Maldon (ITT)   

After surviving a punishing day in the hills of Essex the riders head to Maldon for an out and back time trial which sees the riders head out east from Maldon in reverse time order. They will pass the Heybridge Basin and ride along the River Blackwater estuary to Tollesbury before turning back to return to Maldon.

The majority of the early starters will take the route gently, perhaps saving themselves for the upcoming...

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After surviving a punishing day in the hills of Essex the riders head to Maldon for an out and back time trial which sees the riders head out east from Maldon in reverse time order. They will pass the Heybridge Basin and ride along the River Blackwater estuary to Tollesbury before turning back to return to Maldon.

The majority of the early starters will take the route gently, perhaps saving themselves for the upcoming finish in Chelmsford, but scattered amongst them will be excellent time-triallists going for the stage win or trying to make up time that they lost in the first stage.

Later on, team captains will give all they have to fight for what is likely to be a decisive time gap in the general classification.

Many talented hill specialists will have had their hearts broken as they see the time trial specialist who started 2 minutes later beat them back to Maldon.

History tells us that you don't have to win in Maldon to win Essex, but along with being Italian, it certainly helps.