
We actually get notice that Moazemi wasn't positioned well on this climb and now finds himself on the wrong side of a split! He's got quite a few helpers with him, though.
With him are other stage favorites like Edmondson, Senni or Pedrero, as well as some GC riders like Zimmermann or Aru.
Even further back are Bonnamour and GC runner-up Eriksson!
As we approach the end of the descent - with the riders all taking the correct road fortunately - Moazemi's group is back in the peloton - but Eriksson's still isn't!
20km to go! The next time the riders get here, they'll turn left for the final climb, but for now they've got the Cliff Street circuit to ride.
We still just have an 88 rider peloton, with the second group trailing by 1'23"!
As the pack reaches the Cliff Street ascent - the easiest categorized climb of the day, Tusveld is pulling hard for Pernsteiner - surely the Austrian must be about to launch an attack?
He wasn't, as his "leaadout" had nothing left. So it's De Buyst taking over - but the Belgian quickly goes bust as well.
With none of the leaders or stronger puncheurs willing to take any kind of risk, the pace drops - and most of the splits are undone. We're back to 120 riders - with KoM leader Groselj still missing, though. 1km to the final KoM sprint!
If one Cedevita rider doesn't succeed, the next one tries - it's an attack by McCormick, who flies across the KoM line! It looks like he took the others by surprise, can he hold on?
By the way, some domestiques take the remaining KoM points:
KoM - Cliff Street (4th)
1.
McCormick
5 (8)
2.
De Buyst
3 (3)
3.
Novardianto
1 (1)
Although he quickly built up a 30" lead, McCormick's attack actually was just targetting the KoM points, as he sits up right after! I'd call that a missed opportunity.
15km to go, and we'll probably get a fight between the top puncheurs then!
10km to go, as the riders are heading back to Ithaca, alongside Cayuga Lake. We're counting 136 riders in the pack now.
No attacks happened on the next 5 kilometers, and so a big group tackles the final climb of the day - Hector Street! Although it's pretty steep, the climb ends about 1.7km away from the finish line, meaning that a pretty big gap might be required to fend off the pack in the end!
Betancourt is the best positioned puncheur right now, trying to reward his team's big work. Pernsteiner, Hoelgaard, Squire, Moazemi and Bennett are next - the puncheurs mostly up front, the GC riders trying to not lose any time today!
4km to go, still no attacks. Moazemi is very attentive, and with Eriksson nowhere near him right now, avoiding some gaps would likely be enough for him to secure the jersey for one more day! Or will he even go for back-to-back stage wins?
Another kilometer later, Gilanipoor is now setting up an attack by Carapaz! Moazemi saw this coming and takes the Colombian's wheel, with Pernsteiner right behind him.
Hoelgaard and Bennett are in a good position as well, with Aru, Vasyliv and Zimmermann right behind. By the way, we can also spot Eislers in about 25th position - the puncheurs better hurry up to drop the Latvian!
We're almost done with the climb - and Gilanipoor is still leading the race! Betancourt probably dreaded the long flat stretch in the end and didn't dare to attack - now it might be too late!
Will we get a late attack? Or a bunch sprint? If it comes down to the latter - let's just mention Eislers again, who has moved up to 15th position! But the likes of De Buyst, Barta or Novardianto are all decent sprinters as well!
But Crabbe are going for the late attack instead, and it's Manfredi spicing up the stage! He already has some surprisingly strong results this year, can he add a ToA stage win to his Palmarès?
Koch would like to react, but he isn't looking good - and the others don't really move yet!
Red kite! Manfredi is still ahead - and it's actually teammate Donovan who's closest! Let's take a look at the situation up front:
Manfredi
Donovan
Destribois
Koch
Betancourt
Watson
Moazemi
Vasyliv
Zimmermann
Barta
Hoelgaard
De Buyst
Eislers
Gilanipoor
Pernsteiner
Novardianto
Just 500m to go, and we now have a 1-2-3 for Crabbe! Manfredi is still in the lead, with Donovan close by - but clearly the fastest man on the road is Eislers!
However, Destribois and Barta are going strong, too!
Surprisingly, Donovan is the first of the Crabpack to fold, while Manfredi still holds onto the lead with just 300m to go! But Eislers is flying!
Barta is now 3rd, with Destribois still in the mix as well!
In the line behind, Watson, Moazemi, Betancourt and Hoelgaard are looking strong, too!
It was bound to happen, and indeed, 200m from the line Manfredi has to cede the lead to his teammate Eislers! Barta and Destribois are next, with Hoelgaard, Moazemi and Watson following.
Can Manfredi still hold onto a podium finish?
He definitely has to let go of Barta - who is looking strongest on those final meters - but maybe the Italian can fend off Destribois?
Up front, Eislers should pull it through if he doesn't crack completely!
And Destribois actually even has to fight for 4th, as Watson, Moazemi, Zimmermann, Betancourt and Hoelgaard are all close behind!
He missed out on the sprint on stage 2 - but he takes his revenge today, as Ingus Eislers wins stage 4 of the 2022 Tour of America in Ithaca!
William Barta takes a well-deserved 2nd place, justifying his spot on the pre-stage favorites list.
But who gets the final spot on the podium? Manfredi still has the edge, but Destribois is looking stronger - or can Moazemi even extend his lead by getting the remaining bonus seconds? Is Watson the strongest in the end?
Heartbreaking! Alex Ariya Destribois edges out Andrea Manfredi by a couple of inches to take 3rd place!
5th place then goes to Arvin Moazemi, who probably launched too late - just like Calvin Watson in 6th place.
Carlos Betancourt is 7th - definitely not what his team expected after the ton of work they did. Which holds even more for Tryg, as Hoelgaard and Zimmermann are only 8th and 9th.
Yuriy Vasyliv then rounds off the Top 10, ahead of Bennett who was strong but paid for his very poor positioning.
It definitely was no poor, but very clever positioning by Ingus Eislers, which he finally turned into a commanding stage win! Surely benefitting from the slow pace on the final 20 kilometers, he just executed his sprint to perfection! Congratulations!
William Barta will probably regret that his team didn't force the pace to shake off the stage winner, as he was very strong, too, and could have won this stage. But it's the 3rd podium spot for Philips in 4 stages - nothing to scoff at!
Alex Ariya Destribois also showed a very solid sprint, finally taking 3rd place.
It's still a good day for the team, as Arvin Moazemi easily defends his yellow jersey! There weren't any serious attacks, and so the Iranian still has got an 11" lead over Lucas Eriksson and 21" over Geoffrey Bouchard.
The green jersey still sits firmly on Tom Van Asbroeck's shoulders, who leads the points standings with 66 points. Only Arvin Moazemi could theoretically take it over tomorrow, as he trails by 19 points now - a 4th place's worth on a hilly stage.
Alex Ariya Destribois has moved up to 3rd, totalling 33 points.
Kim Magnusson is our new KoM leader! Joining the breakaway with a late move, he scored 13 points today, netting him a 4 point lead over Matic Groselj. Michael Antonelli and Hayden McCormick share 3rd place with 8 points.
Once again, Cedevita would be on track for the Team KoM Classification - if it existed.
The white jersey is still worn by Pascal Eenkhoorn. Thymen Arensman trails his compatriot by 6", local hero Alex Hoehn is 11" down.
And last but not least, the team standings. No notable gaps today mean no changes on top, with Cedevita still one minute ahead of Kraftwerk Man Machine and 1'19" ahead of Philips - Force India.
With that, we end today's live broadcast. Tomorrow we'll have another hilly stage on the menu - another one that could see many scenarios materialize. Stay tuned!
Tour of America 
