Welcome to week number 2 of the 2022 Tour of America! We're back on U.S. soil - but only just! Port Huron, Michigan, today's start venue, is located on the south end of Lake Huron - and on the west bank of St. Clair River. On the east side - just across the Blue Water Bridge, is Point Edward, which lies in Ontario, Canada.
Originally occupied by the Ojibwa people, French colonists had a trading post and fort at what now is Port Huron in the 17th century. Shipbuilding and lumber industries first attracted lots of immigrants in the 19th century, while nowadays there are multiple factories related to the automotive industry in the city's industrial park.
Culturally speaking, one can't look past Thomas Edison, who moved here as a kid and nowadays has a museum named after him. The Huron Lightship - a museum nowadays as well - is certainly worth a visit, too. But also the still active Fort Gratiot Light, Michigan's oldest surviving lighthouse, marking the entrance to St. Clair River from Lake Huron.
Fortunately, the riders won't need a lighthouse today - on one hand, we're racing by day, and on the other hand the route is pretty much straightforward. Just like yesterday, it's generally westwards all day long. However, with not one, not two, but three intermediate sprints - and hence 30 points available underways - it will be interesting to see how the sprinter teams handle this stage.
The first sprint point will be in Yale (not to be confused with Yale University in Connecticut) after 54km. We'll continue west, then south, to Lum, reached after 86km. After crossing the finish line in Flint for the first time, we'll get an extra lap including today's only category 4 climb at Roods Lake Road (117km) and leading back to another intermediate sprint in Lum (144km).
From there, it's just 15km left to Flint, where we'll likely crown another sprinter as today's stage winner. Flint, located along the Flint River, was funded by a fur trader, before becoming a major lumbering area on the historic Saginaw Trail. It was later nicknamed the "Vehicle City", being a leading manufacturer of carriages, later of automobiles. General Motors was founded here in 1908. The city flourished until the late 1960s, reaching a population peak of about 200k.
Deindustrialization, depopulation, urban decay and high rates of crime, unemployment and poverty made that number drop by more than half. Two financial emergencies as well as a water state of emergency hasn't helped the city get the turnaround yet, leaving just about 80,000 people living there.
So let's hope that today's arrival of the 2022 Tour of America will bring some more positive news, showing the world that everything isn't just bad here! At least some riders will surely do a good job - and those most likely to do so are again the top sprinters. The favorites list is almost identical to yesterday's - surprisingly with Boivin replacing Nizzolo, who had a strong 5th place finish in London. The other names - in order - are Eislers, Van Asbroeck, Haller, Coutinho, Boudat, Bennett, Krieger, Aniolkowski and yesterday's winner Lutsyshyn.
4 hours of racing, and then one burst of speed - that's what those guys love! We'll fast-forward through the first two thirds of the race though, and just take a look at the most important scenes:
What happened so far
Some clouds were decorating the mostly blue skies as the riders lined up in Port Huron, right at the entrance of St. Clair River, on the south end of Lake Huron. No wind once again, so top conditions for the sprinter teams!
Some daredevils obviously still had to try their luck, and the first ones were Nolf, Christensen and Hocevar.
And it's not like there weren't any other attempts - we saw Culey, Cruz, Perez, Piccoli, Rossi, Orue, Healy, Lunder or Van Aert trying - to just name a few - but Mosca, Xandri and Van Tricht were having none of it.
Another attack by Rossi then even split the pack - obviously this wasn't a persistent separation, but it was a clear testimonial of the horrendous pace so far. The three initial attackers were still out front, though, as the pace in the pack always dropped as soon as any new attackers were caught.
Groups of attackers didn't work out - and so the way to go seemed to be individual attempts. Kaloniatis was the first one to try, and at least wasn't brought back right away.
Fenn and Van Aert also tried - but yeah, group attack means veto by the sprinter teams.
Gaze then was lucky to not pull anyone with him, seemingly getting away solo, too.
Verhelst and Cruz tried to follow, but obviously no.
As Kmieliauskas attacked, he could see the damage that incredibly high pace in the first hour of racing had done. Christensen was out front, Hocevar somewhat following, and Nolf, Gaze and Kaloniatis in a group even further behind.
After the Lithuanian broke free, nobody else was even trying - or everyone was just tiring - and eventually five chasers regrouped behind Christensen, who easily took the first sprint:
Sprint - Yale
1.
Christensen
10 (10)
-6"
2.
Kmieliauskas
6 (7)
-4"
3.
Gaze
4 (4)
-2"
4.
Nolf
2 (17)
5.
Kaloniatis
1 (6)
Christensen had clearly proven to be by far the strongest rouleur of the group, with Gaze being second best and about as strong a sprinter. Kaloniatis and Hocevar are about evenly matched in terms of sprinting, followed by Kmieliauskas and Nolf, who seemed to be just here to help his teammate. A strategy that worked very well in an earlier stage, as you might remember.
In terms of GC, Christensen is the only rider less than 10 minutes behind - with his 2'01" deficit, he was actually riding in virtual yellow at this point.
The peloton, still led by the same three riders, crossed the line 2'46" later - which also was the biggest gap clocked so far.
Christensen also took the first out of two sprints in Lum, as only three riders seemed to show interest in the points anyway.
Sprint - Lum #1
1.
Christensen
10 (20)
-6"
2.
Kmieliauskas
6 (13)
-4"
3.
Gaze
4 (8)
-2"
4.
Kaloniatis
2 (8)
5.
Hocevar
1 (13)
The pack was still trailing by 2'42"; not much had been going on so far. However, they took notice of the two pretty strong rouleurs up front, and so with Barta, Donovan and Magnusson three additional riders had to help chasing.
You're up to date now about what happened, so let's join the riders for the extra lap starting in Flint!
LIVE +++ LIVE +++ LIVE
The escapees just crossed the finish line, but with the Mosca-led pack still just about 2'30" back it seems unlikely that they'll still be up front 57km later.
Just like yesterday, it takes some imagination to call this road bump a categorized "climb", but there indeed are 5, 3 and 1 KoM points available after 1.6km of slightly ascending roads.
Kmieliauskas feels like the best way to get them is just sprinting all the way "up".
The final meters to the KoM line actually had some 5% slopes, so this one might be more justified than yesterday's. Anyway, the Lithuanian completely cracked in the end and gets away with zero points.
KoM - Roods Lake Road (4th)
1.
Gaze
5 (5)
2.
Kaloniatis
3 (6)
3.
Hocevar
1 (6)
This outcome means that the KoM podium remains untouched for yet another day - those getting MGUCI points for this won't be unhappy.
The front group actually broke into pieces on that short hill, with only Gaze, Kaloniatis and Hocevar left up front! Seeing Nolf crack didn't come as a surprise - however, Christensen should definitely have been able to keep up! Kmieliauskas just paid for his early move and was dropped as well.
And the pack? Well, if even Taillefour is still there, everyone is still there. They took it easy, trailing by 2'25" still. 25km to the final intermediate sprint, 40km to the finish line!
However, Van Tricht put the foot on the accelerator once the KoM point passed - and the peloton soon catches Nolf. Christensen and Kmieliauskas are just 20" further up the road, with the leaders having only a 1'20" advantage with 30km to go.
Christensen and Kmieliauskas were caught just two kilometers later, but the leaders have a bit more left in the tank and aren't that easy to catch! And the one who is strongest on the flat then tries to go solo, as Gaze leaves behind his two final companions with exactly 25km left to ride.
However, his advantage over the pack has dropped below the 1 minute mark already - at least he should be able to pick up some more sprint points then!
With 20km to go, however, Kaloniatis and Hocevar have caught up again - and the pack is just 44" behind. 5km to go until the second passage in Lum!
The peloton is chasing hard now, though, knowing that at least P4 and P5 will still be available for the sprinters!
1km to the intermediate sprint line, as the front trio holds onto a small advantage! Eislers is getting a full-strength leadout, but Coutinho and Van Asbroeck want to have their say, too!
No luck for the breakaway, though, as Van Asbroeck takes a commanding win. His most dangerous rival Eislers got just one point, after his leadout pretty much made a full stop.
Sprint - Lum #2
1.
Van Asbroeck
10 (116)
-6"
2.
Krieger
6 (28)
-4"
3.
Coutinho
4 (11)
-2"
4.
Gaze
2 (10)
5.
Eislers
1 (89)
It's now a 27 points gap - but remember that the difference between 1st and 3rd at the finish line is 30 points! However, this also means that Eislers needs a Top 2 finish to get the jersey today - and that even winning the stage ahead of Van Asbroeck wouldn't be enough!
15km to go from here, so expect the pace to stay pretty high!
10km to go, and Eenkhoorn and Stoltz keep on pushing! Coutinho is already in 4th position, followed by Eislers and a long line of sprinters!
And good news for Kraftwerk - today even Haller is close to the front, where he actually has been all stage long already!
Just 5km to the line, as we're about to arrive in Flint again! Magnusson is now leading the pack, but we don't have any traces of concrete sprint trains yet!
Most sprinters are where they have to be at this point, with Van Asbroeck actually being among those furthest behind!
Just like yesterday, Philips are pushing hard inside those final kilometers - with 3km to go, they have five men up front! First Eenkhoorn and Stoltz, then the actual sprint train consisting of Barta, Velasco and Van Asbroeck!
Haller is there as well, although he looks a bit unsecure about what strategy to adopt. On the other side of the road, Magnusson is leading out Coutinho, who's followed by Eislers, Bennett, Itami, Zariff and Lutsyshyn.
Feiereisen is next, with Nizzolo, Krieger and Boudat close behind him. Berger, Moschetti, Boivin, Mareczko and Stash have taken their starting positions, too.
2km to the line, and a group of 15 has split off the pack! Magnusson is still pulling, while the Philips armada had to recognize that they were too early. Now it's Barta pushing hard - so hard that Velasco is struggling to follow!
The line on the left is pretty much identical to one kilometer ago, except that Feiereisen has caught Lutsyshyn's wheel. Boudat is the last rider in that front group - and Haller apparently still is insecure about what to do next!
The pace dropped again, allowing Krieger to catch up with Boudat, taking Boivin, Berger, Nizzolo, Moschetti, Mareczko, Stash and Novardianto with him. Haller did the same as the Philips domestiques - droppping back! Has the Austrian just forgotten that he's actually a sprinter?
Up front, Velasco is now launching with 1,500m to go, Van Asbroeck in his wheel!
Under the red kite, it's now a group of 21 that's clear of the pack! Let's look at the current setup:
Bennett
Itami
Van Asbroeck
Coutinho
Velasco
Eislers
Barta
Magnusson
Lutsyshyn
Zariff
Feiereisen
Boudat
Krieger
Boivin
Berger
Nizzolo
Moschetti
Haller
Mareczko
Novardianto
Stash
A bold move by the Irishman - but if he's able to take the others by surprise, this could be a big result!
With 700m to go, it's still looking good, as only Itami is really able to follow, the others leaving a small gap!
Van Asbroeck had to go early again, pulling Coutinho with him, while Eislers is already out of the slipstream as well! Lutsyshyn is looking good, too, with Zariff, Feiereisen and Boudat one row behind.
500m to the line, still Bennett in the lead! Itami is getting closer, though - and while Van Asbroeck still has about the same gap, Coutinho is now launching!
With 300m to go, Coutinho and Eislers are the fastest men on the road! And while Bennett is still in the lead, it's now looking unlikely that he could hold on.
Van Asbroeck is spent even earlier than yesterday and is clearly going backward! Lutsyshyn had to leave a small gap to Eislers, but is still up to 5th, with Zariff and Boudat in the next row.
Krieger and Feiereisen are looking strong, too, and now should have the space they need to move up!
200m left, as we get Coutinho vs. Eislers up front! Bennett and Itami have cracked, but can still hope to hold onto a Top 5 finish - but all of Lutsyshyn, Boudat, Krieger, Zariff and Feiereisen are currently moving fast!
Van Asbroeck has already dropped to 10th - suddenly his green jersey looks to be more at risk than ever!
100m to go, and the front two are still neck-and-neck! Coutinho still is a few inches ahead, but Eislers surely doesn't want to settle for another 2nd place finish!
Bennett is still 3rd, but Lutsyshyn and Boudat have almost drawn level!
We're on the last 50 meters, and it's impossible to say who's got the edge between Coutinho and Eislers!
It's Lionel Coutinho! He narrowly edges out Ingus Eislers for the win on stage 8 here in Flint! Congratulations!
But who will take the final podium spot? It's an almost dead race between Lutsyshyn, Krieger and Boudat now!
Roman Lutsyshyn doubles down on yesterday's win with a 3rd place finish today, another great sprint by the Ukranian! Alexander Krieger narrowly misses out, but 4th and 5th for him and Thomas Boudat are strong results for CT sprinters!
Nur Aiman Zariff gets a decent 6th place, but the spots behind are being heavily contested!
After another questionable tactics choice, Marco Haller makes the best out of the situation and takes 7th place. Definitely not remotely as strong a result as he used to get in the last two years, but at least another Top 10.
Giacomo Nizzolo is 8th, while Sam Bennett in the end dropped all the way down to 9th, outside the MGUCI scoring ranks. Kevin Feiereisen rounds off today's Top 10.
And Van Asbroeck? Our poor green jersey wearer paid dearly for going too early again, finishing 17th and missing out on the sprint points! Which means that his days in green are counted - at least until tomorrow!
Magnusson then leads home the pack - at least according to the timekeepers. They were very generous once again, not awarding any gaps - thereby securing Moazemi's yellow jersey for at least another day. Questionable, that's all I want to say about that decision.
Let's rather focus on the positive aspects of the stage - and Lionel Coutinho's win definitely is among them! He learnt from yesterday's mistake, timing his sprint much better today and finally denying Ingus Eislers his 2nd stage win! Still, the Latvian got his 4th podium spot of the race - and as a result we'll see him later.
Roman Lutsyshyn won yesterday's stage, and his 3rd place finish today definitely confirms that this wasn't just a fluke. Good job!
We said it, Arvin Moazemi needed a favorable ruling by the race officials to keep the GC lead, but that was out of his control and so we won't blame him.
Lucas Eriksson and Geoffrey Bouchard still trail by 11" and 21" respectively, with today's runner-up Eislers now up to 7th, with a 32" gap. Two sprint stages left, 40" on the table...
After launching a tad too early yesterday, he was a tad too late today - still, Ingus Eislers now gets the reward of being the most consistent sprinter so far by taking over the green jersey!
His 119 points mean that he has a tiny 3 points advantage over Tom Van Asbroeck, who gets the first chance to strike back tomorrow already! Arvin Moazemi is still in 3rd place, still on 73 points - but he now has to share that spot with Roman Lutsyshyn.
We already said it during the stage - it was another day with zero changes on the current KoM standings podium. Kim Magnusson's 39 points are still 30 more than Matic Groselj has, with Michael Antonelli and Hayden McCormick another point down.
No changes in the U25 standings, either: Pascal Eenkhoorn leads 6" ahead of Thymen Arensman and is 14" clear of Thomas Revard.
And the wait for some updates in the team standings continues as well, as Cedevita hold onto their 11" lead over Kraftwerk Man Machine and 19" over Assa Abloy.
That's all we have to say about another pretty uneventful stage. At least we got a new stage winner - and a new jersey wearer today. Let's see what awaits us tomorrow on part three of our sprinter tetralogy! Stay tuned!
Tour of America 
