St.Gallen / St.Gallen 26km ITT
The race ends with a 26km ITT which has 401m of climbing.
By no means is it flat, the route is full of little kickers, which will make it hard for riders to settle into a rhythm. The GC is tight, Skjelmose leads Gall by 8 seconds, Ayuso is at 18s and Evenepoel at 46s. Gall has no chance of staying in the top 3, the others will all think they can win the race.
Weather
Very hot, which isn’t ideal for some of the riders.
Contenders
Remco Evenepoel – he’ll have his eyes set on the stage win and yellow jersey. 46 seconds sounds a lot, but if Remco has a flying day, that’s well within range. I was going to write that he doesn’t have the best legs just now, but today showed otherwise. For me, he starts as the favourite for the stage and overall title.
Juan Ayuso – 18 seconds behind yellow, but Remco is just 24s behind him. Ayuso is excellent in this discipline, and he’s now hit form, his stage win on Thursday was an amazing ride. He won the TT in Romandie; he’ll be hoping for something similar in this stage.
Mattias Skjelmose – can he hold on to yellow? He’s already been in this position this year; he went into the final stage TT in Bessèges in the lead but failed to hold onto it. The memory of that day will drive him on, winning this race would be huge in his career.
Stefan Bissegger – 7th in the opening TT wasn’t good enough for a rider of his ability, this is his chance to set the record straight. He doesn’t mind a hill, but 401m of climbing will likely be a little too much for him to win this stage.
Wout Van Aert – can he beat Remco? This will be the story over the next couple of months, they are up against each other in this stage, the Belgian nationals, and the world championship. Looking at today, Remco looks stronger.
Matteo Sobrero – expect another solid top 10 result.
Prediction Time
Remco Evenepoel to win it all.
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