Welcome to San Francisco! It's D-Day of the 2022 Tour of America, as a 26km long race against the clock awaits us! Every rider on his own, no domestiques, no slipstream - a man and his bike against the ticking clock!
And we're not just at a random place for this GC deciding stage - we're in San Francisco, California's 4th largest city, counting roughly 800k inhabitants. Whereas the region was initially occupied by Ohlone people, the Spanish arrived here in 1769, baptising the place after St. Francis of Assisi.
They later ceded the Californias to Mexico, before the they were finally conquered by the U.S. Despite its attractive location as a port, San Francisco was still just a small settlement even in the 1840s. It's the forty-niners who raised the population by an insane factor within just a year, seeking their wealth in the California Gold Rush. Well-known businessmen like Levi Strauss or Domingo Ghirardelli made their fortune here, and early winners of the fortune seekers era were Wells Fargo and the Bank of California.
By the major earthquake in 1906, the population had grown to 400k - whereof half was left homeless following the disaster. Rebuild was performed rapidly and on a grand scale, and some of San Francisco's most important infrastructure - including Twin Peaks Reservoir, Twin Peaks Tunnel, the streetcar system or the O'Shaugnessy Dam - was built during that period. Especially the abundant water supply enabled San Francisco to develop into the city it has become today.
And the city was so financially healthy that no single local bank failed in the 1929 stock market crash - and at the height of the Great Depression, San Francisco was able to afford simultaneous construction of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge!
Later, San Francisco got flooded by Hippies - especially Haight-Ashbury, which we'll take a look at later. Wealth is still a big thing in San Francisco; in fact, as of 2021 the city was ranked first by per capita income among the U.S.' cities of more than 250k inhabitants - although it looks like the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the exodus of business, and there are even warnings of a doom loop impending...
But let's talk about some more cheerful things. Today's stage, for example. It's not an overly long ITT - but there are some nasty climbs included in those 26km. The famous Lombard Street, for example. Or the final ascent to Diamond Heights, roughly 3km long. This obviously is where the hilly rating comes from.
We'll also have two checkpoints; the first one after 8km, at Golden Gate Park. And the second one after 23.9km, at Haight-Ashbury - just before the final climb. However, maybe I should stop writing about climbs - as the bookies think they shouldn's have a major impact today. In fact, they have both Campenaerts and Groselj on their list - with three stars! Choi joins them, and that sounds more reasonable. Senni, Ranaweera and Kritskiy indeed could all be candidates for a good result, and they get two stars. One star goes to Canty, Andriafenomananiaina, Faglum Karlsson - and Cruz. They're either geniuses or ignorants - we'll find out soon!
But first, let's take a look at the current GC, before we'll dive into that final stage that could really make a difference!
Rank
Time
Rider
Mo
TT
Res
Rec
174
+ 3h28'36"
Cruz
53
77
70
67
170
+ 3h12'57"
Campenaerts
54
78
73
72
168
+ 3h07'56"
Archbold
57
76
69
68
150
+ 2h18'56"
Groselj
58
77
78
71
53
+ 35'59"
Manfredi
78
65
73
72
45
+ 29'58"
Ratiy
78
72
70
73
42
+ 29'20"
Spilak
78
70
71
68
30
+ 23'23"
Koch
77
68
74
74
29
+ 22'50"
Henao
76
66
73
71
28
+ 21'42"
La Lavandier
75
62
70
72
27
+ 21'00"
Power
77
66
76
79
26
+ 20'06"
Brandt
76
73
69
72
25
+ 19'37"
Liphongyu
75
74
72
74
24
+ 19'05"
Roman
77
64
73
74
23
+ 18'48"
Nerz
79
72
70
72
22
+ 18'12"
Canty
75
75
71
73
21
+ 17'55"
Hoelgaard
74
65
72
72
20
+ 17'08"
Mannion
77
64
76
65
19
+ 15'37"
Lunke
78
73
74
78
18
+ 15'20"
Pedrero
76
65
68
71
17
+ 15'01"
Eenkhoorn
78
69
77
80
16
+ 15'01"
Bouchard
77
67
72
76
15
+ 11'51"
Hoehn
75
70
74
75
14
+ 11'22"
Senni
77
74
79
76
13
+ 10'39"
Campero
78
69
70
72
12
+ 9'22"
Kuss
78
64
76
71
11
+ 9'06"
Kritskiy
80
76
70
69
10
+ 8'52"
Hamilton
76
65
73
76
9
+ 7'59"
Zimmermann
77
61
78
75
8
+ 7'49"
Aru
78
64
75
76
7
+ 6'40"
Vasyliv
77
72
72
75
6
+ 4'51"
Carapaz
80
72
76
77
5
+ 4'15"
Ranaweera
80
75
75
74
4
+ 3'06"
Faglum Karlsson
79
73
75
76
3
+ 2'13"
Choi
81
75
76
79
2
+ 1'59"
Pluchkin
81
75
72
70
1
69h12'48"
Bennett
81
65
74
79
For the sake of completeness, the pure TTers - which you also find in the race preview - are listed as well. And then we have some of the stronger climbers who aren't in the Top 30, whereas the latter conclude the list.
Bennett, who isn't the greatest TTer in the race by any means, has a comfortable 2-minutes lead over Pluchkin - but the Kiwi is pretty much the only top rider who hasn't had a single bad day so far. Is it due today? Can Pluchkin become the first rider to win all four GTs? Or can even Choi still turn the race around?
Let's see what happened as the first 154 riders completed their race, before covering the Top 30 in more detail! Have fun!
The Course
But let's first follow some riders to get an idea of the course! The start is next to the Transamerica Pyramid (which we'll see from the distance quite some times today), whereas behind the start line we can spot the Ferry Terminal with its tower, and the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. As the name says, it connects San Francisco to Oakland, with the two parts of the bridge both reaching from the mainland to Yerba Buena Island.
Orue was the first rider to tackle today's challenge. And as expected, he was unable to get rid of the red lantern.
By the way, we have wind from the south, which might have a slight impact given an average south-west direction of the stage. The wind is blowing between 8km/h and 20km/h, so some riders had to face more than twice as strong headwinds as others - most notably on the final climb.
The riders face the steep ascent right after the street - with gradients exceeding 10%! Taillefour was happy to arrive on top here, and he'd even get a partial view of Alcatraz Island after turning right.
After a short and steep descent (everything seems to be steep in San Francisco), the riders have to tackle the famous Lombard Street with its hairpin turns. 12% steep on average, with maximum slopes reaching almost 20% - although it's just 600m of climbing, that's definitely a section the pure TT specialists will hate.
And so will the sprinters, as we see Nizzolo and - further up - Kristoff on this picture.
Once arrived on top, we get a view of the Transamerica Pyramid's upper part, plus the Oakland Bay Bridge again. Puccio couldn't really enjoy the view, though, having no rear mirror. Maybe his DS did.
Whoever thought that the hardest climb was already done will be shocked when reaching the foot of the Division Street ascent - again just 600m long, but almost 16% average slope and maximum gradients of way above 20%! Fenn must have been jealous of Puccio here, who was already almost done with that hill...
The first split time is right in front of Golden Gate Park, which the riders will circle counterclockwise - more or less, that is. From the helicopter, we can spot the Pacific Ocean already. We're actually already in Haight-Ashbury, and the second intermediate time check is just a couple of meters away. The organizers found a 16km long path to get there, though.
Cruz took 2nd place at that point, more than 20" behind Joeaar - proving that the first section already pretty much rules out all those who can't climb. Shame on you, bookies!
Once arrived at the Pacific Ocean, the riders obviously have to turn - while spotting the Dutch and Murphy Windmills located at the west end of Golden Gate Park. Biermans probably would have preferred lying on the beach rather than being caught by Campenaerts - who by the way still was able to set the best time at checkpoint 1. 12" ahead of Joeaar...
The 10km mark is located on Sunset Boulevard, next to West Sunset recreational center. Archbold managed to post the 2nd time at the first split, 4" behind Campenaerts. Knowing that his time wouldn't stand once slightly stronger climbers started their race.
The riders also pass next to Pine Lake Park, with 5km to go to the second checkpoint. Zariff had Boudat already well in sight - without being particularly fast, though.
After cresting the 2km long Forest Hill climb and a short and fast downhill, the riders approach the second time check in Haight-Ashbury. They arrive back at Golden Gate Park right at Stow Lake, surrounding Strawberry Hill. In the background, we can see where the riders leave the Golden Gate Park loop to enter Sunset Boulevard.
Richardson wasn't having a great time out there - literally.
The second intermediate time is taken right in Haight-Ashbury, one of the main centers of the counterculture of the 1960s. After the checkpoint, the riders turn right to enter the final climb to Diamond Heights.
Perez wasn't doing too bad, getting a provisional Top 10 at this point. By the way, the first checkpoint can be seen to the left, indeed just a few meters away. The Transamerica Pyramid is further away, but also visible from here.
And a pretty big part of the city is visible from the top of Diamond Heights, a pretty steep climb with a flat section right before the red kite. The Transamerica Pyramid is just one of many buildings visible from here - let's hope the riders can enjoy the view as well once they're done with the stage!
Done are Groselj and Cole - with the latter just setting a new best time and the former taking provisional 5th place.
But let's see what those times were worth, as we take a quick look at the current best times - where current means after 154 riders!
What happened so far
What we can say is that all those riders previously mentioned didn't play a role - none of them currently is in the Top 50.
Instead, we have Jacobsen in provisional 10th place. The Norwegian was clocked at 44'20", which is a 1'06" deficit to the current stage leader.
The same holds for his teammate Tusveld - same time, same gap - yet a couple of fractions faster and therefore 9th place.
Costagli was 2" quicker, which is a time of 44'18" and 8th place.
For 7th place, we jump up one division - but just two more seconds, which is a rather disappointing performance by Dulanjana.
On the next three spots, we have another CT rider, in a Philips sandwich.
First comes Barta, as currently highest ranked American rider. He's 6th, 51" short of the best time - which means 44'05".
Roe posted the same time, but slightly better it seems. 5th place for the Aussie.
However, Andorran TT champion Xandri tops them both by 8". His time of 43'57" means he's still 43" behind the leader, though. And despite being 4th, he's almost half a minute off the provisional podium.
On that provisional podium - more precisely in 3rd place - is Pavlic. The Slovenian apparently had a really good day, posting a final time of 43'28" - which is just 14" slower than the stage leader!
And that leader isn't Ratiy - although the Ukranian came really close! 43'16" means he's just two seconds off the lead!
But who's holding that lead? Well, just to check whether the reporter is still alive on day 20, it had to be Andriafenomananiaina... The Malagasy - shown here cresting Lombard Street - crossed the finish line after 43'14".
Let's take a look at the current standings at each of the checkpoints, before the big guns join the fun!
Golden Gate Park (8.0km)
1.
Ratiy
14'29"
6.
Topchanyuk
+ 21"
2.
Zouzou
+ 3"
7.
Barta
+ 21"
3.
Pavlic
+ 5"
8.
Spilak
+ 22"
4.
Xandri
+ 14"
9.
Revard
+ 22"
5.
Costagli
+ 17"
10.
Matte
+ 22"
Haight-Ashbury (23.9km)
1.
Zouzou
35'24"
6.
Barta
+ 44"
2.
Ratiy
+ 9"
7.
Tusveld
+ 44"
3.
Pavlic
+ 14"
8.
Dulanjana
+ 45"
4.
Roe
+ 34"
9.
Sleen
+ 48"
5.
Xandri
+ 36"
10.
Jacobsen
+ 48"
Diamond Heights
1.
Zouzou
43'14"
6.
Barta
+ 51"
2.
Ratiy
+ 2"
7.
Dulanjana
+ 1'02"
3.
Pavlic
+ 14"
8.
Costagli
+ 1'04"
4.
Xandri
+ 43"
9.
Tusveld
+ 1'06"
5.
Roe
+ 51"
10.
Jacobsen
+ 1'06"
Sorry for using Andriafenomananiaina's first name here, but the tables just look better :P
What becomes pretty clear is that the first and last sections are mainly for climbers, while at least some decent TT skills are required for the long middle part. The best example is Costagli, who did pretty well in part 1, lost 45" in section 2 and dropped just 2" on the final climb - moving up from 16th to 8th in those last 2.5km.
By the way, the current provisional GC leader is Squire, who should be the only one having a realistic shot at entering the Top 30.
Now let's see how those Top 30 actually handle this challenge!
Koch is the first one of them to tackle this decisive stage. And he doesn't seem to have the best legs, losing already more than a minute on the first section: 15'36" (40th, + 1'07"). The wind blowing at 20km/h on the Division Street ascent probably didn't help...
Henao does only 3" better, and slots into 39th position.
La Lavandier is the slowest of this trio - as could be expected. 15'51" (59th, + 1'22") for the Frenchman.
Power seems to have quite a lot of the same left, as he's off to a good start: 14'55" (17th, + 26") at the first checkpoint.
It's an even stronger time for Brandt, who is more skilled on the TT bike than the Aussie: 14'48" (6th, + 19")
The same could be said about Liphongyu's skillset - but the Thai can't live up this reputation yet: 15'21" (32nd, + 52")
Given Roman's TT skills, he'd probably have needed a great start to be in contention today - but his first section was average at best: 15'07" (23rd, + 38")
Nerz was 3rd in the MTT - but at the first timecheck it looks unlikely that he can repeat that, despite posting a decent time: 14'50" (7th, + 21")
And this time is beaten two minutes later by Canty, who therefore slots into 7th place, being one second faster than the outgoing champion.
KoM leader - and probably winner - Hoelgaard takes it easy today - very easy to be honest. He's the slowest of the Top 30 so far: 16'04" (80th, + 1'35")
Mannion as the highest ranked rider of his team definitely has some higher ambitions today - but his lack of TT skills seems to be holding him back: 15'26" (41st, + 57"). He could lose his Top 20 spot to Canty if he's unable to up his pace!
Lunke hasn't had a great race so far, but at least he might gain one or two spots today - at least that's what his first split time suggests: 14'48" (6th, + 19")
Koch then is our first Top 30 rider to cross the line at the second time check. He wasn't great at the first one - and he's even worse now, dropping outside the Top 50: 38'06" (53rd, + 2'42")
Back at the first checkpoint, Pedrero beats the German's time, having a decent ride given his skillset: 15'18" (36th, + 49"). Which means that his 17" advantage over Lunke is more than gone already.
However, Eenkhoorn seems to be on a really bright day, posting the 4th time - meaning that Lunke hasn't closed in on him so far, on the contrary: 14'42" (4th, + 13")
As said before, the second part of the race definitely makes the lesser TT riders suffer - hence it's no surprise that Henao also lost a lot of additional time on that section - dropping even behind Koch at this checkpoint: 38'14" (59th, + 2'50")
Meanwhile, yesterday's stage winner Bouchard approaches the first time check. He's probably feeling his legs after yesterday's effort, posting an OK-ish time: 15'11" (30th, + 42")
Hoehn is his direct rival in the fight for the final Top 15 spot, with both competitors having the same time pre-stage. The local rider was slower on the first section, though: 15'17" (35th, + 48"). Being stronger against the clock, the second section could however tip the balance in his favor.
We then have three riders arriving at the second checkpoint almost simultaneously (while we get to see them next to Pine Lake Park here). Power had overtaken his two-minute-man by then, posting a pretty good time given his lack of pure TT skills: 36'48" (22nd, + 1'24")
That two-minute-man, who therefore clearly won't be able to improve his GC rank, is La Lavandier. The Frenchman is two minutes further back, in 85th place - the worst Top 30 rider so far. And he's even at risk of losing a spot to Henao!
Not looking to lose, but rather to gain, is Brandt. Currently 8th at the first split, he posts the 5th time at the second checkpoint: 36'00" (5th, + 36")
Oh, wait... Koch actually climbed so fast that we almost missed him! In fact, he was 28" quicker than the stage leader on the final 2.5km, what a ride! Overall, it's still not a great time, but surely an impressive final climb:
45'28"
(36th, + 2'14")
Despite losing quite some time to Squire, he takes over the virtual GC lead from the latter and will end up in the Top 30.
From the finish line all the way back to the first checkpoint then, where Senni posts a rather disappointing time to be honest: 14'59" (24th, + 30"). This should be easily enough to keep his chasers at bay, but moving up doesn't look likely, either.
Liphongyu then reverses the trend that riders drop some spots in the second section - being rather solid against the clock, the Thai actually moves up: 36'54" (24th, + 1'30"). Despite this being a solid time, he has still dropped behind Brandt in the GC!
Roman was faster than Liphongyu in the first section, but now trails by 32" - the exact advantage he had pre-stage. The final climb will decide on whether they switch positions!
The next rider to finish the race is Henao. His first section was OK, but then he lost more and more time - even on the final climb:
46'25"
(60th, + 3'11")
He was 33" ahead of Koch pre-stage, but after losing 57" today he actually drops to 30th.
He was already overtaken by the next rider on the road at the second checkpoint - but apparently La Lavandier had a better energy management and finishes next - climbing 24" faster than the stage leader. It's obviously still not a great overall time for him, though:
46'22"
(59th, + 3'08")
He's easily able to defend his GC spot, though, and will likely end the race in 28th place.
Power - in this picture still ahead of the Bonduelle rider - overextended himself a bit on the first two sections and couldn't keep up with the Frenchie on the final meters. Still, he was 7" faster than the race leader in the last section, and moved up from 24th to 16th within those 2.5km:
44'32"
(16th, + 1'18")
Which obviously makes him the new virtual GC leader.
Nerz took 3rd place in the MTT, and his first split time was looking pretty solid - so is the second one, but he's probably too far away to fight for the lead: 36'12" (10th, + 48"). He was 1'20" behind 20th place before the stage, let's see if that's enough for the German to move up (at least) 3 spots.
Meanwhile, Campero is only at the first checkpoint - or should we say, already? He had a very strong first part of the race: 14'45" (6th, + 16")
Kuss had pretty strong first two weeks, but has struggled lately - and his bad run unfortunately seems to continue today: 15'17" (37th, + 48"). He has a 1'17" advantage over Campero, whereof he has already lost 32" however...
Brandt hasn't had a very successful race overall, but today seems to be his best day of the Tour! Holding the 5th time at the second checkpoint, he even overtook Roe on the final climb - and didn't lose any more time against the stage leader.
43'51"
(4th, + 37")
He's currently the highest ranked U.S. rider of the stage, let's see if he can gain a couple of GC spots with this performance!
Canty isn't the best climber, but he's solid against the clock - so it's not surprising that he only dropped 6" on the second part of the race, moving up to provisional 4th at the second checkpoint: 35'50" (4th, + 26"). While this doesn't look good for Nerz in terms of Top 20, it certainly does for the Aussie!
Kritskiy might have been the most disappointing rider in this race, and so his only goal for today must be to somehow get at least into the Top 10! However, the start was rather along the lines of his previous performances: 14'58" (24th, + 29").
Hamilton proves that the Russian just has another bad day (not too surprising given his bad recovery, and we're on day 20), as KoM runner-up is even slightly faster: 14'49" (20th, + 24"). For now, he has extended his 14" advantage to 19".
Liphongyu wasn't looking great at the second time check - having lost a lot of time on section 2 despite being a solid TTer - and the final climb confirms that he wasn't on a great day:
44'59"
(28th, + 1'45")
Which means that the Thai drops behind Brandt in the GC.
The next one at the finish line is Roman - and while he clearly suffered on the flatter parts of the stage, the final climb was definitely OK, as he only lost two additional seconds:
45'18"
(38th, + 2'04")
Still, even his climbing skills couldn't avoid the drop behind Brandt. At least he kept Liphongyu behind and will end up in the Top 25.
Top 25 definitely wasn't a target for Nerz in the last couple of years - but being downgraded to a helper role, that's just the new reality. Still, he tries to make a final good impression - which he achieves to do, despite missing out on another podium:
43'52"
(5th, + 38")
He was just one second slower than Brandt today, which easily makes him our new virtual GC leader. With 22 riders yet to come, though.
Oof, it looks like Hoelgaard really has nothing left in the tank. He isn't too shabby against the clock usually, but today he's just awful - barely inside the Top 100 at the second checkpoint: 39'12" (94th, + 3'48"). He'll definitely lose a couple of spots in the GC - but he most likely won't care.
And then we also get the other Tryg rider wearing one of the special jerseys, as Zimmermann reaches the first split point. He's been doing exceptionally well, and given his almost non-existing TT skills, his first split time is pretty respectable: 14'58" (25th, + 29"). That's the same time as Kritskiy posted, just to say.
Mannion is 20th overall - but given that he suffered big time on the middle section, he probably will drop out of the Top 20: 38'08" (64th, + 2'44"). Could he even drop behind teammate Brandt on the final ascent?
Canty definitely won't drop, as he takes over the virtual GC lead from Nerz - even beating the German's time today:
43'38"
(4th, + 24")
Great job, and that performance will likely be worth a Top 20 GC finish!
The wind has faded again - but Lunke couldn't make the best use of this fact it seems. Or maybe his climbing legs are just better than the TT legs today, as he drops from 8th to 11th on the second section: 36'10" (11th, + 46").
Aru was the strongest CT climber for quite a while, and these two Italian fans should help him to mount a final challenge to get that spot back - in theory. In reality, he seems to be on a rather awful day: 15'22" (47th, + 53"). Which means that he has already lost a spot to Zimmermann, surprisingly!
Vasyliv currently is the highest ranked CT rider - but even he lost quite some time to clearly inferior TTer Zimmermann: 15'17" (40th, + 48"). Let's see if he can make use of his better TT skills in section 2...
Back to checkpoint 2, where Pedrero posts an OK-ish time, given his rather poor TT skills. He's actually 46th at both split times currently: 37'46" (46th, + 2'22"). Which means that he's far behind Lunke already, but shouldn't drop further down.
Dropping is what Eenkhoorn did on the second section, from 4th to 15th - but against some clearly stronger TTers, that's no shame. And the closing 2.5km should again suit him. His 2nd split time: 36'15" (15th, + 51")
Let's correct that, as the Dutchman just lost one spot at the first split - with Carapaz posting the 4th time, one second faster than our former white jersey: 14'41" (4th, + 12"). However, to make up for the 35" gap to Ranaweera in 5th place, he'd probably need the best time here.
Hoelgaard had a brilliant race overall, as this image suggests - but not today. He loses over 30" on the final ascent alone - he definitely didn't have anything left in the tank:
47'38"
(99th, + 4'24")
This performance sees him drop behind Canty, Nerz, Brandt, Roman, Liphongyu - and even Power, although both are on s.t. That means a rather big fall from 21st to 27th - but the KoM jersey, which will likely be sealed in a couple of minutes, obviously more than makes up for this!
In the meantime, Lunke has overtaken Mannion - and he was also able to gain 5" back on the final ascent, moving up 4 spots on that section:
43'55"
(7th, + 41")
That's definitely a Top 20 finish secured for him, as he takes over the virtual lead from Canty.
Mannion, on the other hand, climbed slightly slower than Andriafenomananiaina (but still gained 6 spots):
46'07"
(61st, + 2'53")
This time sees him drop behind both Canty and Nerz in the GC - therefore losing his Top 20 spot, taken over by the Australian.
We said earlier that Ranaweera's 5th place could be under attack by Carapaz - but the Sri Lankan definitely has other plans! Not only does he match the Ecuadorian's time - he smashes Ratiy's previous best time by a whopping 23"! New reference time at the first checkpoint: 14'05"
Bouchard's ride is much less spectacular - the Frenchman is however still fighting to enter the Top 15. His second split time: 37'18" (34th, + 1'54"). We'll see in two minutes what that's worth...
Without any doubt, Ranaweera's time is worth a lot - but he'd need to gain more than a minute against Faglum Karlsson. However, the Swede is doing very well so far, too, and posts the clear 2nd best time: 14'14" (2nd, + 9")
We then get Hoehn's reply in the fight for the final Top 15 spot: 37'00" (31st, + 1'36"). That's an 18" advantage for the local rider going into the last section - where Bouchard should again have a slight advantage, though!
But now, the tension rises, as the top GC contenders approach the first split time! Given the current gaps, a podium spot should be safe for Choi - but which one? He does a decent first section and puts some pressure on the next rider: 14'13" (2nd, + 8")
That rider arrives roughly two minutes later, and his name is Pluchkin! The Moldovan started the stage with a 14" advantage over the Hong Kong native - whereof 8" are already gone: 14'21" (4th, + 16")
Pedrero is next to cross the finish line - but as this picture suggests, he doesn't post a great time:
45'44"
(49th, + 2'30")
He was just 17" ahead of Lunke pre-stage, and losing almost two minutes today means these two riders swap places. But the Spaniard easily holds onto a Top 20 spot, which is a decent result!
On the other hand, Eenkhoorn is almost two minutes faster and takes over the virtual GC lead:
43'54"
(7th, + 40")
He was even a second quicker than Lunke today. While he won't win the white jersey - as many might have expected - he does at least seal a podium spot in this classification.
Senni's start section was pretty unimpressive - but he seems to have found his legs on the second part, moving up to 13th place: 36'12" (13th, + 48").
However, the Italian's deficit to Campero is almost a minute - but the Bolivian isn't interested in letting his rival close in. He lost 7" on the flat, but he's still ahead on the stage: 36'05" (8th, + 41")
But now, all eyes are on Bennett. His GC lead is significant, almost two minutes - and he took 2nd place in the MTT. Today, however, we do have quite a different profile - and quite some time lost by the Kiwi already: 14'42" (9th, + 37") - which means he's already lost about one fourth of his lead!
And with today's final picture from Lombard Street, where we can spot all three podium contenders ( Choi about to enter the Division Street climb, Pluchkin on top of Lombard Street and Bennett about to start it), let's take a look at the final Top 10 at the first split - and at the virtual GC!
Golden Gate Park (8.0km)
1.
Ranaweera
14'05"
6.
Zouzou
+ 27"
2.
Choi
+ 8"
7.
Pavlic
+ 29"
3.
Faglum Karlsson
+ 9"
8.
Carapaz
+ 36"
4.
Pluchkin
+ 16"
9.
Bennett
+ 37"
5.
Ratiy
+ 23"
10.
Eenkhoorn
+ 37"
Virtual GC | Golden Gate Park
GC Rank
Rider
Time
Today
Change
1.
Bennett
69h27'30"
14'42"
=
2.
Pluchkin
+ 1'38"
- 21"
=
3.
Choi
+ 1'44"
- 29"
=
4.
Faglum Karlsson
+ 2'38"
- 28"
=
5.
Ranaweera
+ 3'38"
- 37"
=
6.
Carapaz
+ 4'50"
- 1"
=
7.
Vasyliv
+ 7'15"
+ 35"
=
8.
Zimmermann
+ 8'15"
+ 16"
1
9.
Aru
+ 8'29"
+ 40"
1
10.
Hamilton
+ 9'03"
+ 11"
=
11.
Kritskiy
+ 9'22"
+ 16"
=
12.
Kuss
+ 9'57"
+ 35"
=
13.
Campero
+ 10'42"
+ 3"
=
14.
Senni
+ 11'39"
+ 17"
=
15.
Bouchard
+ 12'20"
+ 29"
1
16.
Hoehn
+ 12'26"
+ 35"
1
Not a lot of rank changes yet, but the time gaps so far suggest that we'll have a big fight for 2nd - and Aru might even be at risk of dropping outside the Top 10!
But now, back to the fight for the final Top 15 spot! Bouchard had a pretty good first section, a slightly weaker second one - and the final part? Well, I'd say so-so, as he loses some additional seconds to the stage leader:
45'13"
(37th, + 1'59")
His advantage over Eenkhoorn was easily big enough to take the virtual GC lead - but is it enough to sneak into the Top 15?
Hoehn lost some 6" against his French rival on the first part, gained 24" in the middle section - and he lost some time again on the final uphill:
45'01"
(34th, + 1'47")
That's enough! It looks like we'll have two Americans in the Top 15 then - and Hoehn also makes sure to keep his 2nd place in the U25 standings! Great racing!
His teammate Kuss had a great ride in the first two weaks, but has clearly faded since. He wasn't great at the first checkpoint - and the second split time isn't better, either (as expected, though): 37'36" (46th, + 2'12"). His advantage over Campero is gone, he has to hope for a great final climb to actually keep his GC position!
Kritskiy had an unimpresive first split time - but he's clearly woken up, moving up from 32nd to provisional 13th on the second part: 36'11" (13th, + 47"). We'll soon find out if that's enough to move inside the Top 10...
But Hamilton is actually doing a fantastic job given his rather low skills against the clock: 36'33" (26th, + 1'09"). Still, that's 22" lost to Kritskiy, and he only had 14" to spare... The final ascent will be decisive again!
The next rider who is done with said final climb is Senni. So far he had a decent, yet not outstanding stage - which summarizes his last section as well:
44'06"
(12th, + 52")
This is easily enough to take the virtual lead, but he'd have to hope for a major breakdown of Campero to actually gain a spot.
But as expected, Campero doesn't do him this favor. On the contrary - the Bolivian RR Champion did a great job on the final ascent, gaining 7" compared to the stage leader - and moving up from 8th to 5th!
43'48"
(5th, + 34")
Which means that Kuss would almost have to fly up that ascent to keep his GC spot!
The American sure did do his best - but that wasn't very good today, unfortunately. Even on this last section that should favor the strong climbers, he loses time to Andriafenomananiaina and posts a pretty disappointing final time:
45'34"
(51st, + 2'20")
Which confirms that he drops one spot in the GC, but at least fends off Senni. Nope, he's no friend of the 3rd week apparently - which isn't too surprising given that he struggles to recover from one day to the next.
Still, he's the best local rider in the GC - and for the U.S., having two in the Top 15 (plus two more in the Top 25) isn't too shabby!
While Kuss might be disappointed with his 3rd week, Kritskiy probably feels bad about his entire race. Having come here as a potential podium contender, he wasn't even in the Top 10 before this stage - something that he's trying to change now. His time does indeed look solid:
44'02"
(11th, + 48")
He lost another second on the final climb, confirming his rather bad climbing form, but he might have done enough on the flatter 2nd section to make the Top 10 - we'll soon find out!
Sorry for doing it again, but the report was waaaay to long to fit it in one post... Now you do at least have a reason for hating TTs :P
Zimmermann was bound to lose a lot of time on section #2, given his really bad TT skills. And he did lose quite some time - but far, far less than expected! His team must have found something special today, given that he lost barely more than a minute on the second section: 37'11" (36th, + 1'47"). Still, he has lost 38" of his 53" advantage over Hamilton - he'll need another good climb then!
Aru, on the other hand, didn't look well on the first part - and that impression didn't change on the second section, either. He even lost 24" to Zimmermann, who usually is weaker on those flat parts: 37'59" (65th, + 2'35"). Which sees him drop not only behind the German, but also behind Hamilton and Kritskiy!
Vasyliv is the highest ranked CT rider, and also the best TTer among these three. However, he seems to be pretty tired as well, as he can only just match Zimmermann's time: 37'11" (36th, + 1'47"). Which however means that there shouldn't be any danger for his 7th place, unless he completely cracks on the last 2.5km.
Hamilton would have needed a top result on the stage to stay in contention for the KoM jersey - which he couldn't achieve today. His second goal was defending his Top 10 spot, but he was 8" behind Kritskiy in the virtual GC at checkpoint two - has he been able to get those back? His finishing time:
44'21"
(22nd, + 1'07")
He did gain some time against his Russian rival - but only 3", meaning he ends up 5" short! So he has to hope to move past either Zimmermann or - more likely - Aru to hold onto 10th place!
But now, things are heating up at the second checkpoint, as we expect the Top 6 there! Carapaz is the first of them - but it looks like he doesn't have his best TT legs today: 36'09" (11th, + 45"). Of course, he won't lose any spot in the GC, but he'd probably need to do more to attack the Top 5. Maybe a lightning fast final climb?
Well, against lightning fast Ranaweera, even that won't help - as the Sri Lankan blasts across the line at the checkpoint with a new best time: 34'45", which is 39" than Andriafenomananiaina's previous leading time!
Faglum Karlsson can't quite keep up with that pace - but he's definitely able to hold his own, losing just 25" and taking 2nd place - which leaves him still 44" ahead of Ranaweera in the virtual GC: 35'10" (2nd, + 25")
Zimmermann had a huge race overall, and he'll definitely bring home his white jersey - but can he also hold onto his Top 10 spot? At the second checkpoint, he was just 7" ahead of Kritskiy and 15" clear of Hamilton in the virtual GC - let's see what his final time is:
45'02"
(40th, + 1'48")
Not an amazing last section - but he matched Kritskiy's time and only lost 3" to Hamilton, so he stays ahead by 7" and 12" respectively! Well done!
And the German will actually even gain a spot - as will the two others who are so close to him - as Aru continued his awful ride even on the section that should've suited him most:
46'15"
(70th, + 2'51")
Somewhat similarly to Kuss, he only cracked on the last couple of days - but he cracked really hard, to even miss out on what looked to be a safe Top 10 on the last possible occasion.
On the other hand, Vasyliv showed the opposite trend lately - being very consistent throughout the whole race, but finding yet another gear on the final days. Not today, though - but it didn't matter that much anyway. His time is easily enough to hold onto 7th place:
45'27"
(51st, + 2'13")
Which makes him the strongest CT rider in the GC, congrats!
But who will be the strongest GC rider overall? Choi? Pluchkin? Bennett?
The Hong Kong native is the first one of them to post a time at the second checkpoint. Second after section 1, second after section 2 - Choi's on track: 35'08" (2nd, + 23"). Which is just 2" faster than Faglum Karlsson, so getting 2nd on the stage isn't a given yet!
Then we have Pluchkin crossing the checkpoint line. He was 4th at the first split - and that didn't change: 35'21" (4th, + 36") - he has lost 13" to Choi already and leads by one single, tiny second! What a fight for 2nd place - or even for the win?
Because Bennett really, really doesn't look good today! He has lost a massive amount of time already - more than two minutes to Ranaweera: 36'50" (37th, + 2'05")! What does that mean in terms of GC? We're getting on it after looking at the Top 10 at this checkpoint:
Haight-Ashbury (23.9km)
1.
Ranaweera
34'45"
6.
Ratiy
+ 49"
2.
Choi
+ 23"
7.
Pavlic
+ 54"
3.
Faglum Karlsson
+ 25"
8.
Canty
+ 1'06"
4.
Pluchkin
+ 36"
9.
Roe
+ 1'14"
5.
Zouzou
+ 39"
10.
Brandt
+ 1'15"
Virtual GC | Haight-Ashbury
GC Rank
Rider
Time
Today
Change
1.
Bennett
69h49'38"
36'50"
=
2.
Pluchkin
+ 30"
- 1'29"
=
3.
Choi
+ 31"
- 1'42"
=
4.
Faglum Karlsson
+ 1'26"
- 1'40"
=
5.
Ranaweera
+ 2'10"
- 2'05"
=
6.
Carapaz
+ 4'11"
- 40"
=
7.
Vasyliv
+ 7'02"
+ 22"
=
8.
Zimmermann
+ 8'21"
+ 22"
1
9.
Kritskiy
+ 8'28"
- 38"
2
10.
Hamilton
+ 8'36"
- 16"
=
11.
Aru
+ 8'29"
+ 40"
3
12.
Campero
+ 9'55"
- 44"
1
13.
Kuss
+ 10'09"
+ 47"
1
14.
Senni
+ 10'45"
- 37"
=
15.
Hoehn
+ 12'02"
+ 11"
=
16.
Bouchard
+ 12'20"
+ 29"
=
So on one hand we've got an insanely close fight for 2nd and 3rd - but Bennett is doing so bad that even his GC lead seems to be at stake! What will the final climb bring us?
Carapaz showed an OK performance on the first two sections - and it's pretty much more of the same on the final one. Gaining 3" to the stage leader isn't really enough for a climber of his caliber, though.
43'56"
(10th, + 42")
Given the times at checkpoint two, he probably won't gain a spot today - nor does he lose any, so he'll likely end up 6th.
But then, Ranaweera shows everyone how it's done! Being the clear leader at both split times, he gains another 16" on the final climb and takes the lead by almost one minute:
42'18"
(Leader)
Given the split times, that's very likely enough for the stage win - but is it even good enough to take 4th place?
Faglum Karlsson did however post a strong second intermediate time - and he doesn't crack on the last climb, either:
42'48"
(2nd, + 30")
That's 4th place in GC guaranteed for him - maybe the most surprising result besides Zimmermann's 8th place?
But now, ladies and gentlemen, we're awaiting the fight for the podium spots - or even for the GC win?
Choi again sets the bar for his two competitors - and he does really well, climbing just three seconds slower than the stage leader (and likely winner):
42'44"
(2nd, + 26")
That's a GC podium for him - but which step?
Pluchkin won the first two time trials of the race, but it looks unlikely that he can make it 3/3. On the contrary, he only had one second to spare against Choi at the second checkpoint - meaning he has to stop the clock at 42'58" to match the Philips leader's time:
He misses that mark by one single second! Pluchkin drops behind Choi in the GC - could it even be that he just missed out on the GC win by one second???
So far, the sun has been shining for Bennett, and so does his yellow jersey. But for how long? He still has more than a kilometer to go, and he's not really climbing fast here!
He did such a great job so far - will he lose the race on the final (realistic) occasion?
Let's see where the clock stops... He can afford to lose 2'39" to the stage winner, which would be a time of 44'57"!
He's already more than 2 minutes late... and is clocked at
44'33"
(32nd, + 2'15")
The Kiwi does it! He saves 24" of his 2'13" advantage over Choi and - barring major disaster - will win this Tour! Phew, that was closer than expected given his huge rides in the last days!
So, before looking at our updated GC, let's take some respite and celebrate the stage winner first!
And that winner is Suranga Ranaweera! After a rather disappointing race - he came here to continue Kraftwerk's winning streak, but was out of contention early on - he finally got a podium spot on the Queen stage, and did even better to crush the opposition today! And this win also makes Kraftwerk the most successful team so far with 4 wins (by three different riders, nota bene)!
Ki Ho Choi also came here to win the GC, and it looks like he'll end up being the first loser - just like on today's stage. Which is no shame, though, as the winner just was one level above everyone else.
Marcus Faglum Karlsson in 3rd place once again had a great day, riding slightly above his expected level and securing a great GC spot - well done!
GC spots is a great keyword, as we get to see our GC leader on stage - and it's still George Bennett! At the second checkpoint, it didn't seem completely unrealistic anymore that he'd lose his favorite piece of cloth, but he had just enough left in the tank. Let's look at the updated GC including today's movements:
GC Top 16 | After Stage 20
GC Rank
Rider
Time
Today
Change
1.
Bennett
69h57'21"
44'33"
=
2.
Choi
+ 24"
- 1'49"
1
3.
Pluchkin
+ 25"
- 1'34"
1
4.
Faglum Karlsson
+ 1'21"
- 1'45"
=
5.
Ranaweera
+ 2'00"
- 2'15"
=
6.
Carapaz
+ 4'14"
- 37"
=
7.
Vasyliv
+ 7'34"
+ 54"
=
8.
Zimmermann
+ 8'28"
+ 29"
1
9.
Kritskiy
+ 8'35"
- 31"
2
10.
Hamilton
+ 8'40"
- 12"
=
11.
Aru
+ 9'21"
+ 1'32"
3
12.
Campero
+ 9'54"
- 45"
1
13.
Kuss
+ 10'23"
+ 1'01"
1
14.
Senni
+ 10'55"
- 27"
=
15.
Hoehn
+ 12'19"
+ 28"
=
16.
Bouchard
+ 12'32"
+ 41"
=
The GC leader definitely lost a lot of time today - if even Hamilton is faster on the stage, that speaks for itself and confirms that our yellow jersey had his first really bad day today.
Still, it was probably enough to bring the race home - although with those small gaps I'm not sure if there really won't be any attacks! Especially that one second between 2nd and 3rd might still encourage Pluchkin to try something... we'll see!
Onto more less exciting stuff then - at least for the time being. Because despite there not being any relevant changes in the points standings today, the situation is incredibly tense heading into tomorrow's final stage - with three sprinters being within just 8 points!
Tom Van Asbroeck and Ingus Eislers are still tied for the lead - with the officials finding some fancy rule that makes the Belgian wear the jersey - while Lionel Coutinho trails by 8 points. No other sprinter is within 50 points of the lead, so with a probability of more than 99%, one of these three will take the jersey home!
What no longer is a probability, but a certainty, however, is that Daniel Hoelgaard wins the polka dot jersey! With only 10 points available tomorrow, Lucas Hamilton can't catch him anymore - and will end up 2nd. Hermann Pernsteiner is 3rd - and even this place is set in stone, given his 11 points advantage over 4th place.
Congratulations to CT team Tryg on winning this jersey in such an important race!
And almost certainly congratulations again to CT team Tryg on winning the U25 jersey as well - barring a black hole opening on the course (or something as unlikely), Georg Zimmermann will take this jersey home alongside his 8th GC place! Well done!
Alex Hoehn is 3'51" back and should end up 2nd, with Pascal Eenkhoorn trailing by roughly 2 additional minutes in 3rd place.
To the local fans' delight, home team McCormick Pro Cycling hold onto 2nd place, while the fight for 3rd went to the wire - Kraftwerk Man Machine currently are three seconds ahead of Philips - Force India, so any random gaps tomorrow could actually still have an impact on the final podium spot!
So, it's a long and memorable day here in San Francisco coming to an end. We had a really tense fight for the podium spots, with even the GC win seemingly at stake - but Bennett just did enough to stay afloat. We'll meet again tomorrow for the final stage of this 2022 Tour of America, which will decide on the green jersey winner - stay tuned!
Tour of America 
