Cycling: Today the individual time trial in Hassfurt was on the schedule for the Bayern Rundfahrt. The big favourite, world hour record holder Alex Dowsett of Movistar, prevailed on the undulating 26km course. The previously top-placed Bouhanni, Bennett and Degenkolb couldn't come close to the pace of the Briton, who will start tomorrow's final stage in yellow.
Just a few weeks ago, Alex Dowsett drove impressively in Manchester to the new hour record and consequently went into today's time trial in Hassfurt as a big favorite. With 31:33.15, the 26-year-old set a high bar early in the day, which the previous day's winners John Degenkolb (55th place, 2:37 minutes behind) and Sam Bennett (70th place, 3:07 minutes behind) clearly missed. That doesn't mean the favorites win was all-important though: second-place finisher, Katusha's Tiago Machado, was just a second behind Dowsett. Despite this, Dowsett takes the overall lead and heads into tomorrow's final stage as the favorite for overall victory.
Final result, 4th stage Bayern-Rundfahrt (EZF)
[easy table]1.,Alex Dowsett,GBR,Movistar,31:33:15
2.,Tiago Machado,POR,Katusha,00:00:01
3.,Jan Barta,CZE,Bora-Argon 18,00:00:16
[/easy table]