Four nations play they NC today : Andorra, Tunisia, Ukraine and Algeria. The Algerian duo of Hamza and Barbari are the only real sprinters so they should give us a nice battle. Oxxo should keep the Ukrainian jersey, otherwise it’s all open.
The break is caught by Oxxo with 19 km left.
With the kyte in sight, Parashchak, dragging Zmorka and Barbari with him.
And Barbari does a nice sprint to take the overall and the Algerian NC, without battling too much with Hamza. He’ll have to thank the Oxxo crew.
Zmorka is passed by said Hamza but still takes the Ukiranian jersey.
The Andorrean crown is for Xandri.
And Ben Hameur finishes with a bike length in the Tunisian competition.
Full results:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Adel Barbari (ALG)
Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh
1h21'23
2
Yacine Hamza (ALG)
Xero Racing
s.t.
3
Marlen Zmorka (UKR)
Oxxo - Frisby
s.t.
4
Anatoliy Sosnitskiy (UKR)
Gazelle
s.t.
5
Jan Xandri (AND)
Benetton Bimex Cycling
s.t.
6
Yaroslav Parashchak (UKR)
Oxxo - Frisby
s.t.
7
Hatem Ben Ameur (TUN)
Bralirwa - Cegeka
s.t.
8
Oscar Cabanas (AND)
Euskotren - Pays Basque
s.t.
9
Denys Karnulin (UKR)
Gazelle
s.t.
10
Souheil Khederi (TUN)
Ethiopian Airlines
s.t.
11
Faycal Hamza (ALG)
SEE Turtles
s.t.
ITT
The only suspense should be for the Andorran jersey. Xandri does have a small advantage.
Ben Hameur is the first to secure his jersey. And that’s a doublé for him! He finishes 2’15 faster than Khederi.
Faycal Hamza has no trouble keeping his Algerian title. He even is in the hot seat for a moment.
As said, the big battle is between Cabanas and Xandri. They are tied in the 2nd chrono… but the former keeps his jersey for 2 seconds!
If Andorra was the big suspense, there were none in the Ukrainian competition. Zmorka wins it without a sweat, with a time of 58’56.
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy