Refugee Jan Tratnik dreamed of the stage victory for a while, but he proved that the organization had not lied about the final climb of more than 5 kilometers.
On the narrow roads, the Slovenian was outflanked by the elite group with Remco Evenepoel just before cutting into the crucial gravel strip.
The yellow jersey looked sovereign all day, but was a bit too far when it was wound up.
However, with a convincing overtaking move, he made everyone suspect that there was nothing in the air.
Evenepoel was not tempted by rooster behavior and checked. Until Aleksandr Vlasov shot his arrow about one and a half kilometers from the finish.
The first attacker in the standings immediately made a breach and Evenepoel had no answer in store. Just like his other rivals, by the way, but they still found their second breath.
Not Evenepoel: the leader hit his limits and started to sway more and more during the murderous and endless final kilometre.
In the front, Vlasov showed no signs of decline: the Russian acquisition of Bora-Hansgrohe grabbed everything.
Since the final weekend includes two sprinter’s chances, his final victory seems to be within reach. Evenepoel is second at half a minute.
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