sentences:  Rodríguez managed to catch and pass Scarponi for fourth on the stage, but with Thomas De Gendt closing in by nearly four minutes after winning the stage, Scarponi held an advantage of just under half a minute, going into the final time trial.De Gendt was expected to take the podium placing due to him being more proficient in the discipline than Scarponi.De Gendt was first to take to the stage, recording a time of 34' 07" – good enough for a fifth-place stage finish – and was more than enough to move ahead of Scarponi, who recorded a time of exactly 35 minutes.