Welcome to the first mountain stage of the 2022 Tour of America! We've crossed the border again and are back in Canada, more precisely in Golden, British Columbia, for the start of stage 11!
Golden has been built around the confluence of the Columbia and Kicking Horse rivers, and is nestled in the Rocky Mountain Trench. Surrounded by three mountain ranges and five national parks, Golden heavily relies on tourism in terms of economy. While most of them will go hiking in the mountains or in the national parks, Kicking Horse Pedestrian bridge is also worth a sight - as it's the longest freestanding timber-framed bridge in Canada. And Golden Skybridge is the highest suspension bridge in Canada.
For cyclists, though, the Golden Triangle cycle route - connecting Golden to Lake Louise and Radium Hot Springs - might be of more interest. Today, however, the route leads us to Mount Revelstoke in the Selkirk Mountains.
We might get some action early on, as the first intermediate sprint in Blaeberry already comes after 18km - remember that Eislers trails Van Asbroeck by just 8 points in the green jersey standings, so that sprint could actually have a major impact!
We'll then get a 3rd category climb to Donald as a warm-up (39km), followed by some undulating roads and the category 2 climb to Rogers Pass, reached after 83km. By the way, A. B. Rogers, discovering and giving the name to this pass, was among the first settlers of Golden.
That climb, which is about mid-stage, is then followed by a long downhill, which only has a gentle slope though. On the way down to Revelstoke, where we'll have the third intermediate sprint of the day after 147km, we'll get number two in Canyon Hot Springs (116km).
From Revelstoke, it's then all the way up to Mount Revelstoke - about 25km of climbing up the summit road known as the Meadows in the Sky Parkway. The summit is situated in the Mount Revelstoke National Park, and the parkway ranges from the rainforest of the park's southwest corner (the world's only inland temperate rainforest), passing through sub-alpine forests, to the rolling sub-alpine wildflower meadows.
The national park protects a herd of caribou, and provides habitats for lynxes, black bears, read foxes, moose or grizzly bears - let's see if we get to spot some of them today!
What we'll definitely spot, though, are riders struggling - and obviously one rider triumphing. It's the first real test for the climbers, featuring the first category 2 and HC climbs of the race - and so the top climbers are the obvious favorites of the day. The Top 6 are without much surprise Choi, Bennett, Pluchkin, Ranaweera, Kritskiy and Carapaz. Faglum Karlsson could also be expected, and from the 78 climbers batch the bookies picked U25 leader Eenkhoorn, Lunke and Aru, with defending champion Nerz being the most prominent name to miss out.
It's likely that one of those riders will also be our new race leader after this stage - although Kuss currently is the highest placed climber in the GC in 5th place.
Let's see how the riders did on the first part of the stage, before following them more closely on the final climb!
What happened so far
Another sunny day was awaiting the riders, lined up in Golden and ready to start - downhill for the first couple of kilometers! Would the sprinter teams be able to keep things together?
No way. Numerous waves of attacks, no respite - and eventually a group of 14 riders reached the sprint in Blaeberry ahead of the pack, with Bayly pretty much the only one caring for the points:
Sprint - Blaeberry
1.
Bayly
10 (10)
-6"
2.
Campenaerts
6 (6)
-4"
3.
Biermans
4 (4)
-2"
4.
Magnusson
2 (47)
5.
Lovik
1 (1)
Indeed - as soon as some notable KoM points are on the table, Magnusson was on the move again.
Right after that intermediate sprint, another group of 6 riders broke free - and everybody seemed to be happy with that constellation.
As the escapees started the Donald climb, the two groupes merged, and the breakaway of the day was complete. Here are - finally - the names:
Magnusson
Mosca
Gallopin
La Lavandier
Bayly
Christensen
Lovik
Moreno Hernandez
Dunne
McKenna
Henao
Chevrier
Hecht
Jallays
Pernsteiner
McCormick
Campenaerts
Biermans
Shapira
Rossi
We have some decent climbers in this group, most notably Henao and Pernsteiner, but also La Lavandier, Chevrier, Shapira or Bayly. McKenna, McCormick and Mosca are the strongest puncheurs.
The Amaysim duo are the best positioned riders in the GC, both less than two minutes down.
Which means that Bayly was in the virtual GC lead during most of the stage, trailing by just 1'03".
Surprisingly, KoM leader Magnusson left empty-handed from the first KoM sprint. Instead, La Lavandier took maximum points with an unresponded to early attack.
KoM - Donald (3rd)
1.
La Lavandier
6 (6)
2.
McCormick
4 (12)
3.
Bayly
2 (2)
McCormick moved up to 2nd in the virtual KoM standings, overtaking teammate Groselj. The latter, alongside the entire pack, crossed the line 6'10" later.
The peloton was mostly led by Haller, Van Asbroeck, Lunder, Novardianto and Van Tricht.
The KoM sprint at Rogers Pass also saw an early attack by La Lavandier - to no avail though. Instead, we again had the battle McCormick vs. Bayly - with the former narrowly taking it.
KoM - Rogers Pass (2nd)
1.
McCormick
10 (22)
2.
Bayly
8 (10)
3.
Magnusson
6 (45)
4.
Rossi
4 (4)
5.
Dunne
2 (2)
Magnusson's KoM lead shrunk a bit on those first two climbs, but a 23 points advantage with just 20 points left meant he'd defend his dotted jersey one more time!
The peloton reached the summit 6'08" later. Nobody was dropped so far from either group.
Let's now join the live action after half of the downhill is done!
LIVE +++ LIVE +++ LIVE
Our first live images capture the second intermediate sprint, where Bayly again takes maximum points with a very late burst.
Sprint - Canyon Hot Springs
1.
Bayly
10 (20)
-6"
2.
Rossi
6 (12)
-4"
3.
Shapira
4 (4)
-2"
4.
Biermans
2 (6)
5.
Gallopin
1 (5)
Lutsyshyn then crosses the line ahead of Van Asbroeck - two sprinters leading the pack, but no more points available here. They've started reducing the gap, which currently stands at 4'42". 55km to go.
About 35km left, as the riders are about to finish that long downhill section. From the helicopter view, the escapees can just be seen - but they're still 4'21" ahead.
The escapees have already arrived in Revelstoke, picking up sprint points for the 3rd time. This time, Bayly is way too late and misses out - the points are fully uncontested.
Sprint - Revelstoke
1.
Gallopin
10 (15)
-6"
2.
Christensen
6 (26)
-4"
3.
Moreno Hernandez
4 (4)
-2"
4.
Pernsteiner
2 (2)
5.
La Lavandier
1 (1)
Just 1.5km to the start of the final climb for them!
And here we go! While this ascent clearly isn't among the steepest, it's a very long one, and so we still expect to see some gaps today! Can the breakaway hold on for the stage win?
Well, with almost 25km of climbing and a 3'20" advantage, it looks more likely that the top climbers will catch them. But all will depend on how the race unfolds, obviously.
It definitely looks like Team Popo4Ever have a plan, though, with 4 riders in the first 10 positions: Andriafenomananiaina, Aniolkowski, Spilak and obviously Pluchkin.
Interestingly, Nerz is protecting Ranaweera, so that might already answer one of the most interesting questions in this edition!
20km to go, and we haven't seen any attacks yet. Gallopin leads the breakaway, Lunder leads the pack. The time difference between both groups is 3'17", so not much has changed since the start of the climb. We're still in the easiest section of the climb, though.
Gjensidige seem to be preparing a move - from Lunke or from Kritskiy? Lunder, Arensman and De la Cruz are now leading the peloton, having reduced the gap to 3 minutes flat two kilometers later.
Soon after, we get the first distanced riders of the day - and green jersey Van Asbroeck is among them! Which isn't too surprising, given that he has done quite some work for his GC captain all day long. The time limit shouldn't be an issue today - but he'd better spend his forces wisely on some more challenging stages!
By the way, with him is Orue, currently 3rd in the race for the red lantern. Taillefour is more than 15 minutes away from him, though - and is already struggling as well.
With 16km to go, Shapira finally tests the legs of his breakaway companions! Rossi and McCormick follow instantly, with Pernsteiner trying to close the gap.
The entire group is back together - and still three minutes ahead of the pack due to this acceleration.
And also due to Lunder still leading the peloton, despite being apparently low on fuel for some minutes already. Ulysbayev and Hvideberg have joined their teammates, so we now have five Gjensidige riders at the front of the bunch!
14km left, as Shapira's pacemaking causes the first casualty - Biermans is off the back. The breakaway riders are generally doing well, though, as the peloton is still roughly 3 minutes back!
Just one kilometer later, things start getting serious up front, as there's now a major split in the front group! Shapira - still him - has been forcing it, and only Pernsteiner, La Lavandier, McCormick, Hecht, Dunne, Lovik and Magnusson are still with him!
Biermans is already 1'32" behind - and the pack has picked up the pace as well, trailing by 2'33" now, led by Andriafenomananiaina.
The Malagasy is still leading as they catch Biermans. While most of the other breakaway riders have rejoined the first group, Campenaerts and Jallays are now definitely distanced as well and are riding just a couple of meters ahead of the pack.
The peloton is still 2'32" off, and the leaders have less than 12km to go!
Under Andriafenomananiaina's dictate, the peloton is getting closer and closer - one kilometer later, the gap is down to 2 minutes. And the top climbers haven't even moved yet - we'll see if the escapees have got enough left to fend them off!
And by the way, we were always talking about Moazemi losing his yellow jersey today - for the moment, he comfortably sits in 4th position in the pack!
Finally, another attack! It's La Lavandier who is pulling this time, and only Hecht, Magnusson and Dunne are able to follow!
Gallopin has been gapped, and is less than a minute ahead of the pack already!
Uh-oh, some riders have apparently been inattentive - or are just having an awful day! Senni, Squire and Anacona are all in this group that just lost touch with the pack - which still consists of 73 riders!
One of them is Moazemi, who's still able to fetch some bottles for his teammates at this stage of the race!
Just like we saw up front, there's also - finally - an attack in the peloton with 10km to go! And it's not just some outsider trying his luck - it's Pluchkin on the move! Champoussin is trying to keep him at bay, followed by Destribois.
All the top climbers are still there, and Senni's group has just made the catch as well, so the pace hasn't been too high so far - which might change now!
Pluchkin now has a small gap over Vasyliv, and is already about to join the big group up front! Bennett is well placed as well, while most other GC favorites are still relying on their teammates - most of all Choi, who still has Champoussin and Eenkhoorn ahead of him.
The four remaining escapees are just 50" further up the road!
Dunne is already feeling the peloton breathing down his neck, and he decides to try going solo! 8km left, less than a minute of advantage - that's a bold move for sure!
Pluchkin actually was caught soon after, as he slowed down due to the heavy traffic on the road. It's now Carapaz setting the pace, followed by Choi, Bayly, McKenna, Pluchkin and Bennett.
Hecht, Magnusson and La Lavandier are 47" ahead, while Dunne is already another 33" further up the road with 7km to go - that's suddenly looking a lot better for the Irishman!
Behind the peloton, stage favorite Lunke has just been dropped - alongside Eislers, by the way. Gjensidige must be putting all their eggs in the Kritskiy basket then!
Attack by Carapaz! With 6km left, the Ecuadorian launches the next serious move, chasing after Hecht and Magnusson, who have just been dropped by La Lavandier!
Dunne now has a 40" lead over the Frenchman, and the most difficult parts of the climb are done!
However, with the big guns pulling now, the breakaway probably won't stand a chance! Carapaz has almost caught up with Magnusson and Hecht already, and Pluchkin has again left the pack behind as well!
Mosca - once again him - is chasing, with Bennett, Choi, Kritskiy and Faglum Karlsson being the next top climbers on the road. Shapira and Pernsteiner are still holding their own as well!
With 4km to go, only Dunne and Carapaz are left in front of the pack! Pluchkin has relented, but is still pulling in the pack now - and we can still spot GC leader Moazemi in about 10th position!
Another kilometer later, Dunne has been overtaken by Carapaz, who in turn is about to be caught by Hecht! We also have Pluchkin, Bayly, Bennett, Kuss and Hamilton close to the front, followed by Ranaweera, Senni and Kritskiy.
However, with 2.5km to go, Carapaz is still up front! Pluchkin has taken over again from Hecht, who's now protecting Kuss. Everyone is looking really tired now, and nobody seems to have a lot more left than the others!
Someone who doesn't have anything left, however, is the 2020/21 back-to-back winner Nerz, whose dreams of a threepeat seem to be taking a serious hit today already!
And while Eriksson, 2nd in GC, was already dropped way earlier, his teammate Bouchard (4th GC) is now suffering the same fate - not a good day for the leading squad in the team standings!
Just 2km to go for Carapaz, who is holding onto his tiny lead! Only 29 riders are left in the first group, whis is about to split up as well! Pluchkin, Kuss, Bennett, Senni, Kritskiy, Ranaweera and Choi are the only top climbers left in this first part!
With them are former breakaway riders Hecht, Moreno Hernandez, Dunne, Bayly, Hamilton, Mosca and Magnusson - plus Pedrero, who seems to be on a pretty good day!
1,500m left, and Carapaz' gap over the peloton is rather widening!
Pluchkin is low on energy as well, and so the split finally didn't happen - we can even still see yellow jersey Moazemi in about 20th position! And with Carapaz having a 53" deficit pre-stage, the Iranian might even keep the GC lead if the situation doesn't change anymore!
It's a 25" advantage for Carapaz heading onto the final kilometer! Bennett is now leading the chase - but he isn't looking more efficient than Pluchkin before him!
600m left! Pluchkin is accelerating again, trying to close the gap to Carapaz!
Bennett, Kritskiy, Kuss and Ranaweera are the next riders on the road - alongside a surprising Moreno Hernandez, who apparently still has something left in the tank after a long day in the breakaway!
Carapaz still has a 12" lead with 400m to go - but Pluchkin is clearly getting closer now! And Moreno Hernandez currently is the only one able to follow the Moldovan, fantastic performance by the Colombian!
300m left, as Pluchkin and Moreno Hernandez are about to join Carapaz! The rest is already 15" behind - it looks to be two Latinos versus the Moldovan NC!
Look at this! Moreno Hernandez has taken the lead with 200m to go! Pluchkin has drawn level with Carapaz - and Dunne is coming from behind! Kuss, Bennett, Kritskiy and Ranaweera are all slower than the Irishman!
Just 100m to the line, and Moreno Hernandez is still leading! Can Pluchkin still counter?
Behind them, Carapaz had to let go - and is now being chased down by Dunne! And suddenly Magnusson is there as well - it's the revolt of the breakaway riders it seems!
And he does it! Salvador Moreno Hernandez wins on top of Mount Revelstoke - what a ride by the Eddie Stobart man! Aleksandr Pluchkin has to settle for 2nd - but that could very well be worth another day in the yellow jersey for him!
Behind, Carapaz seems to have the upper hand against Dunne, but the boy in green is closing in fast!
And Richard Antonio Carapaz has completely cracked on the final meters, so Conor Dunne gets another podium spot for CT! Fantastic job by the Irishman as well!
KoM leader Kim Magnusson comes in 5th place - which is worth some more KoM points by the way.
Those three riders lose 12" to the stage winner.
It's definitely a good day for CT, with Clement Chevrier finishing 6th and Sepp Kuss taking 8th place. George Bennett on the other hand won't be happy with 7th place, and nor will Timofey Kritskiy be with 9th. Cameron Bayly rounds off today's surprising Top 10.
This group is 28" off the pace.
GC leader Moazemi finishes on 21st place - and actually gets the same time as the group ahead of him, + 28"! Which also holds for Faglum Karlsson, Roman, Campero or Zimmermann who all are in the yellow jersey group.
On the other hand, this group including Vasyliv, Ratiy, Power or Gilanipoor is less lucky, as they get a 1'29" gap. It's even worse for Nerz, though, who was 1'47" back and definitely got downgraded to a helper role this year!
And finally, green jersey leader Van Asbroeck is the last rider to finish this stage - 22 minutes behind, but with 50 minutes to spare for the time limit.
From the last rider on the road, let's go back to the first one - and if you placed a bet on Salvador Moreno Hernandez as today's stage winner, you must be rich now! The Colombian spent a rather unremarkable day in the breakaway, apparently saving enough energy to keep up with Aleksandr Pluchkin on the final meters and even outsprint him! Congratulations!
The Moldovan was clearly the most active rider from the pack and deservedly gets his second podium spot of the race. Conor Dunne was in the same situation as the stage winner, and with a fantastic final burst claimed the last spot on the podium!
Aleksandr Pluchkin's attacks even get rewarded with the yellow jersey! After he already claimed it after stage 1, he now does the same 10 stages later. If he can do this again, he'll write history - but that's still a very long way to go.
For now, he leads 13" ahead of Arvin Moazemi, who delivered a very remarkable performance - and could even get the chance of getting the jersey back on tomorrow's hilly stage!
Sepp Kuss has moved up to 3rd with another consistent ride; the American trails by 39".
Despite finishing last today, Tom Van Asbroeck easily defends his lead in the points standings. Ingus Eislers is still 8 points back, with Lionel Coutinho trailing by 26 points. None of the GC contenders are even remotely close yet, though.
Kim Magnusson did not only defend his KoM jersey - he even extended his lead! While he was 30 points ahead before the stage, he now leads 31 points ahead of Hayden McCormick, who moved up from 3rd to 2nd. Stage winner Salvador Moreno Hernandez is now 3rd with 20 points, 33 off the lead.
However, there are 51 points on offer tomorrow, so we should se some more changes!
Pascal Eenkhoorn is yet another rider who was able to defend his jersey, as he's now leading 40" ahead of Georg Zimmermann in the U25 standings. Jamal Hibatullah has moved up to 3rd, trailing by 47".
Just like in the GC, there's a leader change in the team standings, with Assa Abloy moving up from 3rd to first! Philips - Force India are 2nd, trailing by 27", while Team Popo4Ever in 3rd place are already 1'25" back.
What a first mountain stage that was! No big gaps, no big fireworks - but a tense race with a surprise winner! Let's see what tomorrow's hilly stage will bring - see you then!
Starting with this stage, results will be split from the report, due to post length limitations. I tried to put spoilers everywhere, plus the spoiler banner - if you still have issues with seeing the results too early, you may have to access via the subforum navigation, so you'll directly land on the report and not on the results post.
The spoilers will be removed by the end of the race.
Tour of America 
