Anybody who has ever suggested that flat stages are less entertaining clearly hasn't seen the racing we've had thus far in Táchira. Today sees another flat parcour, although as it is sheltered in the northern lee of the Cordillera de Mérida we aren't expecting the crosswind chaos that eventuated yesterday. The course actually starts outside of Táchira, El Vigía is located in the neighbouring state of Mérida and boasts a population of more than 100 thousand. From there, they will tak a familiar route south-west through the village of Coloncito to reach La Fría. Four circuits of the small hill between La Fría and San Félix culminate in a finish in the village of La Uraca.
Plenty of riders were interested in making their way into the breakaway and Stela - Vita didn't seem overly fussed about defending the maillot amarillo. Eventually it was Saeco and Hilcona, riding for Dan McLay and Alexander Krieger respectively, who stepped in to control the race. Luis Esteban Murillo and Raul Garcia Pierna made an effort to get away but were brought back by the aforementioned teams. Instead it was Jesus Roniel Marte, Alessandro Verre and, by far the strongest, Jakub Skala who formed the day's break. The Czech evidently hoping that his lack of legs yesterday wouldn't carry over. Keeping them in check were six teams: Hilcona, Manada Coyote, Simba Cement, Stela - Vita, JEWA TIROL and Würth MODYF.
Live images come to us as the catch is being made just after the 10 kilometre mark. The escapees put up a good fight but eventually relented to the combined powers of Stephan Rabitsch, Gerben Kuypers, Adrian Nitu and Gordian Banzer. Skala struggled in the intermediate sprints, only picking up 14 points. Marte managed 16 and Verre scored 18 by winning the latter two competitions.
As seems to be the norm here, the domestiques initially struggle and ultimately fail to construct any semblence of a sprint train, much to the disbelief of their directeur sportifs. Instead it is Banzer, who has already worked in the chase, who brings Alexander Krieger to the front of the pack. More centrally, John Degenkolb is fighting with Riccardo Minali for Thomas Koep's wheel.
Alexander Krieger looks to be an excellent position now as he jumps from Banzer's wheel over to that of a surging Joshua Huppertz. On the opposite side of the road Thomas Boudat is flying forwards while Degenkolb tries to drag himself into his teammates slipstream. Riccardo Minali is one of the first to react, with Emils Liepins drawing alongside him.
Minali sits up and everybody starts looking at each other. None of them want to give their competitors an advantage. The only problem is that whilst they squabble amongst themselves the prize is sailing away! We're still a long way out, but with his teammate's legs giving out Alexander Krieger is forced to swing out into the wind. Boudat is currently in the lead but Degenkolb is still working on acquiring his wheel. They only need to worry about each other at this point as everyone else is miles back.
Under the red banner, just a single kilometre between them and victory, both Krieger and Degenkolb are in the wind. They'be only just risen out of the saddle however, so their prospects of making it all the way to the line are quite high. Especially with the pack, led by Emils Liepins and Adomaitis Rojus still an age away.
Krieger has more in the tank than Degenkolb, he is taking the lead of this race. Perhaps the switch is merely a symptom of the elder German's lacking acceleration or all that time spent a distance off from Boudat's wheel is coming back to haunt him.
The sprint for the remaining placements has kicked off in the background. Emils Liepins moves first, prompting an immediate reaction from Rojus. Gabriel Marin, the Costa Rican national champion, joins Issiaka Cisse in the second row. On the far side it is Eric Antonio Fagundez and Mathieu La Lavandier who are making surprise appearances, their dire top speeds make holding their positions untenable.
Indeed, the four aforementioned sprinters look set to contest for the final podium place supposing they catch Joshua Huppertz and Thomas Boudat, both of whom are fading. Tom Scully is their nearest competitor at about a bikelength of clearance, with Zhihui Jiang and Dan McLay not far behind.
Alexander Krieger is the third stagewinner of the Vuelta al Táchira 2023. It is the third time he's managed this feat, although I doubt any have involved quite as much insanity as was displayed today. Krieger kept his eye on the prize, navigated his way through the chaos, and when it is all said and done he did outcompete a legendary rider by forcing John Degenkolb to settle for second. Huppertz is caught by the chasers but Thomas Boudat has enough in the tank to secure the final podium place; four podiums in three days is absolute dominance from JEWA TIROL.
Emils Liepins is best of the rest, perhaps a tale of what could've been for the Latvian. He is followed by Adomaitis Rojus, Gabriel Marin and Issiaka Cisse. Tom Scully grabs the last points-scoring position with Dan McLay and Joshua Huppertz rounding out the Top 10.