When a six-men breakaway was caught after around 150 kilometers, a crash did split the bunch. With all six riders in front, BORA – hansgrohe took advantage of the situation and gained time on some of the GC contenders. While Rafal Majka moves up to second place overall, Matteo Pelucchi sprinted to another 3rd place in the stage.
The Stage
With two 1st cat. climbs half way through the stage, it was hard to predict if there was a chance for another bunch sprint, or if the climbers would test their legs again to force some gaps in the GC. Still, as the second half of the stage was mainly downhill, there was plenty of terrain to neutralize attacks. Therefore, on the 182.8 kilometers from San José Jachal to Villa San Agustín different tactics were expected.
The Team Tactics
After his strong time trial yesterday, BORA – hansgrohe leader Rafal Majka sits in a comfortable position in the race. His stage will come on Saturday, until then the goal is to always stay in touch with the race leaders. But with Pascal Ackermann already proving on the second day to have good legs in the climbs, there was a chance to have one of the fast men of the team also still in contention in today’s race final.
The Race
Most of the day a group of 6 escapees were at the front of the race. Their gap was well under control as BORA – hansgrohe and Quickstep were working in the bunch early enough to avoid any surprises. When the pace was raised in the peloton, the breakaway riders were not able to remain their advantage and shortly after they were reeled in, a crash forced a split in the bunch. With all 6 riders in the first group, BORA – hansgrohe tried to take advantage of the situation. In the end the effort payed of and Rafal Majka moved up to second overall. But in the sprint for the stage win, BORA – hansgrohe missed some energy as a result of the hard work before. Nevertheless, Matteo Pelucchi again was able to step on the podium, becoming 3rd for the second time this week.
Results
01 M. Richeze 4:31:48
02 G. Nizzolo + 0:00
03 M. Pelucchi + 0:00
04 M. Raim + 0:00
05 N. Bonifazio + 0:00
From the Finish Line
“Today we controlled the stage the whole day, the team did an excellent job. After the split we had all six guys in front and decided to go for Rafal (Majka) and his GC ambitions. The effort payed off and some of his rivals lost crucial time. But of course, this effort also did cost us a lot of energy we would have needed in the sprint lead-out. Still Pascal (Ackermann) positioned Matteo (Pelucchi) well and with the 3rd place we can be satisfied. Overall it was a good day for us. But I hope that from the riders involved in the crash nobody is seriously injured.”– Enrico Poitschke, sports director
“In the end the race was really hard. We had all riders in front and in the beginning several teams pulled with us, but the longer we pulled the more they relied on us. I felt really good today and was still able to help Matteo in the sprint. It’s great to get another podium finish, but our goal is still to win a stage.” – Pascal Ackermann
