The first squad to make their way on to the course were Team Würth MODYF. They will be hoping to give Harm VANHOUCKE a hand climbing back up the order after losing out yesterday. Despite being reduced down to just six almost just out the gate, they still manage a respectable time of 20'24".
Timetrialling has always been a favoured discipline of the next team to hit the track. Unlike their predecessor, Glanbia came into this one with two major targets: breakaways and this stage. They have already seen great success in the former, with both James ORAM and Miles SCOTSON having secured stage wins. Now they will be hoping that a time of 20'18" is enough to take a third.
There is no sight in the peloton quite like seeing a formation of shells representing SEE Turtles. This is a team that is looking to follow in the footsteps of Glanbia with the strong focus on their TTT department in their rookie season carrying over to their sophomore year. They did bring Alex FRAME for the sprints and second in his only real opportunity is decent enough. The student has not yet become the master just yet, as they struggle to a time of 20'25".
It has been a quiet race thus far for Hilcona. They were probably banking on Alexander KRIEGER to contest the sprints; but he never really got the opportunity. Their most impressive rider has instead probably been Igor ARRIETA, who was at least present in the breaks. Lacking the expertise to challenge for today's victory, and not having a GC contender, means that the team has nothing to ride for; they finish in a dismal 22'30".
Genii Hyundai came into this one with plenty of expectations. Three riders for the GC, Manuel STOCKER for the sprints, and the entire squad ready to take on the TTT. Things looked alright initially, two Top 10s in the opening mountain TT followed by two podiums from POSTLBERGER and STOCKER. If anything, it looked like they were misfortunate to not have secured more. That is no longer the case; now they'll be ecstatic to be returning to form, the time of 20'11" putting them into the hotseat.
Here he comes. The all-conquering king and his entourage. He showed signs of weakness yesterday, that there might be chinks in the armour. Today though? A time of 20'24" is very solid; big efforts will be needed to displace Matteo JORGENSON from the top of the GC.
Like as not, the guys at Air NZ are happy enough with Evgeny SHALUNOV's win on yesterday's stage. They won't see any need to engage in any live-firing today and instead just cruise along their flightpath. That means they transit the course in only 21'08".
Cohesion has been a weakness for Ethiopian throughout, much to the dismay of one Ryan GIBBONS. They have been working towards rescuing things in the GC, with Pierre Paolo PENASA gaining time yesterday. Unfortunately, the same bogey has struck again: they split into two groups of four very early on in the stage, with PENASA stuck on the wrong side. The team is given a time of 20'52", but their leader has an extra 10 seconds slotted on.
You have to fear that a lot of these teams are going to end up breaking up over the length of this course. Luis Enrique LEMUS DAVILA will have started worrying about his overall placing the moment Jake MARRYATT's pace exploded the file. Knowing that their time would be taken from the fifth member, the team was forced to slow down and let Sam WELSFORD catch up. That might well be what cost LEMUS DAVILA, the time of 21'09" meaning he loses out to PENASA.
It has been a surprisingly exciting race for Cervelo. First there was the shock of Zica RUCIGAJ being the 4th fastest rider to reach Simon Fraser University. Then Ion IZAGIRRE peeled back the years to try his hand at taking on the high mountains; before Jordan CHEYNE came ever-so-close to winning from the breakaway. The team probably won't get their just deserts when it comes to points but at least with a time of 20'34" they won't miss out on anything more than they already have.
Babymetal had a task on their hands, dragging Cristian RAILEANU through this stage. I'm honestly not sure if it is worth the amount of effort they put in, he has the better part of a minute's clear space on either side in the GC. A time of 20'56" doesn't get them much, but they can take pride from their appearances in the breakaways here in Vancouver.
A time of 20'07" is not a bad shout for SCTF. Although they might not have had any individuals capable of reaching the same peaks as those present on other teams, they possessed an unmatched depth. Andrea MANFREDI suffered after being dropped early on, but his loss was necessary to keep Bakhtiyar KOZHATAYEV in good standing.
Richard CARAPAZ can not be happy with the shoddy performance of his team. I do not doubt that cyclists throughout the MENA region have a great deal of gratitude towards Zain - Omantel for offering them a professional pathway, but right now the team is suffering as a result. Although their French domestiques aren't exactly up to snuff either. If yesterday wasn't enough to put a nail in the coffin for their GC hopes, they won't be achieving much with a time of 21'17".
Gjensidige's band really fought to stay together throughout, the engine of Iver Johan KNOTTEN pushing some of his lesser comrades to the edge. Their overall pace hampered by the need to allow the lesser domestiques the ability to breathe, the squad was never going to find the 30-odd seconds needed to lift Thymen ARENSMAN into the overall lead. That said, they will still be disappointed to have put him in danger of missing out on the podium — recording a 21'11" means that KOZHATAYEV has leapfrogged him for provisional second with Dion SMITH still to come.
Daniel MUNOZ is not one for the TT bike. He fought for so long to stay with his team, but did eventually lose that battle. While Luca STERBINI drove the bulk of the Euskadi squad to a time of 20'52", he lost an additional 12". That is especially bad news, as the overall result looks like it is set to be the only thing the team takes from this outing.
Trans Looney Tunes have seen some good riding from James KNOX and Jaka PRIMOZIC, with both holding positions in the Top 10 coming into today. Despite the fact that Giorgi NAREKLISHVILI was doubtless sapped by his appearances in the breakaway, the squad was able to stick together for an impressive performance of 20'13".
The final team on the course brings with them one of the most exciting riders of the race. Dion SMITH's aggression, born from many years spent hunting stages in the Grand Tours, has been rewarded thus far: he came into this final stage with sitting on the final step of the podium. He will not leave this stage there. Although there are some quality names in the support staff, Duvel - Tsingtao do not have a 5th man. Guangtong MA, who rolls across to line to record the team's official time of 21'39", is a sprinter, not a TTer; he lost contact with the core of the team very early on in this one. He does just enough to prevent losing out to CARAPAZ, but the podium is gone.
