Looser scratches a second off Herrero and is now in the lead

It doesn’t matter the kilometres, the cumulative elevation gain, the mountain passes and the route. Konny Looser and Fran Herrero seem fated to share the lead of the race, to ride wheel to wheel and for everything to come down to a reduced sprint between the two of them.

The Škoda We Love Cycling stage was over 100 kilometres long and was one of the most hilly of recent editions, but it all came down to the classic photo finish of the last two editions, with a tight sprint between the two riders who look the strongest.

The outcome, however, was a little different this time. Looser was able to pull within a second of Herrero in the last few metres. A second that, for the moment, seems key and that allows Looser to wear the red leader’s jersey for the first time.

The main contenders arrived grouped together at the base of the climb that marked the start of the Škoda Challenge. From there, they each started with their own strategy. The two protagonists rode close together and the one who could stand out as the big surprise of the edition, Pierre Billaud, decided to go for it and not stop until the summit, which he crowned in first place.

In the last kilometres, Roberto Bou, Herrero and Looser navigated in the desert and cut back on Billaud. The three leading riders reached the finish line together, but the first to cross the finish line was the Swiss rider, who is now wearing the red that he knows so well and hopes to wear until the end.

In the women’s GC, it’s all down to the Kosner – Saltoki Home team. Vera Looser remains the leader and her teammate, Tessa Kortekaas, won today’s stage.

About 200 metres from the finish line, the Dutch triathlete decided to attack in order to leave no chance for the victory to escape off of her team. In this way, Kortekaas debuts his record in the race, in what is his first participation in the Škoda Titan Desert Morocco.

The GC has less change, with Vera Looser who is the clear leader over Kortekaas herself and Marta Romeu, who entered very close to the two leaders today, but who lost seven minutes to the Namibian in yesterday’s stage.