It’s a hilly prologue to start our three day race here and some major GC contenders are also on the stage list ranking in Phinney, Herklotz, and even Wirtgen. Always exciting to get racing started. The steepest section of the race is in the first 500m at around 12% gradient so riders will need to get going quickly. Otherwise the route is rather flat until the final 500m at around 4%.
Thomas is our first major placer although hills might cause some issues. He is the 6th man to cross the line and yet he doesn’t claim first. The first place rider is Sulvaran at 8:09. Thomas is 2nd at 8:13. Clearly hills will be a major factor.
Wirtgen is off and running as well. He crushes the field so far ( no surprise). 7:38 is the time to beat and he’s 31 seconds above the rest. This might be the time of the day, only 180 riders left to come through.
Viennet is the French champion but today is not his day. He comes in 44 seconds back and will be well behind. Again, clearly this says the hills riders will be the ones to benefit today. The camermen are starting to realize not to look at the pure TTers at all.
Sepulveda is a strong hill and TT riders so the camera look to follow him around. They’re right to do so as he sets the 3rdd best time at 23 seconds back.
Geoghegan Hart is the next major contender to appear and he can also motor. A new 2nd best time - 15 seconds back in 7:53. A good results for the Cedevita man.
Oliveira masters the course compared to the rest of the field (minus Wirtgen of course) and arrives at the 2nd best time. 7:49!
Munton makes a good run at this teammate as well but it was not to be an upset. 3rd place at the moment for Munton - 14 seconds back.
The Thai national champion Mano does a great ride as well and is the new 2nd place rider. 7:43 to only be 5 seconds back! This means that Wirtgen’s time might just be beatable later on.
Leknessund looks to be on a great day almost catching his minute man. Sadly that said more about the man in front and not the Norweigan. 9th at 20 seconds back for Leknessund.
Herregodts also seemed prepped for a great ride and arrives at the finish 18 seconds behind Wirtgen. That’s good enough for 8th at the moment.
The halfway point gives us the above standings - half the riders still to come! Wirtgen still holds the lead. Evenepoel is the first rider after those rankings and he displaces the group to slot into 4th!
The Greek Ioannidis comes into a new 8th place at 17 seconds back for ELCO - ABEA. A very reasonable time.
Kwiatkowski is one of the first major contenders from the hill standings to hit the start. He manages a strong first hill and seems to be holding his own. The time? 21st place 31 seconds back… A very interesting finish to set us up for what may be to come.
Dennis is another major player today with such a strong TT and serviceable hills capabilities. He comes across the line in 7th! 15 seconds behind. Wow, Wirtgen’s time is even better than we thought. Will anyone challenge him?
Ganna was one of the top men before the stage… but he is not at the end. He comes across equal to Dennis - 7th place 15 seconds behind. It is going to take a monster performance to grab this win.
Bobridge might have the right combination of skills sets to give this a go today but he doesn’t seem to be finding his TT rhythm based on looks alone. The appearances were correct, 26 seconds back and outside the top 20 already.
Along the way, we missed a new member of the top 3! Ferreyra for ISA - Hexacta has found their way to 7:48 timing and a new 3rd place. An amazing race for the Chilean! Cosnefroy also found his legs jumping into 5th without the cameras noticing him. Clearly it has been a struggle to find the right riders for this unique parcours.
Brown is wearing his normal minions overalls and he finds himself in a good spot overall! 8th place so far and 14 seconds back!
Conci finds a good ride for himself today as he also manages a time 14 seconds back of Wirtgen. He slides right in front of Brown for 8th.
Heading into the team favorites, the list of standings has been updated. Wirtgen still at the top and now he finally has to worry about those who might unseat him.
Sagan is the first of the favorites that are deemed crucial for the GC race (apologies Madrazo et al). He comes in 36 seconds back of Wirtgen who maintains his top time with 13 riders to finish.
Pogacar is next and he has a bit of work to go in the GC depending on how the rest finish. He’s 27th - 22 seconds back. Great potential to move up in the coming stages though.
Wurtz is next and his TT ability allows him a decent result - 11th with 15 seconds back. Still, Wurtz was here for this stage and this stage only. He’ll be sad to be outside the top 10.
Latour is the next rider to think about. He almost catches McCarthy who was in front but Latour still will have time to cover. He ends up 34 seconds back.
Mohoric knew he would lose time today and the rest of the week would be important. 1:01 lost today is a major blow for the Slovenian.
Lutsenko is the next and he shouldn’t lose as much time as his predecessor. 32 seconds behind Wirtgen for the rider from Gazelle.
It’s two Kazakh riders back to back as Gidich appears around the corner. One of the strongest GC marks of the day - 26th place just 21 seconds back. He’ll have the advantage over many for a top 5 GC finish.
Lopez is a defending champion for a reason! He finishes strong and ends up 24 seconds back. This is a major victory for the Colombian! He’ll be stoked and ready to fight for another GC win in the coming stages.
Disappointment for the Latvian Skujins. He’s 1:15 behind.
Kinoshita behind him will also have work to do in the upcoming days. Just 35 seconds back though which is a manageable amount for the Japanese star.
The rainbow stripes can do a lot for a rider and Phinney doesn’t really need a boost. He comes flying as the first rider in a long time capable of challenging Wirtgen. It’s no win, but Phinney comes 3rd! 7 seconds behind Wirtgen, but clearly the new GC favorite.
Based on where De Bie is with Phinney crossing the line, it should be clear there is work to do tomorrow and the day after. Still, it’s only 18 seconds behind Wirtgen as the gap said more about Phinney than the Belgian. De Bie will be thrilled.
Herklotz is the last man on the course and should be flying today. We await the time at the finish…
The time is 7:50 That’s 12 seconds back on Wirtgen and 6th overall.
Wirtgen wins! This means Wirtgen has sat in the hot seat for almost 180 riders and taken the victory!
Results:
