Not since 1959 had the Tour de Suisse seen dominance like it did last week. The organisers had planned for a race, but instead they got an exhibition. On his debut appearance, Tadej Pogačar’s overall victory was crushing: he won by six minutes and 32 seconds, the race’s largest winning margin in 67 years, and in fewer stages – just five compared to the usual eight. Pogačar won three of them.

At times, it seemed effortless for the world champion. On stage one, he charged out of the peloton, like a seal swimming through a shoal of fish, to win with a 71km solo that earned him the race lead and a two-and-a-half-minute advantage.

Victories for Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) and Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) then interrupted the Pogačar show, before regular programming resumed; he won stage four’s time trial by four hundredths of a second ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and then tagged and swallowed the escaped Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) on the final day to stamp the GC with a stage win. It was, in ice skating parlance, the final twirl at the end of a gold-medal-winning routine.

But what does it mean for the Tour de France? It’s now less than two weeks until the Grand Départ in Barcelona on 4 July. Pogačar hailed his sojourn in Switzerland as “really good preparation”, a chance to “test the legs, the heart, the lungs, everything”. Though he hasn’t shared the results of that self-assessed cardiogram, everything seems to be in fine working order – perhaps even better than ever. “I’m really looking forward to a whole month in France,” he told Cycling Pro Net with a confident grin.

Still, if the world champion’s on-bike performances weren’t a big enough warning sign for his Tour rivals, then a training tale he told L’Équipe last week certainly was. “On our camp [in Sierra Nevada], there’s a climb that I tested on last year,” he began. “I set a really good time, and I told myself, ‘Wow, I will never be able to go faster than that.’”

Pogačar returned to the unnamed climb at the end of his camp earlier this month. How did he fare? “I was significantly faster than last year,” he said. “From a training perspective, I would say I'm stronger.” It bears reminding that Pogačar won the Tour by four minutes and 24 seconds last year.

Pogačar’s approach to this year’s edition has been more refined. In a bid to arrive at the race fresher than any of his rivals, the Slovenian has done fewer race days than ever before, and to a near-perfect record too – he has collected 13 wins in just 16 starts.

Over the past six editions, he averaged 24 pre-Tour race days. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), by comparison, has already completed 36 in 2026, mostly due to racing, and winning, the Giro d’Italia.

It’s hard to know at this stage which strategy is better. But if a reduced calendar stops Pogačar showing signs of burnout in the final week of the Tour – “I can’t wait for it to be over,” he said after his stage 18 press conference last year – then this winning formula may prove the most potent yet.

So roll on 4 July. Mark the day Pogačar will begin his bid to earn a record-equalling fifth Tour title, one that will bring him in line with Bernard Hinault, Miguel Induráin, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.

Pogačar has previously branded comparisons between him and Merckx as “complete nonsense”. Forgive me, then, for drawing another parallel right now: just before Merckx won his fifth Tour de France in 1974, he made his debut at the Tour de Suisse, and topped the overall standings.

History could now repeat itself. And the Tour might see a level of dominance it hasn’t witnessed in decades.

A breakneck chase all the way to the line by Tadej Pogačar could not stop breakaway rider Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) from sprinting to victory in Locarno on stage two of the men's Tour de Suisse.

The Frenchman was part of a 14-rider escape that dominated the day. With a brace of small but tricky climbs immediately preceding the finish the break split apart and was almost caught as Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and his fellow GC riders began their inevitable rampage.

But six riders held on to contest the win, with Pogačar, accompanied by Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) and Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), finishing just four seconds back. The Slovenian held on to his yellow jersey, and now leads EF Education-EasyPost's Richard Carapaz by 2:50, with Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) a further 17 seconds in arrears.

Afterwards Grégoire described the day as "really hard", and said that there was little he and his breakaway companions could do as Pogačar's trio ate up their lead from behind.

"We couldn't do anything," he said, "we were just full gas, we couldn't accelerate. We just had to wait and wish that he won't be able to come back. And finally it was [close] but we did it."

Today was the 23-year-old's second Tour de Suisse stage win – he took one last year too. It was a race that suited him, he said: "It's a race I like a lot – the [stage] profiles are really good for me and it's a moment of the year when I have good legs."

The 157.7km stage started and finished in Locarno, and featured the same double-climb finish as the stage two of the Tour de Suisse Women, which was held this morning and won by Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ). Just like the women's race the final quarter of the men's stage was an all-action affair in which numerous protagonists knocked seven bells out of each other without relent.

Up until then the race had been set steady, with a 14-rider break maintaining a small gap for much of the day. It was a solid looking group, featuring among others Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek), Julan Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling), Giro d'Italia star Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), Fred Wright (Pinarello-Q36.5) and of course Grégoire.

As the first of the back-to-back climbs approached, the break was all together and more than two minutes ahead. But with UAE Team Emirates-XRG stepping up the pace behind, the gap began to fall. By the time the 3.5km ascent was crested, the peloton had been strung out to breaking point, led by Pogačar, teammate Jhonatan Narvaez, and Vacek, the breakaway had split in two, and its lead had been halved.

After a short descent the race hit the steep, 1.4km slopes of the Via Consiglio Mezzano. With the reduced breakaway pounding the pedals ahead, shedding riders here and there, Pogačar attempted to launch Narvaez for the stage win. But it was without success: the Ecuadorian blew up. And so the Slovenian did what any win-hungry champion would do – attacked himself.

With Vacek somehow holding on, the pair picked up breakaway dropout Eulálio as they sliced into the time gap of the leaders. All of the front runners stayed upright down a technical urban descent and then it was into the centre of Locarno, wide roads giving hunters a glimpse of quarry, quarry a glimpse of hunters.

Going into the final kilometre the gap was just 10 seconds and the result hung in the balance. But the leaders had enough in the tank, and enough will to win, to pull off one final surge to the line, from which Grégoire walked away with the spoils.

ResultTour de Suisse, stage 2Locarno > Locarno, 157.7km

1. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United, 157.7km in 3:26:25
2. Marcel Camprubí (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5
3. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
4. Filippo Zana (Ita) Soudal Quick-Step, all s.t.
5. Finlay Pickering (Gbr) Jayco AlUla, +2s
6. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek, +4s
7. Emiel Verstrynge (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech
8. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, both s.t.
9. Afonso Eulálio (Por) Bahrain Victorious, +9s
10. Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecu) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +32s

General Classification after stage 2

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 6:55:02
2. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +2:50
3. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +3:07
4. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek, +4:16
5. Finlay Pickering (Gbr) Jayco AlUla, +4:41
6. Ilan van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +4:44
7. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
8. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, at s.t.
9. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Decathlon CMA CGM, +5:11
10. Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecu) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +5:12

As riders roll up for the 89th Edition of the Tour de Suisse—Switzerland being arguably the home of watchmaking—it feels like the perfect moment to look at the peloton from a different angle and how intrinsically cycling and time are intertwined.

I’ve brought together a collection of timeless wristwatches, made famous by riders both past and present. Can you guess the legendary riders they are strapped to?

A historic interlude

Cycling was by no means the pioneer in timed racing; in fact, while others had been keeping an eye on time for 40 years since the mid-1800s, cycling didn't catch on until the 1890s and early 1900s.

Even then, that was largely due to the British government banning bunch racing on open roads, giving us no choice but to race against the clock, setting off at minute intervals in the classic time trial format. Arguably, racing in Britain hasn't changed much in the last 130 years, with organisers still struggling to get support from local authorities to close roads, and the local TT is still a popular pastime.

Our obsession with time was, of course, solidified by the great Henri Desgrange with the creation of the Tour De France in 1903 — although even then, the idea of the winner being the one with the lowest cumulative elapsed time took a decade to really cement itself.

No time like the present

The link between cycling and time goes much deeper than just the history of racing against the clock; watchmakers have been strong supporters of the sport, financing races, riders and teams since the 1950's.

You only need to glance at the modern peloton to see that this relationship is experiencing a massive renaissance. Brands like Tudor, Richard Mille, Tissot, and Breitling are offering up serious capital in exchange for prominent placement on teams' jerseys and wrists of the biggest names in the sport.

This modern-day revival may well be a sign that the memories of the 1998 Festina team's disasters have finally faded. Or maybe it is a testament to modern engineering. Aerodynamics are now king, meaning superstars like Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van Der Poel are willing to sacrifice a few grams to show off a few hundred thousand dollars' worth of watch. From the brand's perspective, clearly a worthy billboard for these exquisitely crafted masterpieces.

Fast men and luxury goods

The appearance of Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van Der Poel wrists here shouldn't be any suprise, given their current dominance in our sport, and for this reason, they wear the most expensive offerings. Both are sponsored by Richard Mille and, somewhat crazily, regularly wear these near-million-dollar watches out on the road.

Cycling has come a long way, and the wealth of the few shouldn't be the measure of its health in the modern world. However, the prominence of these luxury watchmakers at the top of the sport is now very in your face, whether you follow your favourite rider on social media or just casually watch the day's highlights.

The sport's connection with time is not going away, and if anything, it's only growing stronger as racing gets even faster and more furious, and riders continue to push the boundaries of what we all thought possible.

Tadej Pogačar made a 70km solo attack look like a coffee ride on Wednesday, when he sailed to victory on stage one of the Tour de Suisse.

The world champion peeled off the front of the peloton on an uncategorised climb, set up by his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Brandon McNulty, with 71.7km to go. He then stretched out his advantage to more than two minutes to claim the leader’s jersey and his tenth win of the season.

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) finished second, Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) third.

"This was definitely not the plan, but somehow it worked, thanks to my team-mates, I think," Pogačar said afterwards. "Without them blocking at the back, setting the pace before, this wouldn’t be possible.”

At points, Pogačar seemed almost confused by how effortlessly he drew the gap out. He checked regularly over his shoulder, perhaps expecting to see a group in pursuit, but all he saw was open road.

"I didn’t have a radio [at the time of the attack], so I didn’t know what was going on in the back, so I just kept riding hard," he said.

"Once I knew the gap was quite big, I could settle into the rhythm and try to hold it to the finish, which was super long and really hard, but was also, at the same time, quite technical, so it was really nice to be alone.”

The victory, and the seemingly offhand nature of it, sent a warning message to Pogačar’s rivals at next month's Tour de France: this is a rider who can win at will, and with ease. He has now collected 10 victories in just 12 race days this season, the lion’s share coming at May’s Tour de Romandie, his last race, where he won four stages and the general classification.

This year’s Tour de Suisse has been reduced from eight stages to five, bringing it in line with the women’s race, which is taking place concurrently. Visma-Lease a Bike’s Femke de Vries won stage one on Wednesday morning.

The opening stage of the men’s race took place entirely in northern Italy, on a thin loop tracing the Adda river, starting and finishing in Sondrio.

Uno-X’s Fredrik Dversnes began the day with a solo jaunt. That ended when the Norwegian was tagged and passed by Pogačar, who rode away comfortably, like Godzilla destroying a city, then wondering where all the rubble came from.

It would take another 20km before a rider dared to chase the world champion. Carapaz, whether he believed he could catch him or not, sprung out of the chase group, where Pogačar's lieutenants Felix Großschartner, Jhonatan Narváez, and Brandon McNulty patrolled the pack.

The Ecuadorian went on to earn second place for his effort, but not without the fright of Bagioli behind him, who finished just 15 seconds adrift. The rest of the GC favourites, including Primož Roglič (Red-Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) and Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM), all lost more than four minutes to Pogačar.

Thursday's second stage of the Tour de Suisse will see the race return to Switzerland, on an undulating route out of and back into Locarno.

Asked for his plan for the day, Pogačar said: “Stay safe and keep the jersey. We have a strong team, so we can try and go for the stage with Jonny, Brandon, Felix or anybody else. We’ll see how the guys feel.”

Results

Tour de Suisse 2026, stage one: Sondrio > Sondrio (144km)

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 3:28:51
2. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +2:14
3. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:29
4. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +4:02
5. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek
6. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
7. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, all at same time
8. Felix Großschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +4:05
9. AJ August (Netcompany-Ineos), +4:30
10. Jhonatan Narváez (Ecu) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, at same time

General classification after stage one

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 3:28:51
2. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +2:22
3. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:39
4. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +4:16
5. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek
6. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
7. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, all at same time
8. Felix Großschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +4:18
9. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Decathlon CMA CGM, +4:43
10. AJ August (Netcompany-Ineos), +4:44

Femke de Vries beat Lauren Dickson in a two-up final sprint to win stage one of the Tour de Suisse Women on Wednesday.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider and her FDJ United-Suez rival were together from around 17km to go of the tough opening stage of the Women's WorldTour race, and the pair worked together, opening up a significant advantage before the final. As both searched for their first ever professional victory, Dickson opened up the sprint, before De Vries came round and triumphed in Sondrio.

De Vries now leads the race narrowly over Dickson; Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) attacked the group of favourites to finish third.

The pair who contested the win were part of a significant breakaway which split off from what was left of the peloton with 42km to go, which was made up of 12 riders. Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) launched off the front on the penultimate climb of Triangia, before she was caught by De Vries and then Dickson. When De Vries went hard on the descent, the two other attackers could not follow, before Dickson made it back on, setting up the finish.

There was a brief attack from Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) on the final climb of Bordighi, but this did not last, which then allowed Kerbaol to launch off the front. The ostensible favourites for the race, Niewiadoma-Phinney, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) and defending champion Marlen Reusser (Movistar) now trail De Vries by 48 seconds, and Dickson by 44.

"It’s my first win in a UCI race so it’s super special, I’m incredibly happy, I don’t believe it still," De Vries said on television post-race.

"I was really scared for the climb. At the beginning of the climb, I felt like I had a bit of cramp, I never get cramp, and now it starts? I just committed, I heard the gap was getting smaller, so I just had to go all out. I pushed Lauren onto the front at the beginning [of the final] and she started the sprint and I was really patient, I’m really proud of myself how I did that. It’s my first WorldTour win, my first win, so incredible."

Asked what being in the lead would be like, she replied: "Super special, the leader’s jersey in a WorldTour race. I have super good memories of this race from two years ago. It was my first WorldTour race with the team, and I already got a third place, and I really love this race."

"It's an interesting race, because the roads are really narrow, and it's quite technical," Dickson, for her part, said. "Being in position is so important, Franzi [Koch] did some really good moves, I was able to bridge across, and from there it was just pure racing. My radio wasn't working, so I was really trying to race on instinct. I think we worked well together, maybe I messed up the sprint a bit at the end, but it’s not often I find myself in that situation.

"I think I went too early. I wasn’t sure, because the ramp, if I could get the momentum, but I didn’t quite have it, but it was good.

"I wanted to give it everything I had, and to stay attentive to what she was planning as well, it’s always watching the other rider and calculating your own moves."

Asked about the next days, Dickson added: "I’ll have to see what our DS plans, but we’d love to take the win in this race. We have a lot of motivation from the Giro and I think we work really well as a team, so we’ll just have to see what Lars [Boom] says."

Results

Tour de Suisse Women 2026 stage 1: Sondrio > Sondrio (109.3km)

1. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 2:56:13
2. Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United-Suez, at same time
3. Cédrine Kerbaol (Fra) EF Education-Oatly, +29s
4. Kim Le Court (Mri) AG Insurance-Soudal, +38s
5. Sarah Van Dam (Can) Visma-Lease a Bike
6. Steffi Häberlin (Sui) SD Worx-Protime
7. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
8. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar
9. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, all at same time
10. Juliette Berthet (Fra) FDJ United-Suez, +57s

General classification after stage 1

1. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 2:56:13
2. Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United-Suez, +4s
3. Cédrine Kerbaol (Fra) EF Education-Oatly, +35s
4. Kim Le Court (Mri) AG Insurance-Soudal, +48s
5. Sarah Van Dam (Can) Visma-Lease a Bike
6. Steffi Häberlin (Sui) SD Worx-Protime
7. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
8. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar
9. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, all at same time
10. Juliette Berthet (Fra) FDJ United-Suez, +1:07s

The Tour de Suisse, one of the key warm-up races for the Tour de France, has announced a major overhaul, aimed at becoming sustainable.

Perhaps the biggest change will see the men's event reduced from eight to five days. However, the women's and men's WorldTour races will now be held at the same time (the women usually race in the preceding week to the men).

In addition, the women's race will be boosted from four to the same five stages as the men – and, crucially, they will all start and finish in the same place.

Both events will be held from June 17-21, 2026.

The aim was parity between men and women, as well as "financial robustness" and greater visibility, said Hans-Peter Zurbrügg, chairman of TDS organiser Cycling Unlimited.

Race organisers say this will mean a better deal for both fans and the media trying to tell the story of the race.

Tour director Oliver Senn said in a statement: “Without a new concept, the future of the Tour de Suisse as a cultural asset and brand would be at risk in the medium term. We are deliberately focusing on a model that places even greater emphasis on women’s cycling."

He added: "The strong interest from TV viewers, roadside fans, and digital communities confirm: cycling is booming – and the Tour de Suisse enjoys a deep bond with the Swiss public."

The men's edition of the Tour de Suisse has been running since 1933 – that's 15 years longer than the more popular Critérium du Dauphiné – and is regarded as one of the biggest non-Grand Tour stage races of the year. The women's race was held once in 2001 before starting up again in 2021.

Its illustrious honours list includes some of cycling's biggest names – Eddy Merckx, Sean Kelly, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas on the men's side; Lizzie Deignan and Demi Vollering on the women's.

This year's women's race saw home rider Marlen Reusser (Movistar) lead from start to finish after breaking away with Vollering on stage one and defending a slender lead all the way to the final day, which she won solo.

In the men's race this year, Joāo Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) slowly hopped his way up the GC as the race got lumpier and more mountainous, finally grabbing the lead and the overall win on the final stage mountain time trial, which he won decisively.

Jordi Meeus sprinted to victory on stage six of the Tour de Suisse, beating Davide Ballerini and Great Britain’s Lewis Askey in Neuhausen am Rheinfall on Friday.

After the day's three-man breakaway - containing Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) - was finally caught within the final two kilometres, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe wound it up as the peloton got set for a high octane sprint finish.

Following a flawless leadout from Red Bull’s Danny van Poppel, Meeus launched his kick for the line and was unmatched, taking his second victory of the season over Ballerini of XDS Astana and Askey of Groupama-FDJ.

It initially appeared that Belgian national champion Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) was in the mix to contest the win, although Van Poppel’s injection of speed in the final 400 metres forced the 23-year-old out of contention.

Speaking afterwards, Meeus said that it had come as a relief to finally secure a second victory at WorldTour level, his last coming at the Tour de France two years ago. "My legs didn’t feel great earlier in the week," he said. "During the last days, they gradually felt better and better so I felt straightaway that I had good legs today and was super happy to finish it off."

Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) finished safely in the pack to retain his overall lead ahead of the final two stages.

How it happened

Several riders were on the attack from the moment the flag dropped; many sensed this could be the final opportunity for the breakaway to have their say before the final two stages in the high mountains.

EF Education-EasyPost’s Harry Sweeny, Groupama-FDJ duo Stefan Küng and Romain Grégoire, and Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) formed a small move, along with Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), which held for much of the afternoon across the undulating 186 km course between Chur and Neuhausen am Rheinfall. Mohorič eventually dropped away from the attack as the riders took on the two categorised climbs that came early on.

With 45 kilometres left to race, former race leader Grégoire dropped away from the leaders having worked tirelessly for his Swiss teammate, Küng, in a bid to tee him up for a potential victory on his local roads. As the lone trio dropped under the 30 kilometre to go marker, it appeared that any form of cohesion amongst them was starting to wane. The break’s lead dropped to just 50 seconds and the peloton were well within sight on the long, arrow-straight roads alongside Lake Hutwil.

Küng reestablished some togetherness amongst the leaders as they approached ten kilometres to go. The Swiss rider repeatedly moved to the front, rapidly upping the tempo in order to give them a chance of victory as the sprinter’s teams smelled blood and massed at the head of the main field. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Lotto and Picnic PostNL brought the gap to just 20 seconds with eight kilometres to the line.

With two kilometres to go, it was all over and the break was finally caught as the peloton began to wind it up for a sprint finish. Belgian champion Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) was right in the mix for the win, although a sterling leadout from Danny van Poppel perfectly set up Jordi Meeus to seal the victory for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2025, stage six: Chur > Neuhausen am Rheinfall (186 km)

1. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in 4:10:24
2. Davide Ballerini (Ita) XDS Astana
3. Lewis Askey (Gbr) Groupama-FDJ
4. Madis Mikhels (Est) EF Education-EasyPost
5. Nicolo Buratti (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
6. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
7. Pavel Bittner (Cze) Picnic PostNL
8. Paul Lapeira (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale,
9. Marius Mayrhofer (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling
10. Stefano Oldani (Ita) Cofidis, all same time

General classification after stage six

1. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels, in 20:12:10
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor Pro Cycling, +29s
3. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +39s
4. Oscar Onley (GBr) Picnic PostNL, +1:21
5. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek, +1:44
6. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +2:16
7. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, +2:20
8. Pablo Castrillo (Esp) Movistar Team, +2:40
9. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +3:08
10. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +3:17

It was an image that struck fear in British cycling fans, especially with less than three weeks to go until the Tour de France. On Tuesday’s stage of the Tour de Suisse, with 60km to go, the television cameras cut to Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), sitting on the floor and clutching his left knee.

Replays showed the Welshman crashed on a hairpin bend as the peloton bunched together on a descent. So tight was the corner, that Thomas fell almost in slow motion, grinding to a halt as he toppled onto the asphalt.

After Thomas rode on to the finish, Ineos Grenadiers announced on Wednesday morning that he had withdrawn from the race ahead of stage four as a "precautionary measure". The 2018 Tour de France winner is hoping to make one final appearance at the Grand Tour next month. Suddenly, his participation appears thrown into doubt.

“I just hit a lip on the side of the road, really,” Thomas told reporters after the finish line. “It was my fault, but then I just kind of got my foot caught behind me and I just twisted all my knee and my hamstring – it was just a dead leg.”

After sitting on the floor for more than a minute, the Ineos Grenadiers rider was helped to his feet by a race doctor. He then slowly swung his leg back over his bike and continued down the descent.

Via the medical car, and with the help of three team-mates, Thomas was able to rejoin the peloton some 20km later.

“I struggled to bend it for the first minute or so, but then once I got on the bike and got rolling it freed up a bit,” he explained. “It’s just a bit sore – the muscles and stuff are a bit strained, but it’s all OK.”

Stage three of the Tour de Suisse was won solo by US champion Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), who tore clear off the breakaway with 20km to go. In his post-race interview, the American dedicated his win to Gino Mäder, who died after crashing at the race two years ago.

Thomas finished 133rd on Tuesday, in a group more than 15 minutes down on the leaders. The Welshman is set to retire this year after September's Lloyds Tour of Britain Men, which is expected to finish in Cardiff, Thomas’s hometown, in tribute to his career.

The eight-stage Tour de Suisse continues on Wednesday with its first category-one mountain test.

With a handlebar moustache and the stars and stripes on his chest, US champion Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) earned a determined victory on Tuesday at the Tour de Suisse, which he dedicated to the late Gino Mäder.

The 24-year-old was part of the early breakaway on stage three, attacking alone with 20km to go at the base of a category-two kicker.

Holding a gap of around 40 seconds to the peloton, Simmons ploughed doggedly to the finish in Heiden, where he celebrated by flapping his arms like an eagle, before pointing to the sky.

"To be honest, I really wanted to win yesterday on the two-year anniversary we lost Gino – I really wanted to win and dedicate that to him, but I do it a day late," Simmons said post-race.

In 2023, the American was riding behind Mäder on a descent at the Tour de Suisse when the Bahrain Victorious rider crashed and later died. Speaking months later, Simmons said the incident made him re-consider his career.

"It’s really hard for me to be here again, especially seeing his mum at the start," he said after his victory on Tuesday. "Now, I can pay a bit of tribute, and for sure I had extra motivation today."

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished second, 18 seconds down, with Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) a close third. Stage one winner Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) remains the race leader.

How it happened

After starting the attacks in the finale of stage two, US champion Simmons took up the breakaway on day three of the Tour de Suisse, joining forces with five others on the undulating, near-200km route to Heiden.

With no categorised climbs until the last 20km, the peloton kept the escapees on a tight leash. Simmons and his companions – who also included British rider Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost) – were rarely afforded more than a two-minute gap.

With 60km to go, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) crashed in slow motion on a sharp hairpin bend. The Welshman, winner of the race in 2022, remained on the floor for a few minutes clutching his left knee. He then remounted and, after a fleeting visit to the medical car, was paced back into the pack by three team-mates.

With the breakaway’s buffer falling, Simmons tried his luck from range with 20km to go, kicking away on a category-two climb. The American carried 43 seconds over the summit, with Picnic PostNL chasing him from the peloton.

The lumpy run-in to the line brought a litany of short-lived attacks. Among those who tried their luck were Almeida, Grégoire and Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech), but the only rider to gain a gap behind Simmons was Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), who went inside 8km to go.

An American 1-2, however, would not materialise. Powless was re-absorbed into the bunch, and with no concerted effort to reel him back in, Simmons ran away with the stage win, his third victory of the year.

The American's eagle celebration, he explained, "was for me – the last time I was in this jersey I never won a bike race and I had a terrible season, and I had a huge motivation to win in the American champion’s jersey."

He gave the last word to Mäder, gesturing to the sky in tribute as he crossed the line.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2025, stage three: Aarau > Heiden (195.6km)

1. Quinn Simmons (USA) Lidl-Trek, in 4:39:42
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +18s
3. Oscar Onley (GBr) Picnic PostNL
4. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
5. Kévin Vauqelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
6. Jan Christen (Sui) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
7. Fabio Christen (Sui) Q36.5
8. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain Victorious
9. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
10. Clément Champoussin (Fra) XDS Astana, all at same time

General classification after stage three

1. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, in 11:26:01
2. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels, +25s
3. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +27s
4. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor Pro Cycling, at same time
5. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +1:18
6. Felix Großschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
7. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek
8. Pablo Castrillo (Esp) Movistar Team, all at same time
9. Will Barta (USA) Movistar, +1:37
10. Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) XDS Astana, at same time

Italy’s Vincenzo Albanese sprinted to victory on Monday on the second day of the Tour de Suisse in Schwarzsee.

After the peloton remained together on the final ascent of Rechthalten, the 28-year-old's EF Education-EasyPost team made a decisive move towards the front of the peloton. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) made a break inside the final kilometre, stretching the front of the bunch out and disrupting the leadout trains. The US champion opened a small gap but Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) managed to get onto his wheel, followed by Albanese.

The Italian made his move with around 180m to go of a twisting finish where he held off Fabio Christen (Q36.5) and Askey. "I felt good from the start," Albanese told reporters at the finish, as he celebrated his first win since 2022.

"My role was to lead out Mihkels. In the last kilometre, Simmons and the other guys attacked and I followed them for 200m to the finish. I went full [gas] until the line.

"This is my first victory. We’ll see in the next few days what happens."

Stage one winner Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) is still the overall race leader.

How it happened

Stage two of the Tour de Suisse offered the potential for the unexpected. The course was defined by its undulating terrain, with more than half of it flat, despite reaching altitude heights of 2,700m. It promised a battle between sprinters and astute mountain climbers - and it delivered.

The first riders to form a break soon into the course were Silvan Dillier (Alpecin Deceuninck), Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty) and Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla). Led initially by Dillier, Germany’s Rutsch took up the reins, as Dillier fell back into the peloton after riding in the heart of the break for over 100km. Swapping through turns, Rutsch and Schmid’s gap remained a good distance from the peloton after three hours of racing.

As the race crossed the dry river Sense and climbed up Heitenried, riders began to drop from the peloton. A 36-second gap between Felix Engelhart (Jayco AlUla) was created with the break as he charged towards his teammate, Schmid, up the road.

With 4.3km until the finish, the pace ramped up into an ascent, bunching riders together in the peloton, with EF Education-EasyPost blazing pink at the head of the group.

First to attempt an attack was UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Jan Christen, who was still suffering injuries from Sunday’s first stage. A surprise opening allowed the Swiss rider to push forward, the bottle in his back pocket testament to the unexpected opportunity to pull away from the peloton.

However, Christen's lead didn’t last long, and as the terrain picked up into the final ascent, the faster finishers emerged out of the peloton. Led by Simmons, Albanese, Christen – Jan's brother Fabio who rides for Q36.6 – and Askey pushed on an uphill drag to the line, with Albanese emerging victorious.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2025, Stage two: Aarau - Schwarzsee (177km)

1. Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost, in 3:55:57
2. Fabio Christen (Sui) Q36.5
3. Lewis Askey (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
4. Quinn Simmons (USA) Lidl-Trek
5. Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
6. Paul Lapeira (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
7. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious
8. Nicolò Buratti (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious
9. Gal Glivar (Slo) Alpecin-Deceuninck
10. Fabio Van Den Bossche (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, all at same time

General Classification After Stage Two

1. Romain Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, 6:46:01
2. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels, +25s
3. Bart Lemmen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +27s
4. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor Pro Cycling, +27s
5. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +1:18
6. Felix Großschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +1:18
7. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Lidl-Trek, +1:18
8. Pablo Castrillo (Esp) Movistar Team, +1:18
9. Rainer Kepplinger (Aut) Bahrain Victorious, +1:18
10. Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:18

Demi Vollering sprinted to her third stage victory in four opportunities at the Tour de Suisse, as the Dutchwoman also took overall victory in Switzeland.

The SD Worx-Protime rider out-sprinted Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) at the end of a lumpy day in Champagne, which ended in a four-up sprint. Fourth was Bradbury's teammate, Kasia Niewiadoma.

Vollering has now won four Women's WorldTour stage races in a row, including eight stages at the Vuelta España Femenina, Itzulia Women, the Vuelta a Burgos, and now the Tour de Suisse.

Bradbury finished second overall on general classification, 1:28 behind Vollering, the second time she has finished second overall at a WWT race, and Longo Borghini came in third, a further two seconds back.

"Today, I didn't expect it, but it was really nice to sprint again," Vollering said post-race. "I didn't do it for a long time, and I really like to sprint in a final like this, It was a really nice, a nice battle with the girls in front. A strong battle.

"It's really nice, because it's kind of a home race of course. I'm really happy I could win. It was a really nice feeling before the Tour de France. It's always nice to win climbing races before your big goal. 

"Today I could really gamble, it was not up to be. It was a really easy position for me today. Once Lidl-Trek started to work it was nice, and it was nice that all the girls fought to come from the back, and I'm really thankful for them."

How it happened

A lumpy day in western Switzerland promised some brutal racing on Tuesday, and so it proved. Early attempts to establish a breakaway failed, but after the first climb of the day, the second-category Col des Etroits, just 30 riders remained in a severely reduced peloton.

With 99km to go, Urška Žigart (Liv AlUla Jayco) attacked, followed by Nienke Vinke (dsm-firmenich PostNL). On winding terrain soon after, a split in the peloton saw seven riders form a group in front of the bunch: Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM), Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek), Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ), Rosita Reijnhout (Visma-Lease a Bike), Steffi Häbberlin (Switzerland), Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx-Protime), and Aniek van Alphen (Fenix-Deceuninck). They were soon joined by Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich PostNL).

The presence of Labous and Niedermaier threatened the position of Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) on the virtual podium. SD Worx-Protime controlled the race from the peloton, in the service of race leader Demi Vollering.

With 61km to go, Vinke was caught by the chasing eight, with Žigart soon after also following suit.

Labous attacked from group one on the second classified climb of the day, the La Vue des Alpes, as Longo Borghini attacked from the group of favourites behind.

Thanks to some heroic work from Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek), the group of favourites was united with the lead group with 13km to go.

Immediately, there were attacks from Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), who was followed by Vollering, Bradbury, and Longo Borghini.

This quartet kept racing to the finish, with multiple attacks coming from Niewiadoma, in an attempt to distance the trio, and also secure Bradbury's second place overall.

In the final, Longo Borghini launched first, but Vollering came round her in the closing metres to win. Behind, Bradbury secured third place on the day to get the bonus seconds needed to stay in second overall.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2024 stage four: Champagne > Champagne (127.5km)

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 3:17:53
2. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
3. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM
4. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, all at same time
5. Steffi Häbberlin (Sui) Switzerland, +42s
6. Evita Muzic (Fra) FDJ-SUEZ
7. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL
8. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) SD Worx-Protime
9. Rosita Reijnhout (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Urška Žigart (Slo) Liv AlUla Jayco, all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 9:03:17
2. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM, +1:28
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +1:30
4. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, +2:24
5. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +3:47
6. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM, +4:11
7. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +5:33
8. Kim Cadzow (NZl) EF Education-Cannondale, +5:44
9. Urška Žigart (Slo) Liv AlUla Jayco, +6:00
10. Evita Muzic (Fra) FDJ-SUEZ, +6:49

Neve Bradbury (Canyon-Sram) took a memorable first professional win at the Tour de Suisse on Monday, chaperoned by her team-mate Kasia Niewiadoma. 

The 22-year-old Australian, who earned a pro contract when she won the Zwift Academy in 2020, was part of the early breakaway on stage three to Champagne. She broke away with her Polish team-mate on a climb with 16km remaining, before the duo rode in tandem to the finish to secure first and second. 

Smiling after the line, Niewiadoma pulled the young Australian in for a hug and kissed her on the cheek in celebration. 

“It's crazy. I didn't think at the start of today that I'd be winning this stage," Bradbury said afterwards. "We really wanted to win this stage and make it a really hard race, and that's what we did, so it's great.” 

The Canyon-Sram rider added that, once she and Niewiadoma were clear, there was little discussion about who would win the stage. 

"The plan was to let me get the win to get the bonus seconds because I'm a bit higher on the GC," she said. "It would have been nice to gift Kasia the win because she was really strong, really, really strong, but in the end, it's for the GC.”

Bradbury's victory put an end to Demi Vollering's winning streak at the race, after the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion claimed back-to-back victories in the opening two stages. 

Sixth on the day, Vollering continues to lead the general classification by one minute and 22 seconds. Bradbury rose seven places to second, with Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) in third. 

How it happened

Stage three of the Tour de Suisse Women traced a looping line north between Lake Geneva and Lake Neuchâtel. Starting in Vevey, it stretched out 125.6km and clocked almost 2,000m of elevation over a series of category two and three climbs. 

A five-rider breakaway formed inside 90km to go, spearheaded by Canyon-Sram duo Niewiadoma and Bradbury. Also present were Roland's Elena Pirrone, Visma-Lease a Bike's Femke de Vries, and Lidl-Trek's Amanda Spratt, the group's best-placed rider in the GC, three minutes and 28 seconds in arrears. 

The escapees' advantage yo-yoed between two and three minutes throughout the day, as the race weaved through verdant Swiss towns. On the final climb – a 4km-long kicker with 16km to go – Bradbury and Niewiadoma wriggled off the front, distancing their breakaway companions.

Behind, Vollering chose the same slopes to ramp up the pace in the peloton. The yellow jersey swiftly peeled away from the bunch, towing Elisa Longo Borghini, Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) and Kim Cadzow (EF-Education Cannondale), each with their own GC ambitions. 

A descent to the line in Champagne followed, but the gap to the leaders remained the same. Bradbury and Niewiadoma hit in excess of 73km/h as the road tilted downhill, holding off the bunch, and setting up a classy victory for the team. 

The Tour de Suisse Women concludes on Tuesday with another lumpy stage in Champagne. 

Tour de Suisse Women 2024, stage three: Vevey > Champagne (125.6km)

1. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM, in 3:16:36
2. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, at same time
3. Femke De Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:55
4. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Lidl-Trek, at same time
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:11
6. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime
7. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek
8. Kim Cadzow (NZl) EF Education-Cannondale, all at same time
9. Elena Pirrone (Ita) Roland, +2:49
10. Brodie Chapman (Aus) Lidl-Trek, +2:53

General classification after stage three

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, in 5:45:34
2. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM, +1:22
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +1:26
4. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +1:28
5. Kim Cadzow (NZl) EF Education-Cannondale, +1:39
6. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, +2:14
7. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +2:56
8. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Lidl-Trek, +3:11
9. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM, +3:22
10. Femke De Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +4:11

Having exchanged victories with his teammate Adam Yates throughout the latter half of the race, João Almeida took his second stage win of the Tour de Suisse on the final stage time trial as Yates sealed the overall victory for UAE Team Emirates in yet another one-two finish for the team.

It had looked like Yates was on course for the stage win, as he had been ahead of Almeida at both intermediate splits. However, a brilliant effort from the Portuguese rider in the final kilometres saw him overturn his deficit, as Yates continued to carefully pace his effort all the way to the line, finishing just eight seconds down in second place on the stage.

Almeida and Yates finished first and second on the last four stages of the race, with both of them in great form ahead of the Grand Départ at the Tour de France later this month, where they will both be riding in support of their team leader Tadej Pogačar.

Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) also produced a really strong performance to finish in third place on the stage and move himself onto the podium in the general classification ahead of Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).

Good showings from Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) also saw them briefly go into the hot seat, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively on the stage, consolidating their positions in the overall standings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The course featured a fast start from the UCI headquarters in Aigle, with the riders rolling off the ramp and riding 5.2km of flat before the first intermediate split where the climb to the finish in Villars-sur-Ollon began.

Many riders opted to switch from the time trial bike to the road bike at the bottom of the climb, as the steep gradients meant that weight saving would be more important than aerodynamics.

Those who wished to contest the stage had to pace their effort on the first part of the climb, with the second intermediate split coming just over 3km from the finish, before leaving everything on the road in the closing kilometres.

Several riders set early benchmarks in the first part of the stage, but it was not until Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) went into the hot seat that the stage really began to get exciting, as he put nearly a minute into the previous best time.

The young Frenchman held the lead for some time before Tom Pidcock, Matthew Riccitello and Mattias Skjelmose all set new fastest times within a few minutes of each other.

João Almeida had been down at the second intermediate split, but in the final kilometres he really stepped on the pedals, averaging more than 24km/h on some of the steepest slopes of the climb to overturn his deficit and take the lead on the stage.

Adam Yates was the only rider left on the course after Almeida had finished and although he had been ahead of his teammate at the second intermediate split, he was not as quick as him in the closing kilometres, finishing eight seconds down on the Portuguese rider in second place on the stage.

Yates had paced his effort well and never went over his limit, which allowed him to hang on to his lead in the general classification and seal the overall victory.

RESULTS: TOUR DE SUISSE 2024, STAGE EIGHT, AIGLE › VILLARS-SUR-OLLON (15.7KM) 

1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, 33:24
2. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +9s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +21s
4. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +38s
5. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +51s
6. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +56s
7. Pelayo Sánchez (Esp) Movistar, +1:22
8. David de la Cruz (Esp) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +1:26
9. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:30
10. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:41

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE EIGHT 

1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, 20:18:49
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +22s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +3:02
4. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +3:12
5. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +3:31
6. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +4:36
7. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +5:01
8. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +5:40
9. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +6:31
10. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, +6:35

After back-to-back one-two finishes on the previous two stages, Adam Yates and João Almeida did the three-peat on stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse. The UAE Team Emirates duo once again reaffirmed their status as the two strongest riders in the race, as they dropped the rest of the GC contenders in the closing kilometres of the final climb. 

The pair crossed the line together, with Yates taking the stage win and the bonus seconds to extend his lead in the general classification over Almeida. With nearly two minutes now back to Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in third place in the standings, it is clear that these two will finish first and second overall, but with an uphill time trial still to come on the final stage, it is unclear in what order they will finish the race in.

With the Tour de France fast approaching at the end of the month, they are both looking to be in good form ahead of the Grand Départ, as they will both be riding in support of their team leader and two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar. However, with the condition of some of the other contenders still in doubt going into the race, it could present an opportunity for the likes of Yates and Almeida to get a strong result for themselves.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse started and finished in the hilltop town of Villars-sur-Ollon, with the route featuring a double ascent of a cat-1 climb to the finish, as they did two laps of a circuit around the mountain upon which the town is situated.

The riders were climbing from the start with the Col de la Croix coming just a few kilometres into the stage. The cat-2 climb provided the perfect launchpad for early attacks, with an eight-man group forming at the head of the race.

Included in that group were Maxim Van Gils and Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Dstny), Harold Martín López (Astana Qazaqstan), Finlay Pickering (Bahrain Victorious), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Einer Rubio (Movistar), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates).

Moniquet took the maximum points over the top of the climb, but the breakaway had not been allowed much of an advantage by the peloton as they went onto the descent. However, their gap did begin to go out to around two minutes in the valley road ahead of the first ascent of the final climb.

On the lower slopes of the ascent to Villars-sur-Ollon, the gap to the breakaway sat at just over a minute and a half, but as the peloton hit the climb Ineos Grenadiers came to the fore in the main group and began to control the gap to those at the front.

Van Gils took the maximum points over the top of the climb and as they went through the first passage of the finish line in the town of Villars-sur-Ollon, a couple of the breakaway riders began to test their legs with a couple of small attacks.

Christen was the first to try with Paret-Peintre marking the move, but they were swiftly brought back. Staune-Mittet then launched an attack of his own, which nobody attempted to follow and he quickly formed an advantage on those behind. 

The peloton had gradually begun to close the gap to the rest of the breakaway as they began the second ascent of the Col de la Croix and the group started to fracture with some of them attacking in an attempt to stay clear.

López and Moniquet were the first to be caught by the peloton and it was not long before the rest of the breakaway had been caught, leaving Staune-Mittet as the sole leader at the head of the race.

He took the maximum points over the top of the climb and the Norwegian’s gap went back up to well over a minute on the descent, as the pace in the peloton eased, which allowed some riders who had been distanced to get themselves back into the main group.

With UAE Team Emirates coming to join Ineos Grenadiers at the front of the peloton, Staune-Mittet’s gap gradually began to be whittled down. He took maximum points at the intermediate sprint and with 10km to go his gap had been reduced to around a minute.

Onto the final climb to the finish, Staune-Mittet held on for as long as he could to take the Tissot KM sprint before being caught by Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), who had launched an attack from the peloton in search of the stage win.

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) then made the first move from the GC contenders in the peloton, with Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech), Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike) and the overall leader Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) on his wheel.

Kelderman and Riccitello were then dropped as they caught and passed Gall, leaving the UAE Team Emirates duo of Almeida and Yates alone at the head of the race.

Going into the final few hundred metres, the two teammates decided not to sprint for the finish and they rode across the line together, with Yates taking his second stage win of the race. This marked their third one-two finish in a row and they are now firmly first and second in the overall standings going into the time trial on the final stage.

Behind them, Riccitello held off Kelderman to take third place ahead of a group of other GC contenders, containing Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).

RESULTS: TOUR DE SUISSE 2024, STAGE SEVEN, VILLARS-SUR-OLLON › VILLARS-SUR-OLLON (118KM) 

1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, 3:05:41
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, at same time
3. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +14s
4. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +16s
5. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek
6. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
7. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL
8. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, all at same time
9. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, +32s
10. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +35s

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE SEVEN 

1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, 19:45:17
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +31s
3. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:51
4. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +2:50
5. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +3:02
6. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +3:23
7. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +3:54
8. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +4:03
9. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, +4:41
10. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +4:59

João Almeida sprung to victory on stage six of the Tour de Suisse, out-sprinting his teammate Adam Yates in the final.

Yates attacked with just over 3km to go, but his UAE Team Emirates teammate Almeida joined him in the final kilometre, and then sprinted away to victory, claiming four seconds advantage.

UAE Team Emirates, as a result, remain in control of the race, with Yates 27 seconds ahead of Almeida in second place. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) remains in third, 1:28 behind the leader.

The original 151.1km route had been cut down to just 42.5km due to snow on the climbs, with the race essentially descending to the foot of the day's final climb, the Blatten.

"I think we were both quite strong, it was good," Almeida said post-stage. "He attacked quite far from the finish, and I was just on the wheel of Skjelmose, which was perfect for me. I caught him without bringing the other riders. I'm really happy with this victory.

"I think it's positive, as long as we do first and second it doesn't matter who, I think we're both happy. As long as we do good teamwork, and respect each other, as we always do, that's the main thing. At the end of the day, the team wins. Keep the focus the next two days, and hopefully we can make it.

"Of course I want to win all the time, but of course I respect the team and my teammates."

Two more stages remain, another mountains test on Saturday, before an uphill time trial on Sunday.

More to follow...

How it happened

With just 43km of action on Friday, it was almost guaranteed that it would not be a day for the breakaway.

However, there was a lot of attempts to get up the road early on, with a quartet managing to escape: Frank van den Broek (dsm-Firmenich PostNL) Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), Alexis Renard (Cofidis) and Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla).

Renard did not last long up the road, but the leading trio's advantage grew to over a minute, despite the stage being short.

UAE Team Emirates, the squad of race leader Adam Yates, provided the impetus in the peloton behind, ensuring that Van den Broek, Bissegger and Foldager were kept on a short leash.

Foldager was the first to fold, leaving Renard and Bissegger. The latter attacked to ensure he won the sprint for a Tissot watch - something he confirmed later - before Van den Broek became the last rider up the road.

However, he was soon swallowed up by the UAE-led peloton, with Isaac del Toro putting on the pace, before his leader Yates attacked with 3.2km to go.

There was never a decisive gap, however, with a small collection of favourites, including João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) chasing.

As Yates went under the flamme rouge, Almeida attacked from the chasing group, caught Yates, and then went past him in the final 300m to take the victory.

Everyone lost time on Yates, with the most notable being Enric Mas (Movistar) and Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech), who both lost 47 seconds.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2024, stage five: Ulrichen > Blatten (42.5km)

1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, in 55:13
2. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +4s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +9s
4. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +15s
5. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +35s
6. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +40s
7. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +47s
8. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, both at same time
9. Pelayo Sánchez (Esp) Movistar, +54s
10. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, both at same time

General Classification after stage six

1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, 16:39:46
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +27s
3. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:28
4. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +2:24
5. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, + 2:38
6. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +2:42
7. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +3:28
8. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +3:37
9. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, +4:01
10. Pelayo Sánchez (Esp) Movistar, +4:28

Adam Yates cemented his position at the top of the Tour de Suisse GC with a virtuoso victory at Carì on stage five.

He now leads by 35 seconds, but it's not quite as simple as it could be – hot on his heels is UAE Team Emirates team-mate Joāo Almeida, who did not only pace Yates up the steep, 10km climb, but shredded the lead group too. Then, after Yates took flight alone at 1.7km to go, Almeida stayed in touch to take an impressive second place, just six seconds behind the Briton.

With Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) now 1:11 down on Yates, Almeida is the closest challenger by some margin, and as Yates insist, he's not the boss.

"Yeah of course," he said, when asked if Almeida might be allowed to win. "If Joāo was stronger than me then he can win. You saw today he really put the pace on. If he has the same legs for the next two days then for sure he can take a win."

He added: "It's a good position to be in, to have two riders in great shape. From the beginning we were both co-leaders and so far it's working well.

After an impressive mountains victory Yates was happy just to revel in the strength in depth the team possesses, on a day when they overcame the best efforts of Ineos Grenadiers to ultimately prevail.

"It was a really strong performance," Yates said. "Right at the end there Joāo was putting on a crazy pace. I only had to follow for four of five k's and he was still there. He's obviously in great shape and the whole team's super motivated for the rest of the week.

"You saw today it wasn't easy for us," he added. "Ineos set a pace on the first two climbs that was really hard to try and flick us, but we came back as a team, got organised and we could do our pace in the final.

The stage – the second in a run of five consecutive days out in the mountains – took riders 148.6km from Ambri to Cari, bookended at each end by major climbs – different approaches to the same Alpine resort.

How it happened

With the race embarking on the category-two climb of Altanca almost from the gun, followed immediately by the day's first ascent to Carì, the peloton was never going to stay together for long.

An eight-rider group was established within two kilometres, though that quickly became smaller and by the time they crested the first-cat to Carì only Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) remained, followed shortly by Tom Pidcock and Egan Bernal, as Ineos Grenadiers attempted to put the thumbscrews on Yates's UAE team.

A five-man group of Einer Rubio (Movistar), Stevie Williams (Israel-PremierTech), Nans Peters (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) and Lutsenko eased clear with around 100km to ride, joined shortly afterwards by Johannes Staune-Mittet (Visma-Lease a bike).

They were never really let off the leash, but nevertheless this quintet survived the long, flat central section of the stage, all the way to foot of the foot of the final climb.

Ineos took some early turns on a climb that was eight and nine per cent most of the way up, before UAE Team Emirates took the bull by the horns and Almeida began to systematically decimate the mid-sized front group. By the time he moved over to let Yates go at 1.7km, only four or five riders were left in total, and though Bernal and Enric Mas (Movistar) made valiant attempts to keep up, they were short-lived, with Almeida coming round to take second behind the man in yellow.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2024 stage five, Ambrì > Carì: results

1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:5437
2. Joāo Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +5sec
3. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +16
4. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-PremierTech, +18
5. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, +22
6. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +54
7. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at s.t.
8. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:03
9. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, +1:13
10. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Visma-Lease a bike, +1:20

General Classification after stage five

1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, 15:44:35
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +35s
3. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:11
4. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, at same time, + 1:49
5. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +1:53
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, at same time
7. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +2:21
8. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +2:46
9. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:51
10. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, +3:01

Torstein Træen attacked from the day's breakaway to win his first professional victory on stage four of the Tour de Suisse.

The Bahrain Victorious rider went up the road 156km from the finish, and was the final surviving man from the eight-strong break. He narrowly held off Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) to take the win. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) finished third. 

Yates, meanwhile, took second after attacking from the group of favourites with about 4km to go, and put time into his rivals. He now takes over the race lead and the yellow jersey.  

It meant all the more for Bahrain Victorious, as this race is a year on from the death of Gino Mäder at the same event.

"To be honest, no," Træen said when asked if understood what he had achieved. "I was saying yesterday, a doctor asked me how I was, and I said ‘I’m good, but I don’t have legs’. It’s obviously special. It’s for Gino, on the Gino mountain. Ride for Gino.

"It means the world," he said of the significance of win in terms of remembering Mäder. "He was still a colleague, and we still miss him. In this team it’s super special, we always want to ride for him. On a day like this, when his mum is also here, it’s super special."

The win is all the more special for Træen, given just two years ago he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, something he was successfully treated for.

After Wednesday, Yates heads into the final four testing stages in yellow.

"It would have been nice if there was nobody up the road," Yates said of stage four. "I think I showed I have good legs. I wasn’t super confident about the cobbled section. I get bounced around on the cobbles. The legs are good, the team is good, so it’s a good day.

"Today was meant to be more calm, but I felt good, and if you have good legs you have to take the opportunity. Maybe tomorrow the legs aren’t the same, so you have to try."

How it happened

Stage four of the Tour de Suisse was the first proper climbing test of the race, with an almighty battle for the day's break coming as a result.

Attacks within the first 10km were quickly shut down, with almost every team attempting to get up the road. Notably for later, UAE Team Emirates were one of the few squads not to be active at this point.

With 156km to go, eight riders went clear: Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious), Roland Thalmann (Tudor), Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla), Gerben Kuypers and Lilian Calmejane ( both Intermarché-Wanty), and Jan Sommer (Switzerland).

The presence of Matthews and Coquard was interesting, both ostensibly being sprinters. 

The eight-strong group's gap quickly built up to well over five minutes. 

With 77km to go, race leader Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) crashed after changing his bike.

As the day's final test awaited, the climb to the Gotthard Pass, things started to fracture in the break. First, Calmejane attacked, with Sommer being dropped. Matthews yo-yoed off the back and front of what was left of the break.

With 25km to go, seven riders remained at the front, with 5:50 on the peloton.

With just over 11km to go, Træen and Thalmann were the last riders left up the road. Shortly after, Træen attacked to go alone.

Further down the climb, the peloton shed many riders to become merely a group of favourites. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) briefly attacked. 

However, it was with 3.9km to go, when Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) attacked that things started to be shaken up. Yates quickly gained time on Træen, alone up front, but it was still a big gap to bridge. 

Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) were the next to drop their other rivals, although they were still behind Yates.

Træen ended up crossing the line in first, 23 seconds ahead of Yates, who in turn finished 25 seconds ahead of Skjelmose and Almeida.

Results

Tour de Suisse stage four: Rüschlikon > Gotthard Pass (171km)

1. Torstein Træen (Nor) Bahrain-Victorious, in 4:10:21
2. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +23s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +48s
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, at same time
5. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:00
6. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +1:27
7. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar
8. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
9. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, 11:50:08
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +26s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, at same time
4. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:00
5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:15
6. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +1:17
7. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, at same time
8. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:21
9. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +1:25
8. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +1:42

Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) bounced back to winning form as he triumphed from a slow-motion uphill sprint on day three of the Tour de Suisse. 

The 21-year-old Belgian, son of cyclo-cross great Sven Nys, held off Stevie Williams (Israel Premier Tech) at the line in Rüschlikon, claiming his sixth victory of the season. 

After the stage, the Lidl-Trek rider sat on a plastic chair behind the podium, sobbing proudly with his head in his hands.

"It's unbelievable. I cannot put into words how this feels and what it means to me," Nys said, red-eyed. "It's so nice to show the good form of the last few weeks. I've been dreaming about this stage for a long time already." 

Last Friday, a crash in the final sprint at the one-day GP Gippingen left Nys frustrated and seeking revenge.  

"I was so disappointed after the crash in Gippingen and it was difficult to get over it because I knew I was close to winning there," he said. "From the race to the hotel, we did the recon of this stage, and I tried to put my mind in the right direction, and it all worked out. 

"Yesterday I was struggling a lot, today as well I was not feeling good on the bike," he added. "But the guys pulled me through it and I started to believe in it. It all worked out." 

There was a change at the top of the general classification as Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), third on the stage, took over the race lead from Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step).

How it happened

Although labelled as "flat" in the race guide, stage three of the Tour de Suisse counted three categorised climbs and almost 2,000m of elevation en route to Rüschlikon.  

The day began with news of Nairo Quintana's (Movistar) withdrawal, the Colombian revealed to have fractured his wrist in a crash on stage two. 

From the flag drop, a five-rider breakaway, made up mostly of local Swiss riders, sailed clear up the road. Among them was Johan Jacobs (Movistar), whose childhood cycling club was based in the day's start town of Steinmaur. Riding with boyish spirit, the 27-year-old chose to ditch his compatriots with 31km to go, launching a solo attack. 

Alone, Jacobs picked up points in the mountains and sprint classifications. He used his time on screen to pay homage to Gino Mäder – who tragically died at the race last year – pointing to his pink #RideForGino wristband when the camera panned in on him. 

Jacobs was caught by the peloton with 18km to go, on the penultimate categorised climb. With the final summit then in sight, bids for the stage win started to multiply. Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers) attacked first, followed by recent Giro d’Italia stage winner Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates). No move, however, was stinging enough to last. 

On the descent, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) briefly gapped the pack, then sat up to deal with a minor bike issue. Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) then animated a short incline with 3km to go, dodging an errant dog walker, but was unable to hold off the reducing bunch behind him.

In the end, it came down to a sprint on the drag to the line, and the honours went to Nys. 

Results

Tour de Suisse 2024, stage three: Steinmaur > Rüschlikon (161.7km)

1. Thibau Nys (Bel) Lidl-Trek, in 3:27:31
2. Stephen Williams (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
3. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost)
4. Roger Adrià (Esp) Bora-Hansgrohe
5. Paul Lapeira (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
6. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
7. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, all at same time
8. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +3s
9. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, both at same time

General classification after stage three

1. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost, in 7:39:20
2. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +6s
3. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
4. Stephen Williams (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech, both at same time
5. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +9s
6. Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) UAE Team Emirates
7. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, both at same time
8. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +10s
9. Jan Christen (Sui) UAE Team Emirates, +11s
10. Roger Adrià (Esp) Bora-Hansgrohe, +13s

This year's edition of the Tour de Suisse got underway with a short opening time trial around Liechtenstein’s capital city of Vaduz on a technical 5km-long course. With a time of just over five minutes, Yves Lampaert flew around the course at an average speed of around 56km/h to take the victory as well as the overall lead of the race.

The Soudal Quick-Step rider set the benchmark time, with nobody able to better it throughout the day, despite many talented time trial specialists being in attendance. This marks Lampaert’s first win since his time trial victory on the opening stage of the Tour de France in 2022 and shows that he is in good form ahead of this year’s race, which starts later this month.

Speaking in his post-race interview, Lampaert commented on taking his first win in two years, as he said “nowadays the level is so high in cycling. At one moment I started to doubt myself, but I never gave up the belief and I kept training as good as possible, so it really gives me a lot of satisfaction that I could take the victory today”.

It was an upset for the Swiss riders at their home race, as Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) all finished in the top ten, but narrowly missed out on the stage win. Bissegger came closest in second place, but even he finished three seconds down on Lampaert, a rather large margin over that sort of distance.

On beating those time trial specialists, Lampaert said “I didn’t expect to beat the Swiss specialists, Bissegger and Küng. I am really proud that I could do it. I know the distance fits me well and I am really happy”.

A strong performance from Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) saw him finish in third place on the stage, whilst the likes of João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) all made good starts to the race, as they look to contest the overall victory later in the race.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The course for the time trial was rectangular in shape, running along narrow streets and a canal path, with technical corners and bends making it complicated for the riders. The road surface was also far from ideal, with storm drains littering the route and some riders having to perform bunny-hops during their run.

João Almeida set the best time early on and remained in the hot seat for sometime as the likes of Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) and Stefan Küng failed to better the time of the Portuguese rider.

It was not until Yves Lampaert went onto the course that Almeida’s time looked under threat, but the Belgian was still down in third place at the intermediate split. He was well up by the time he reached the finish though and crossed the line six seconds up to set the new fastest time.

We then saw many other riders try and fail to better Lampaert’s time, but to no avail. The likes of Stefan Bissegger and Ethan Hayter came close, but were just out of reach of the best time and with no other obvious contenders left to start it seemed certain that Lampaert would take the stage win.

A brief rain shower then made the course even more complicated, with a slippery start ramp causing many riders problems as they attempted to put some power down out of the start house. The damp course effectively ruined any hopes of victory for those still left to run, as they were not able to take the same kind of risks through the corners as the riders that had gone before them.

In the end it was a rather comfortable day in the hot seat for Lampaert once all of the main stage favourites had finished. He will now be hoping to hang onto the overall lead of the race on the undulating sprint stage to Regensdorf on stage two, as he said “I think tomorrow is a really nice stage, a lot of sprinters can probably make it, so let’s hope that it is a sprint stage with a small group and let’s try to keep the jersey”.

RESULTS: TOUR DE SUISSE 2024, STAGE ONE, VADUZ > VADUZ (5KM) 

1. Yves Lampaert (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 5:05
2. Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-EasyPost, +3s
3. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +4s
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +7s
5. Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) UAE Team Emirates, at same time
6. Samuel Watson (GBr) Groupama-FDJ, +9s
7. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost, at same time
8. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, +11s
9. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Jayco AlUla
10. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Alpecin-Deceuninck, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE ONE 

1. Yves Lampaert (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, in 5:05
2. Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-EasyPost, +3s
3. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +4s
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +7s
5. Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) UAE Team Emirates, at same time
6. Samuel Watson (GBr) Groupama-FDJ, +9s
7. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost, at same time
8. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, +11s
9. Mauro Schmid (Swi) Jayco AlUla
10. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Alpecin-Deceuninck, all at same time

Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich-Post NL) will make his comeback from a collarbone injury at the Tour de Suisse on Sunday and is itching to compete again after a year strewn with injury.

Onley has suffered setback after setback since breaking his collarbone on just the second day of his grand tour debut at La Vuelta a España last year. He returned from that injury to take an impressive win atop Willunga Hill at the Tour Down Under in January before breaking his collarbone again a week later.

His string of bad luck continued at the Amstel Gold Race in April with a third collarbone fracture, but now with a good base of training behind him the Scot is ready to put that all behind him, starting in Switzerland. 

Onley found his most recent injury the hardest to handle, with the culmination of injury after injury challenging his mental fortitude. The 21-year-old, from the Scottish Borders town of Kelso, had to find ways to take the injury off his mind.

“The break in April was a lot more difficult for me mentally,” Onley said on his team’s website. “I had big goals for the upcoming races with the team which made it harder. Seeing all your teammates, friends and peers racing and getting good results at that time while you’re sat on the sofa and can’t really do anything; that was a pretty tough period.

“To be honest, I just switched off from cycling for a bit at that time. I tried to keep away from my phone and do some other things. I bought some Lego and was trying to keep my mind busy. I think if you sit on the sofa all day and just think of what you should be doing, or what others are doing, then it can become overwhelming almost. So, I was just trying to keep myself busy and switch off from cycling for a little bit.”

Making another comeback

Having reset, Onley recently spent a few weeks training at altitude in Tenerife to prepare for the second half of the season. Onley is ambitious for his return, but understandably also just hopes to stay rubber side down after his series of crashes.

“When nothing happens on some stages and I just finish in the bunch without any mishaps, that would be nice,” Onley said.

Joining Onley in the dsm-firmenich-Post NL team for the Tour de Suisse will be fellow Scot Sean Flynn who will be looking to set up the team’s sprinter, Tour of Türkiye stage winner Tobias Lund Andresen.

Onley will hope to be competitive in the GC on a route that looks perfect for the climber, with four mountain top finishes and a mountain time trial on the final stage as an added test.

“On paper I think the route really suits my characteristics,” he said. “I want to make the most of this opportunity and show the legs and training that we have been working on for the past few months. I want to come out of the race with the best results we can.”

Above any result in Switzerland, Onley is just hoping to get his career back on track after this most recent bump in the road. Through this period, he has learned valuable lessons for the future.

“You must learn to think positively, even when everything hasn’t been positive. That’s what I’ll take with me from all of this.”

Ineos Grenadiers rider Magnus Sheffield has opened up for the first time after witnessing the aftermath of Gino Mäder’s fatal crash at last June’s Tour de Suisse.

The American crashed on the same descent as Mäder, who tragically died from his injuries, aged 26. 

Eight months on, in a candid blog post reflecting on that day, Sheffield said it reminded him of “how fragile life can be”, adding that he feels “incredibly lucky to be alive”. 

“I remember just about everything of the day,” the 22-year-old wrote. “From waking up in my bed in the morning of the stage, up until around after being wheeled from the operating room in the hospital.

“As a result of the crash, I was heavily concussed and experienced a window of what felt like unconsciousness. At that moment when I sat on the mountain side there were helicopters flying above ringing in my ears while I looked out on one of the most beautiful landscapes, as I saw riders and the race convoy passing down the Albula pass. 

“I was confused seeing medical staff around a rider that I could only recognize the team jersey of at the time, because I knew that I had crashed alone. Later on, after being transported from the scene, I was told Gino had been taken to a nearby hospital.

“Unfortunately, I had only raced with Gino a few times in our careers. I’ve been told he was an incredible person, and my thoughts remain with his family and friends.”

Sheffield spent almost three months off the bike following the crash, when he travelled home to the US to spend time with his family. He missed the Tour de France, which he was due to race for the first time, and returned at the Tour of Britain in September. 

“The crash reminded me of how fragile life can be,” he wrote. “I feel incredibly lucky to be alive, to be able to walk, and even more fortunate to continue racing professionally. This season or even at the start of the Tour of Britain in 2023 when I came back, I felt I had begun a new chapter in my career and in life.” 

“Many people questioned if I would continue: how did the crash and what followed affect me? Would I still want to race or ride a bike? Would I still be the same rider?

“During my time at home, I looked through many pictures and memories from when I began riding, which helped me think about what I want to achieve in my career. I felt an immense appreciation for all the kind messages from people in the cycling world but also many outside of it that I have never met.” 

He added that he now has a “deep feeling of wanting to win again”, and hopes to target a WorldTour stage race this season.

It is hard to write about last week's Tour de Suisse without being despondent about Gino Mäder, who died after crashing into a ravine on stage five. The death of the Bahrain-Victorious rider saw stage six neutralised in tribute, and the incident dominated minds over the final couple of days in Switzerland.

However, the racing went on, and the racing will go on. With the Tour de France under a fortnight away, there was a lot to learn from the Tour de Suisse over its seven-raced days. 

There was the proper emergence of a new star from Denmark, impressive riding from both Juan Ayuso and Remco Evenepoel, and Wout van Aert building slowly to his form for the Tour. Meanwhile, Ineos Grenadiers were a bit absent again, but perhaps that can be excused due to the serious crash by Magnus Sheffield on stage five, similar to the one that led to the death of Mäder.

Mattias Skjelmose emerges as a new hope from Denmark

All eyes were on one rider from Denmark who has hopes of featuring near the top of the general classification at the Tour de France, while perhaps all eyes should have been on another rider from Denmark who has hopes of featuring near the top of the general classification at the Tour de France.

Move aside, Jonas Vingegaard, step forward Mattias Skjelmose. The former, a dominant winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné just over a week ago, now briefly forgotten, as the latter won the Tour de Suisse on Sunday. Not in quite as dominant a fashion, and it would take an optimistic Trek-Segafredo fan to suggest that Skjelmose has a chance against Vingegaard or Tadej Pogačar, but it was an arrival into the GC conversation for the Dane.

"I thought it was possible," the 22-year-old said. "I always race to win, and I think even if I had a disadvantage in the skinsuit, I proved that my shape is good and that I’m ready for the Tour. I always believed in this."

It was not the first win of Skjelmose's career, that came at the Tour de Luxembourg last year - a race he won overall - but it certainly is the biggest to date. One could say this appeared to be coming, if one looks at the Dane's season to date: a stage win and second overall at the Etroile de Bessèges, a win at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes, second at La Flèche Wallonne in April.

The Trek-Segafredo rider won stage three, which gave him the margin over his GC rivals that he effectively won the race by, before he successfully defended his lead over the following days. One to watch for the top 10 at the Tour, for sure.

Juan Ayuso is properly back

After a very slow start to 2023, Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) can firmly say that he is back at the top of cycling. The 20-year-old was the coming thing last year, but due to tendonitis, he only raced for the first time at the Tour de Romandie in April. The Tour de Suisse was the second race of the Spanish sensation's season, and he impressed again.

Ayuso might not have won the GC, as was his and his team's plan, but two stage wins - a road stage and a time trial - is a great return for the Spaniard. 

“[My feelings are] a bit mixed," he said post-stage. "Of course, not because I won the stage; it’s the second TT win this year, so I’m happy that I keep improving in this type of racing style. The primary goal was to win the GC, and I came second, so it’s a bit of a pity, but Mattias was super strong, and we have to just congratulate him.

“Of course, I wanted to get the GC to Gino, but also the stage he will be happy for me. Of course, this goes for him. Racing is a bit more on the side. You don’t feel like celebrating. It’s not what comes to you, but I think everybody here gave their best to Gino. Mattias is for sure thinking of him to give the GC for him, and I’m happy to win to try and honour his memory.”

It is unlikely that Ayuso will make UAE's Tour de France team, which will centre around Pogačar, but he would not be a bad plan B for the squad, so maybe...

Wout van Aert fails to meet his own high expectations

Three podium finishes and a top-five in a time trial, and the points jersey, would be the Tour de France preparation for anyone else, but Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) is no ordinary rider.

Speaking post-race, Van Aert said that the week was "sobering" and that he couldn't take too much away from the Tour de Suisse, but his goals are obviously bigger than the Swiss race.

“It is somewhat sobering, but on the other hand you cannot draw many conclusions from this,” Van Aert said. “I had a good week. Until we lost Gino, I really enjoyed it. I got a good level, but not my very best level. The feeling I was driving around with, I can't really go on about that yet.

"I hope to take another step forward both mentally and physically by taking some extra rest now. The hard course I was still looking for, I gained here. It was of course also difficult last days on a human level. It will certainly do me good to go home for a while and get out of the racing world.”

Van Aert will be targeting quite a few stages at July's Tour, along with helping his Jumbo-Visma team leader Jonas Vingegaard on GC. The Belgian will hope for better form and luck by the time the race leaves Bilbao.

Remco Evenepoel returns to winning ways, but not dominance

The Tour de Suisse has traditionally been a final warmup race for the Tour de France, which is just 13 days after its last stage. However, some of the biggest names at the Swiss race will not be lining up in Bilbao, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) the most prominent of them.

The Belgian world champion was racing for the first time since having to pull out of the Giro d'Italia, and looked like he had never been away, finishing second on three stages and winning one. However, he was not quite the dominant force that we were used to earlier this year, and he had to settle for third overall.

The 23-year-old has bigger goals on his mind, however, principally the defence of his World Championships title in Glasgow in August, and potentially the Vuelta a España too. As far as easing back into racing, this was far from dipping your toes into the water, more fully diving in. Evenepoel is back.

Ineos Grenadiers left wanting again

The crash of Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) on stage five, in similar circumstances to Gino Mäder, surely impacted the mood within the team over the following stages. That should be taken into account when being critical of the British squad. Thankfully, Sheffield is understood to be recovering from his serious accident.

In recent years, the Tour de Suisse has been Ineos's race, with the squad winning the last three editions through Egan Bernal (2019), Richard Carapaz (2021) and Geraint Thomas (2022). This time around, the team's highest finisher was Tom Pidcock in 22nd place.

Ineos' A-team might have been at the Dauphiné, but that hardly sparkled either. In Switzerland, the team's best result was fourth in the opening time trial, by Sheffield. There must be big plans for the Tour squad, but things do not seem to be going as smoothly as in previous years heading into the biggest race of the year.

The riders at the Tour de Suisse will not contest Friday’s sixth stage, and will instead take part in a tribute ride to Gino Mäder. 

The 26-year-old died on Friday morning, following a high-speed crash on a descent in the closing kilometres of Thursday's fifth stage. He was treated at the scene and airlifted to hospital, where he later passed away as a result of his injuries. 

Ahead of stage six’s rescheduled start in Chur, the teams gathered to mourn the loss of Mäder and discuss options for the day’s racing. The race organisers have since revealed that the stage will not go ahead as planned, with the peloton instead riding the final 20km neutralised. 

"We ride for you Gino," the Tour de Suisse wrote on Twitter. "The peloton will ride the last 20 kilometres of today's course neutralised in honour of Gino Mäder. Expected finish in Oberwil-Lieli is 16.40h [15:40 BST]." 

There will be no winner declared for the stage.

Addressing the media on the ground, race director Olivier Senn said: “Today is about [Mäder] and no one else and nothing else. So what we will do now is we will plan to do a memory ride on the last part of the course. There will be no start here [in Chur], we will [re]locate to a location that we don’t know yet - we’re busy planning - and we will ride neutralised as a group ride in memory of Gino to the finish.” 

Senn looked visibly shaken when giving his statement, and told the press: “It’s hard to think straight.” 

“It’s obviously the worst possible outcome of the accident. We are heartbroken, the whole organisation, all the teams, the riders. It’s just devastating what happened. It’s really hard to put in words.

"We just stood together with all the teams and riders in memory of Gino. That’s really all that counts for us at the moment. Gino was a fantastic rider and an excellent human. He was really a good person and doesn’t deserve to leave the world like this."

The cycling world reacted with deep sorrow to the news of Mäder’s death, which came just before stage six was scheduled to begin. The stage had already been postponed and shortened due to a landslide, with the opening 75km removed from the original 215km route. 

Bahrain Victorious rider Gino Mäder has died following a high-speed crash at the Tour de Suisse. 

The 26-year-old was found unresponsive after crashing into a ravine on the descent of the Albula Pass during Thursday’s stage five. He was resuscitated at the scene and airlifted to hospital, where he later passed away.

In a statement released on Friday morning, Mäder’s Bahrain Victorious team wrote: “It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we have to announce the passing of Gino Mäder. On Friday 16th June, following a very serious crash during stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his battle to recover from the severe injuries he sustained. 

“Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team.

“Gino was an extraordinary athlete, an example of determination, a valued member of our team and the whole cycling community. His talent, dedication, and passion for the sport has inspired us all.” 

Bahrain Victorious managing director Milan Erzen said that Mäder was an "inspiration", and that the team will race in his honour. 

“His talent, dedication, and enthusiasm were an inspiration to us all,” Erzen said. “Not only was he an extremely talented cyclist, but a great person off the bike. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. 

“Bahrain Victorious will race in his honour, keeping his memory on every road we race. We are determined to show the spirit and passion Gino displayed, and he will always remain an integral part of our team.”

Born in Flawil, Switzerland on 4 January 1997, Mäder turned professional as a cyclist in 2019 with Team Dimension Data. He joined Bahrain Victorious in 2021, and went on to take a maiden Grand Tour stage victory the same year, winning stage six of the Giro d'Italia. 

Passionate about the environment, Mäder raised €4,529 for a climate change charity during the 2021 Vuelta a España, pledging €1 for each rider he finished ahead of on every stage. He finished fifth overall at the race, and won the white jersey as the highest-placed young rider. 

Following the news of the rider's death, the UCI tweeted: "The UCI is devastated to learn of the death of professional cyclist, Gino Mäder. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone connected with Gino who was a rising star within the professional ranks of cycling."

Bahrain Victorious rider Gino Mäder needed to be resuscitated on Thursday after crashing into a ravine at the Tour de Suisse. 

The 26-year-old went off the roadside with Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) on the descent of the Albula Pass in the final kilometres of stage five. The duo were treated by paramedics at the scene, where Mäder was found unresponsive. 

He was then airlifted by helicopter to Chur hospital. 

A statement from the Tour de Suisse organisers read: “At race kilometre 197 in the descent from the Albula Pass, two riders crashed at very high speed. The race doctor was on the scene of the accident within two minutes. 

“Magnus Sheffield was responsive. He was transported to Samedan hospital with bruises and a concussion. 

“Gino Mäder lay motionless in the water. He was immediately resuscitated and then transported to Chur hospital by air ambulance. The severity of his injuries has not yet been fully clarified.”

Mäder underwent hospital examinations on Thursday evening, however further news of his condition is yet to be released. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Gino,” the rider’s Bahrain Victorious team wrote in a statement. 

The race organiser added that they are also investigating the circumstances of the crash.

In a short thread on Twitter, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the finale of stage five, which concluded with a steep downhill. 

Evenepoel wrote: “I hope that the final of today’s stage is food for thought for both cycling organisers as well as ourselves as riders.

“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent. As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain. My thoughts and strength is with Gino Mäder and Magnus Sheffield.” 

A statement from Ineos Grenadiers revealed that Sheffield sustained a concussion and soft tissue damage. Both the American and Mäder have abandoned the race. 

For safety reasons, Friday’s sixth stage has been shortened. The route was scheduled to start by going over the Albula Pass, but following a rock avalanche, will instead begin in Chur at 12:30 CET (13:30 BST). The stage was meant to be the longest of the race, at 215.3km. It will now total just 140.9km. 

Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) climbed to a first-ever win on the WorldTour on stage four of the Tour de Suisse in Leukerbad and took over the overall race lead.

On the long climb to the finish, the Austrian simply had too much for the rest of his rivals and managed to maintain enough of a gap to the chasers including Romain Bardet (DSM), Wilco Kelderman (Jumbo-Visma) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) to hold on for the victory.

As the stage neared its finale, Bardet launched a series of attacks as he looked to bridge up to the AG2R rider. However, the Frenchman was unable to force enough of a gap to the rest of the overall race favourites.

“I’m still a little bit overwhelmed with the situation, I don’t really know what to think,” Gall said afterwards. “It’s my first professional victory here at the Tour de Suisse and now I also have the leader's jersey.

"Yesterday I felt super good, I’m in the shape of my life, so we said this morning that if I felt the same as yesterday on the last climb, I have to give it a try.”

The Austrian went from distance as he made his bid for victory, and attacked on the steepest section of the long final climb to Dorben with 22 kilometres still to race. Gall powered past the remnants of the day’s breakaway, leaving nothing to chance after narrowly missing out to Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) on stage three.

“I didn’t think it would really be possible as it was still a long way to the finish line,” Gall added. “But I had to give it a try. If I have the best legs of my life, I’m not going to wait in the bunch and look at the others.”

Evenepoel snatched second place ahead of Skjelmose to put him third overall, 16 seconds back from Gall ahead of another mountain test on stage five. Gall explained that with several tough days to come in the high mountains, as well as yet another time trial, overall victory would be a tall order.

“I hope I can enjoy all of this,” he said. “We’ll see what’s possible tomorrow. It’s a little bit of a different stage with  longer climbs and also at altitude. We will see how it suits me, it’s a little bit of a new experience for me as it's the first time I’m able to race at this level. Then also the TT is not exactly [one of] my strengths at the moment.

“If I want to get a nice result in the GC, I also think I have to do a good race tomorrow and maybe again try to gain some time. For now I’m just happy with the win today.”  

Meanwhile Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) had a disappointing day and lost over a minute to the rest of the favourites. The Spaniard came into the day third overall, but dropped to sixth after losing time.

The Swiss stage race will continue tomorrow with a 211 kilometre test - featuring nearly 5,000 metres of elevation - between Fiesch and La Punt. 

Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) climbed to stage victory and the race lead at the Tour de Suisse, dropping world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) on stage three's final ascent to Villars-sur-Ollon. 

The 22-year-old was one of just two riders who followed Evenepoel when he attacked on the category-one climb. With 2.5km to go, Skjelmose then drifted away from the Belgian, following AG2R Citröen’s Felix Gall, who he beat in a two-up dash to the line. 

The victory marked the Dane’s third of the season, and his first at WorldTour level. He now leads the GC by 17 seconds ahead of Evenepoel, while Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) sits in third at 24 seconds. 

"I had a really big question mark about my climbing abilities," Skjelmose said afterwards. "Ok, this is not the hardest mountain stage, but it’s still a really long climb, and I did really good. I think we can put a little bit smaller question mark at least.” 

When Evenepoel attacked with 6.5km remaining of the 11km climb, the yellow leader's jersey looked destined for his shoulders. "He was going really fast," Skjelmose said. "I wasn't sure [if I could beat him], to be honest."

The world champion, however, just a month after abandoning the Giro d'Italia with Covid-19, found himself dropped as the summit approached, first by Gall, then by the eventual stage winner. He was later tagged by a chase group led by Ayuso, who passed him and rode away for third place. 

"I wasn't sure if Remco was playing games or if he was on the limit," Skjelmose said. "I was a little bit more worried about Felix, because when he attacked, he went really fast." 

In sight of the finish line, Skjelmose continued to measure his effort, and held off Gall for his first WorldTour win, a feat he said was "incomparable" to the rest of his palmarès. 

Asked if he is capable of holding the GC lead until the end, he said: “We hope so. We’re going to try our best. There are a lot of strong teams and it will be difficult but we will try our best. Hopefully we can do really well and defend it until the last TT, then it will be all up to me.” 

The eight-day race will conclude on Sunday with an individual time trial to Abtwil. 

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) secured overall victory at the Tour de Suisse after a strong time-trial performance as Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) narrowly won stage eight in Vaduz.

The 36-year-old finished just three seconds behind the Belgian on the day, and more than a minute quicker than Sergio Higuita (BORA-hansgrohe) to overtake him in the overall standings. 

Thomas, who is hitting form at the pefect time ahead of the Tour de France, also becomes the first-ever British rider to win the Tour de Suisse - the ninth stage-race victory of his career.

Higuita held on to second place in the GC by four seconds, ahead of Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) who rounded out the podium.

Evenepoel, despite a tough week for the 23-year-old, showed that his time-trial form had not disappeared, recording a time of 28-26 over the 25.6km course.

Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), the home favourite, rounded out the podium on the stage, with a time of 28-37, eight seconds behind Thomas.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The final stage of the Tour de Suisse was decided, as is the norm for the eight-day race, with a race of truth.

At 25.6km, the second-longest time-trial on the WorldTour so far this year, and with just 133m of climbing, the parcour was one for the pure time-trial specialists.

The race against the clock started and finished in the capital of Liechtenstein, running alongside the Rhine river, the natural border with the race’s home country for part of the route.

After a week of the peloton being ravaged by coronavirus, there was uncertainty over how many riders would actually take to the start ramp in Vaduz.

Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies), who had seen a return to form earlier in the race after winning stage three, was one rider who did not. 

The Slovakian rider recorded his third positive test for coronavirus in the space of 18 months – terrible timing ahead of the Tour de France.

Of the riders that did start, Chad Haga (Human Powered Health) was the first of the early men to finish in a time below 30 minutes. The American recorded a time of 29-51, with an average speed of 51.46km/h.

Haga’s time in the hot seat wouldn’t last too long though, as Ineos Grenadiers’ Dylan Van Baarle put 20 seconds into the American’s time, crossing the line with a time of 29-31.

The Dutchman held top spot for a while, although Nikias Arndt (Team DSM) was 11 seconds ahead of him at the halfway point. Yet the German paid for his efforts on the run-in to home, eventually crossing the line with a time of 29-58 – nearly half a minute behind Van Baarle.

Ilan Van Wilder (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) looked to be putting in a strong display, reaching the intermediate split just a second down on Van Baarle, however the Belgian crashed after misjudging a roundabout inside the flamme rouge.

Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange-Jayco), although not troubling the podium, surprised many with an impressive performance over the 25.6km route, recording a time of 29-54.

As the GC contenders started the roll off the start ramp, Van Baarle’s early time look under threat.

Despite Quick-Step’s woes with Van Wilder’s crash, there was positive news when Remco Evenepoel reached the intermediate split. The 22-year-old arrived there 27 seconds ahead of Arndt who had the next best time at that point.

Stefan Küng then narrowly edged Evenepoel at the halfway checkpoint by almost two seconds.

When Evenepoel came to the line in Vaduz he was a minute and four seconds faster than Van Baarle.  Averaging a speed of 54.02km/h, it looked like a tall order for anyone to beat the young Belgian.

Despite being quicker to begin with, Küng couldn’t replicate the Quick-Step rider's pace throughout, as he eventually finished 11 seconds off top spot.

Meanwhile in the battle for the yellow jersey, Thomas was proving why he was hotly tipped to take the win. 

The Welshman – riding a prototype Pinarello bike that we could well see him on at the Grand Départ in Copenhagen in less than a fortnight’s time - came to the intermediate split just seven seconds off the leading time.

Higuita, as expected, failed to match Thomas’ effort, already more than half a minute behind at the time-check. By this point, eyes were turning to see whether the Welshman could threaten Evenepoel’s blistering display.

Thomas was clearly riding well but the clock wasn’t in his favour as he raced towards the line - the Ineos Grenadiers rider ultimately finishing three seconds down on the Belgian, with a time of 28-29. 

Higuita, the last man across the line, finished 11th on the stage, setting a time of 29-43 that meant he narrowly held on to second place in the overall standings.

It is Thomas' first overall stage-race win for more than a year, the last being the Tour of Romandie in May 2021.

With the Tour de France less than a fortnight away, the Welshman may have put himself back into contention for a starring role in the British team's eight-man squad.

RESULTS

TOUR DE SUISSE, STAGE EIGHT: VADUZ - VADUZ (25.6KM)

1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team, in 28-26
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 3 seconds
3. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, at 11s
4. Dani Martínez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 28s
5. Bob Jungels (Lux) AG2R Citroën Team, at 33s
6. Max Schachmann (Ger) BORA-hansgrohe, at 39s 
7. Felix Großschartner (Aut) BORA-hansgrohe, at 55s 
8. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at 59s
9. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech, at 1-02
10. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-05

FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, in 33-07-09
2. Sergio Higuita (Col) BORA-hansgrohe, at 1-12
3. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech, at 1-16
4. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at 2-10
5. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, at 2-25
6. Bob Jungels (Lux) AG2R Citroën Team, at 2-59
7. Felix Großschartner (Aut) BORA-hansgrohe, at 3-37
8. Dani Martínez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 3-39
9. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, at 3-42
10. Max Schachmann (Ger) BORA-hansgrohe, at 3-45

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) rolled back the years with a strong climbing performance that saw him clinch stage seven of the Tour de Suisse.

The Frenchman, who was in the day's early breakaway, left Ion Izagirre behind on the climb to the line in Malbun, Liechtenstein, eventually winning by 25 seconds from Óscar Rodríguez (Movistar).

Alexey Lutsenko, another rider who featured in the day's early break, came across the line in third.

The Groupama-FDJ rider earned his second win of the season, after a similar style stage win at the Tour of the Alps in April.

In the battle for the yellow jersey, Sergio Higuita (BORA-hansgrohe) attacked the GC group with 2km to go and finished 11 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers).

The Colombian holds the overall lead over Thomas by two seconds, however, the Welshman will be favourite going into the final day's individual time-trial.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The final road stage of this year’s Tour de Suisse saw a coronavirus-stricken peloton of just 84 riders take to the start line in Ambri.

Three more riders had become victims of the coronavirus outbreak at the race overnight, as Marco Haller (BORA-hansgrohe), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) and Sander Armée (Cofidis) did not start the penultimate stage.

For the riders that did start, a 194.6km route stood between them and the summit finish in Malbun, Liechtenstein, with 3,811m of climbing set to make it a very challenging stage for the GC teams to control.

A high-speed downhill start to the day made it tricky for a break to form. A group finally escaped as the foot of the day’s first climb, the Lukmanierpass, came into sight. 

The first-category test, averaging 5% for 29.2km, allowed for almost a quarter of the bunch to forge a gap. 

A 19-man group got away, including: Clément Champoussin, Clément Berthet, Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën), Alexey Lutsenko, Gianni Moscon (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Michael Matthews, Jack Bauer (Team BikeExchange-Jayco), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Thibaut Pinot, Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Soudal), Nelson Oliveira, Óscar Rodríguez (Movistar Team), Fausto Masnada, Ilan Van Wilder (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team), Gavin Mannion (Human Powered Health), Matheiu Burgaudeau, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), and Yannis Voisard (Switzerland).

With 142km to go, Lukas Rüegg (Switzerland) stepped off the bike, making him the 70th abandonment in the eight-day race.

As the first-category climb was tackled, the large break began to split, with Bauer, Moscon, Askey, Ourselin and Voisard dropped by the stronger climbers in the lead group.

The gap back to the peloton fluctuated between four and seven minutes as the riders summited the Lukmanierpass.

Clément Berthet was first over the top of the first-category climb as Ineos Grenadiers and Israel-Premier Tech worked together to prevent the time-gap getting out of hand with 120km still remaining in the day.

By the time the third-category climb of Flims, 6.5km at 5.8%, was dealt with at 66km to go, the break had an advantage of just above four minutes.

Michael Matthews comfortably extended his lead in the points classification at the intermediate sprint in Domat/Ems with 50km left of the stage.

The gap to the break steadily fell, as the race reached the penultimate climb of the day, St. Luzisteig, with 22km to go.

As the lead group took on the 2.5km test that averaged 7.6%, they held an advantage of three and a half minutes.

Perhaps keen to keep himself healthy for the Tour de France, Luke Rowe swiftly stepped into the team car after finishing his turn on the front with 20km left.

With 13km to go, the highest category climb to the finish line in Malbun came into view as the breakaway began to be whittled down.

The 12.6km climb had an average gradient of 8.7%, however ramps of 10% throughout, and a 13.2% kicker inside the flamme rouge, made it a gruelling test for the riders. 

Lutsenko, Van Wilder and Izagirre managed to create a small gap with 11km to go.

Izagirre then attacked again as Pinot attempted to bridge across to the leaders.

Meanwhile, the bunch had been whittled down by the testing gradients too.

Max Schachmann (BORA-hansgrohe) came to the fore of the GC group to set a testing pace for his teammate Higuita.

It was now a stage comprised of two races as the Spaniard had built up a gap of over 30 seconds with 5km to go as Lutsenko and Pinot attempted to hunt him down, with the GC contenders still three minutes in arrears.

However, Izagirre appeared to hit the wall on the leg-sapping gradients of final kilometres up to the mountaintop finish line.

His gap rapidly fell to Pinot, the strongest of the chasing pack behind him.

Pinot caught the former Spanish champion with 2.5km remaining, attacking out of his saddle to prevent the Cofidis rider from even holding onto his wheel.

The Groupama-FDJ rider continued his effort right up to the line, finishing 25 seconds ahead of Movistar’s Óscar Rodríguez to secure his second victory of the year.

Meanwhile, inside the final 2km for the GC contenders and Daní Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers) had put most of the group to the sword with a huge pull at the front.

However, just as the Colombian rider finished his turn, his countryman Higuita attacked and neither Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) nor Geraint Thomas could respond.

Thomas finally left Fuglsang behind with 500m to go, yet Higuita still crossed the line with enough of an advantage to secure the yellow jersey.

The BORA-hansgrohe rider heads into the final day’s time-trial with a slender advantage that he’ll do well to hold onto against an accomplished time-trialist in Thomas.

RESULTS

TOUR DE SUISSE, STAGE SEVEN: AMBRI TO MALBUN (194.6KM)

1. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, in 5-06-39
2. Óscar Rodríguez (Spa) Movistar, at 25 seconds
3. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team, at 38s
4. Sergio Higuita (Col) BORA-Hansgrohe, at 1-19
5. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-30
6. Nicolas Prodhomme (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team, at 1-40
7. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech, at 1-48
8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, at 1-59
9. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, at 2-09
10. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at 2-19

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE SEVEN

1. Sergio Higuita (Col) BORA-hansgrohe, in 32-38-38
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 2 seconds
3. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech, at 19s
4. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at 1-16
5. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux, at 1-37
6. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, at 2-09
7. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama FDJ, at 2-19
8. Bob Jungels (Lux) AG2R Citroën Team, at 2-31
9. Felix Großschartner (Aut) BORA-hansgrohe, at 2-47
10. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM, at 2-59

Teams fear that coronavirus could derail the line-up for the Tour de France after swathes of riders have been forced to abandon the Tour de Suisse and the Tour of Slovenia after testing positive.

A huge list of riders from multiple teams were withdrawn from the action this morning due to the virus. Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) won yesterday's stage five and held the overall lead, and his teammate, Anton Palzer, both tested positive for covid and are now out of the race. Bahrain-Victorious lost Gino Mäder to illness yesterday and have since withdrawn their whole squad from the race. 

Other names who are out of the race due to covid include Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates), Stefan Bisseger, Alberto Bettiol, Rigoberto Urán and Hugh Carthy (EF Education–EasyPost) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). 

Pidcock’s team mate, Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) was one of the names forced out of the action yesterday after a positive covid test. While, three DSM riders along with the whole of Jumbo-Visma are also out of the race in Switzerland.

Meanwhile, the team-mate of defending Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar, Mikkel Bjerg was forced to leave the Tour of Slovenia this morning after testing positive for the virus.

The Tour de France gets underway in Copenhagen, Denmark, in just over two weeks. The positive covid cases in Switzerland and the the Tour of Slovenia will come as very bad timing for those using the race as preparation for the Tour.

Many teams are set to announce their Tour de France line-ups next week. 

UAE  Emirates director of performance Iñigo San-Millán said, in a tweet that was later deleted, that covid was “the largest enemy” of the Tour in 2022

It continued: “Much more than in the last two years. The way the situation is now with total lax of measurements against covid, TdF can be a complete chaos with major teams forced to leave the race. Le Tour please bring the bubble back.” 

San-Millán said he felt it was impossible to control covid without reintroduction of protocols.

“Selfies, pens from autographs, elevator buttons, door knobs, hand shaking…Without a strict bubble at Le Tour, it will be impossible to control covid and with many teams forced to leave the entire Tour may have to be cancelled. Le Tour please bring strict bubble back.” he added. 

San-Millán deleted some of his comments but he does not appear to be alone. Speaking to Ouest-France, Groupama-FDJ sports director, Philipe Maduit, said “everyone [at the Tour de Suisse] has the willies” and was crossing their fingers that they won’t be the next team to be affected.

 "For the moment, we cross our fingers because it falls hard next to us but we are not affected. This Friday morning, we felt it even more than yesterday and it was already impressive. It feels like coming back in February-March. Since yesterday, we have seen the return of masks everywhere," Maduit said.

However, Maduit was reluctant to commit to pulling the team's riders out of the Tour de Suisse due to the risk of picking up the virus elsewhere. "We are not considering that [pulling riders from the race]. Because honestly, if they go back, they're on a plane, but who says they won't catch it on the plane? It can happen at any time, you have to accept it, but be more careful.” he added. 

Tour de Suisse organiser Amaury Sport Organisation [ASO] has been approached for comment. 

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) emerged victorious on stage five of the Tour de Suisse and moved into the overall lead as he just managing to hold off Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) at the finish line.

Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) launched his lead out for Vlasov into the final right-hand turn with 400m remaining, and Vlasov took over the mantle expertly as he sprinted to victory. Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) attacked first, but Vlasov powered past him. 

Powless tried his best to throw his bike past Vlasov, but just fell short as the Bora-Hansgrohe rider took the win. Fuglsang came in third, with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) finishing fourth, the Welshman just not having enough in the final sprint to gain any extra bonus seconds. 

With Stevie Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) struggling in the day and dropping from the peloton early, Vlasov also moves into the overall lead of the Tour de Suisse, with three more stages to go.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Stage five started without 17 riders taking to the start line. Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) withdrew due to returning a positive Covid-19 test, while a Covid outbreak in the Jumbo-Visma team meant the Dutch team pulled out completely from the rest of the Tour de Suisse. Not all 17 riders were due to Covid, with others suffering from dehydration and illness. 

Stevie Williams came into the stage wearing the yellow jersey once again, with a 190km hilly route ahead of the riders. 

The day's break immediately formed, with Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Fenix), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), Johan Jacobs (Movistar) and Claudio Imhof (Switzerland) getting some distance out front. Alexander Kamp (Trek-Segafredo) soon joined them, creating a quintet that lasted for the opening half of the race. 

After 30km, the break's lead had grown to four minutes, rising to as high as 7-30 just 10km later. Heading towards the foot of the Monte Ceneri - a 6.2km, 5.5% average gradient ascent - the lead dropped to 6-30. Kamp summited first, though he faced little competition from the other four riders for the KOM points.

With 90km remaining in the race, the breakaway's gap stood at 4-30 as the peloton gradually worked away at bringing them closer in. Ineos Grenadiers and EF Education-EasyPost were the main teams working to reduce the deficit, with the British-based team most prominent in keeping the tempo high.  

The final 70km climb of the race featured a circuit set to be completed three times. On the approach to the Pedrinate or the first time of the day, a 2.5km long climb at 7.8% gradient, Imhof and Jacobs were both dropped from the breakaway. Turgis also looked like he was struggling, but just managed to cling onto the front riders for the next couple of kilometres before the hill. 

Dillier led Kamp over the Pedrinate climb first, with Turgis soon dropped. With 50km remaining, the peloton was four minutes back from the duo out front.

Meanwhile, yellow jersey leader Stevie Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) couldn't quite manage to keep pace with the peloton. The Welshman was soon dropped from the bunch over the sharp ascents, his time in the general classification seemingly coming to an abrupt end. Dillier led Kamp over the Pedrinate climb first, with Turgis dropped - 50km remaining, the peloton was four minutes back from the duo out front 

The time gap kept dropping though, and soon Dillier dropped Kamp during the second climb of Pedrinate. By now, with 32km remaining, the peloton sat just 1-15 back from Dillier, who continued to press on in a mighty solo effort, considering the sweltering heat. 

With 20km remaining, though, the peloton sharply reeled him back in. Initially comfortable with him 75 seconds up the road, a largely reduced peloton bought Dillier within 30 seconds of them. At the same point, Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) couldn't hang on in the main bunch, but he soon worked his way back on.

The peloton eventually caught Dillier with 14km remaining in the race, meaning the stage would likely conclude with a reduced sprint finish. With just 10km to go, riders faced the Pedrinate for the final time. Upon summiting that, they had just 8km left until the finish line, with a steady climb in the final kilometre. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Evenepoel all fell victim to the climb.

Just 100m from the top, an acceleration by Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) and Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) split the peloton, with the front riders stretched out heading into the final kilometres of the race. On the descent, Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) accelerated, but Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) followed to quell that attack as the group caught back up.

The games of cat and mouse then started, before Fuglsang decided on a solo attack with 4km remaining. No riders matched him immediately, but Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) soon responded. They eventually drew level with Fuglsang just before the Flamme Rouge, with Schachmann then joining them on the ascent of the approach to the finish line.

Schachmann launched his lead out for Vlasov with 400m remaining, and the Russian gritted his teeth and sprinted past his teammate at the 200m mark. Fuglsang attacked early, but didn't have enough in the tank to trouble Vlasov, while Powless presented a strong opponent. The American nearly came alongside Vlasov and threw his bike to the line, but didn't quite have the strength or speed to get past him.

Williams' struggles in the race also means that Vlasov moves into the overall lead, with three stages left to complete.

RESULTS

TOUR DE SUISSE, STAGE FIVE: AMBRI TO NOVAZZANO (190.1KM)

1. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 4-30-28
2. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at same time
3. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech
4. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
5. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, at 5s
6. Felix Großschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 6s
7. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, at same time
8. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe
9. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
10. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, at 9s

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE FIVE

1. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 22-16-56
2. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech, at 6s
3. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
4. Andreas Kron (Nor) Lotto Soudal, at 14s
5. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama FDJ, at 16s
6. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time
7. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, at 28s
8. Felix Großschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 40s
9. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, at 43s
10. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM, at 44s

Adam Yates has been withdrawn from the Tour de Suisse after a positive test for coronavirus.

The Ineos Grenadier was experiencing mild symptoms, and after returning a positive lateral flow result was withdrawn by his team.

His departure follows the  news that Jumbo-Visma have withdrawn their whole squad from the race after at least one member of the team caught the virus.

At the same time DSM also announced three of its riders had left the race after testing positive. Casper Pedersen, Søren Kragh Andersen and Cees Bol all left the race this morning after returning a positive lateral flow test.

Ineos Grenadiers said: “In line with team and UCI protocols, Adam Yates has withdrawn from the Tour de Suisse 2022 this morning after experiencing mild symptoms and returning a positive lateral flow result” 

Yates was widely expected to challenge for overall victory in Switzerland and despite suffering with covid symptoms was sitting 10th overall. 

He departure leaves his teammate, Geraint Thomas, as the lone lead rider for Ineos at the race. The Welshman is seven seconds off the lead of Stephen Williams (Bahrain Victorious). 

With just over two weeks until the start of the Tour de France, Yates contracting coronavirus is bad timing for the Ineo Grenadiers team. Egan Bernal is still recovering after a horrific training accident and the quality of Yates's preparation will now be in doubt.

Ineos Grenadiers are expected to announce their final eight rider Tour roster after the Tour de Suisse. Geraint Thomas hinted yesterday that his role may not necessarily be as a lead rider. “I don’t think that the result will necessarily be why I make the team or not. But if you’re going well and showing good form then it’s always good for my own confidence. The team, and with my role, I’ll be able to fit in there. All being well I hope to be in the team, it’s just about what I actually have to do within that really,” Thomas said.

Jumbo-Visma have pulled out of racing at the Tour de Suisse after announcing that Coronavirus cases have crept into the Dutch squad in Switzerland. 

The team said that  that after consultation with the race organisers withdrawal from participation was the only option. 

It said: "Despite all precautions, corona has crept into the team again. In the interest of the health of the riders and staff and to protect the peloton and the race, the Dutch formation's medical and sporting management consider withdrawing from the Swiss race the wisest decision." 

The Dutch team were affected by covid cases earlier on in the season when they were forced to close down a training camp in Alicante, Spain. One rider tested positive at the camp in January meaning it was quickly cancelled. 

The squad was also quick to point out that despite "daily testing of riders and staff" the virus had still infiltrated the team. But they added that the testing had allowed them to identify and isolate the person infected as soon as possible.

It added: "The use of mouth masks, air purification columns and single rooms is still common practice on the team." 

The squad did not reveal who had tested positive for covid-19, but said that "for the time being" the incident  had "no consequences" on their upcoming Tour de France team shortlist. 

It has been a long year for Daryl Impey. The Israel-Premier Tech rider spent most of last year on the sidelines after he broke his pelvis and collarbone after a heavy crash at the Ruta del Sol in May 2021.

The final seven months of last year were spent mostly convalescing; he did three late-season Italian one-day races, but to no great effect. This season has seen the South African still feeling his way back, but now he finally is.

There have been 28 months since his last victory, at the South African time trial championships, and almost three years since his last WorldTour win, at the Tour de France in 2019. However, on Wednesday, Impey turned back the clock and stormed to victory on stage four of the Tour de Suisse.

”I’m ecstatic," he said immediately post-stage. "It was a tough day. The competition is so good these days with the young guys, and after everything that happened last year, I didn’t know if I was going to get back on top of the step.

"To finally pull off a victory after all of the hard times is special. I had great support from the team and from my family at home. I’m really happy to win.“

The 37-year-old revealed earlier this year that he had to learn how to walk again, that was how serious the accident at the Ruta del Sol last year was; he ended up spending eight weeks off the bike, so this is a remarkable comeback.

“I think that once I can get over the fear of racing in the peloton and forget about all the bad crashes and things like that, I’ll have a change of perspective and will start thinking about winning races," he told VeloNews earlier this year.

The change of perspective seems to have worked, at a crucial point for both Impey and his Israel-Premier Tech team. The win is just the sixth of the year, and the second at WorldTour level after Patrick Bevin's sprint win at the Tour de Romandie at the end of April.

Israel-Premier Tech are in dire need of UCI points in order to remain in the WorldTour, so the 60 points won on Wednesday will feel well-deserved. Not that Impey will be thinking of that, however. He will just be glad to be back at the pointy end of races, winning things again.

Daryl Impey (Israel-Premier Tech) took victory on stage four of the Tour de Suisse, after launching a long sprint to hold off his closest rivals to the line. 

Representing Impey's first win since the 2019 Tour de France, he managed to maintain just enough power as Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) tried his best to steal the victory from Impey. The Australian rider had to settle for second, though, as he finished just half a wheel behind the South African. 

Ineos Grenadiers had Geraint Thomas leading Tom Pidcock out into the final kilometre, with the British pair positioning themselves smartly as Pidcock looked to launch his sprint. However, Pidcock didn't quite have the legs to propel himself off of Impey's wheel, and Matthews soon boxed him out as he settled for fifth. 

Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM) came in third, overtaking Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) towards the line. 

After initially dropping from the peloton on the final climb of the race, Stevie Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) managed to get back into the bunch for the finale of the race, meaning he will once again wear the yellow jersey for stage five tomorrow.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Stage four started outside Grenchen Velodrome, close to where a buoyant Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) got back to winning ways on the third stage. Stevie Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) entered the day wearing the leader's jersey, his lead just six seconds in the general classification. 

The stage started with some fast opening kilometres and plenty of attacks, with some riders suffering punctures amid the mayhem. This soon settled down after 15km, though, when Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal), Markus Hoelgaard (Trek-Segafredo) and Jimmy Janssens (Alpecin-Fenix) finally managed to break away.

The trio rapidly built up a gap over a minute over the next few kilometres, with the bunch comfortable in letting them ride freely up the road. After 30km of racing, atop the summit of the Kappelen climb, the leaders had built up over five minutes on the peloton. Holmes crossed the sprint line first to take maximum KOM points in the process.

During the descent of the categorised climb, their lead dropped to four minutes as Movistar, Bahrain-Victorious, Ineos Grenadiers and EF Education-EasyPost worked together at the front of the main group to close the gap. In the Swiss countryside and blistering heat, this margin continued to reduce as the three out front seemingly struggled to maintain the tempo. 

With 100km remaining, the gap had dropped to 2-45. This continued to gradually come down and down, and at the 70km to go mark there was just 1-45 between them. During this period, riders from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, Trek-Segafredo and BikeExchange-Jayco crashed in the bunch, but all seemed able to get back on their bikes relatively unscathed. 

Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) did have to abandon the race, although for different reasons. Suffering from dehydration in the hot temperatures having completed the Giro d'Italia just a couple of weeks ago, the Dutchman withdrew so he didn't do further damage. 

After the peloton came within 1-20 of the leaders, the gap slowly rose again to the two minute mark with 50km remaining. Holmes took the Vitznau sprint at this point, too, before once again taking the Oberarth sprint.

Following the intermediate sprint, the peloton started to quickly close in on the trio out front. The time gap fell below a minute with 24km to go, as Movistar, Cofidis and Bahrain-Victorious notably started bringing the bunch towards the front of the race. The distance between them dramatically dropped over the next 3km, and, with 19km remaining at the foot of the Sattel climb, the time gap was down to just 20 seconds. They were eventually caught just a kilometre later, after Ineos Grenadiers considerably upped the already quick tempo. 

Sattel is just 3km long, but has an average gradient of 8.5%, and during the climb Stevie Williams struggled to hold on in the peloton. However, a spirited ride from the Welshman saw him gain ground on the front group. He soon got back onto the peloton's wheel, helped by his Bahrain-Victorious teammates. 

Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo) attacked near the summit of the climb, but the peloton quickly swallowed him up. Marc Hirshi (UAE Team Emirates) then saw his opportunity to steal a march on his rivals, but Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech) stopped the Swiss rider from opening up any kind of gap. 

A sharp descent followed after the Sattel climb, which Sébastien Reichenbach (Groupama-FDJ) attempted to take full advantage of the hill by creating a gap, though he couldn't get out of the peloton's sight. He was soon caught with 9km to go, as a result. 

EF Education-EasyPost led the bunch down the quick descent on the way to the line, with Hugh Carthy and Rigoberto Urán looking to get Alberto Bettiol in prime position into the final kilometre. A tight, technical turn ensured the group spread out at this point, leaving some riders with plenty of work to do. 

Navigating the final turn, EF riders continued to lead, but it was Daryl Impey (Israel-Premier Tech) who came from behind, launching a long range sprint for the race win. The South African just had the power to hang onto the lead as well, with Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) motoring behind him. However, the Australian finished half a wheel behind - unfortunately for him, he didn't start his sprint early enough. 

After a scare up the Sattel climb, Stevie Williams retains the lead on GC, with Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal) still just six seconds behind him ahead of the more difficult upcoming stages. 

RESULTS

TOUR DE SUISSE, STAGE FOUR: GRENCHEN TO BRUNNEN (190.8KM)

1. Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel-Premier Tech, in 4-14-09
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco, at same time
3. Søren Kragh Andersen (Nor) Team DSM
4. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost
5. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
6. Alex Aranburu () Movistar
7. Felix Großschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
8. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
9. Mathieu Burgaudeau (Fra) TotalEnergies
10. Stefan Küng(Swi) Groupama-FDJ, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE FOUR

1. Stephen Williams (GBr) Bahrain Victorious, in 17-46-28
2. Andreas Kron (Nor) Lotto Soudal, at 6s
3. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
4. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM, at same time
5. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama FDJ, at 10s
6. Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo Visma
7. Marc Hirschi (Sui) UAE Team Emirates
8. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe
10. Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, all at same time

The Tour de Suisse is not a sprinter-friendly race. Mark Cavendish, he of 160 career wins, has only ever won three at the Swiss event. André Greipel, who has 158 victories to his name, never won once. Peter Sagan has won 18.

The 18th, won on stage three of this year's Tour de Suisse, was one of his most impressive. The TotalEnergies rider, on just his 18th race day of an interrupted 2022 season, went incredibly early, charging to the line. It was like he would not allow anyone else to win this one, it was his. Others looked faster, especially Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) who was coming quickly behind his right shoulder, but Sagan willed the line to come quickly, ground his biggest gear, forced himself to first place.

He was clearly in the mood for success; his TotalEnergies team had been visible near the front of the race all day, controlling the break, pulling it back well in time of the line. They were confident that their Slovakian talisman had it within him to win in Grenchen, and must be delighted that he did.

A victory for Peter Sagan did not use to be noteworthy. He won three world championships back to back; he has 120 career victories; he holds the record for green jerseys at the Tour de France - seven.

However, he has just seven wins since the pandemic began. Notice the "just" there, this is only relative to the amount of winning that the puncheur used to do. He won four times last year, including a stage of the Giro d'Italia, but looked far from his rampaging best. No one wrote him off, but there was a sense that at just 32 he might be in the twilight of his career.

That might still be the case, but he can still bend a race to his will; do not be surprised if he wins or challenges once again at the Tour de France. He has 12 stage wins at that race, but even more remarkable is his 22 second places, and his 13 third places.

Speaking in November 2021, Sagan said: "I start with cycling, and I'm good at this, and I have time. When I decide I want to stop, I want to stop and never come back. But I'm still going. I am still young, right?"

The Slovakian tested positive for Covid a second time earlier this year, and missed the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix through illness. He rode Unbound last month, as he looked to regain his fitness.

“It’s hard to get back in a racing mood after my sickness and three months without racing, I  just needed some time," he said post-race.

"It’s just a stage win. I’m happy for that and happy for the team. They all did a great job pulling with another team all day. In the end I just made it."  

To someone with such success, it might "just" feel like a stage win, but it means more than that, his first win in nine months.

Asked if it is nice to return to winning, Sagan concluded: "Well, it’s nice to be back."

Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) launched an early sprint on stage three of the Tour de Suisse to take his first victory in nine months. 

Heading into the final kilometre, the Slovakian had worked his way into prime position a couple of riders behind the front of the race. Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) started leading his teammate Alexander Kristoff to the line, but Sagan started his sprint early and managed to hold on to the race win with his superior power in the closing stages. 

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) tried his best to follow the TotalEnergies rider, but just didn't have the strength to close the gap to Sagan as he crossed the line in fourth place. Kristoff came third, while Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) stole second place on the line. Both Kristoff and Pidcock congratulated Sagan for winning the race immediately post-stage, his first at the team. 

Meanwhile, Stephen Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) remains in control of the Tour de Suisse leader's jersey after stage three. The Welshman's lead on GC is at six seconds over Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal). 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Bahrain-Victorious rider Stephen Williams entered the third day of the Tour de Suisse wearing the leader's jersey, and told Cycling Weekly before the race that every day he manages to hold onto it is "a bonus", after his stage win on the first day. 

The Welshman needed to contend with a punchy stage from Aesch to Grenchen, covering just under 180km with the rest of the peloton in the Jura hills. 

The first attack of the day came from Mathias Reutimann (Switzerland), Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) and Manuele Boaro (Astana Qazaqstan). Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal) and Joey Rosskopf (Human Powered Health) soon joined the leaders up front, but the peloton initially worked hard to keep the gap below a minute. 

Bahrain-Victorious, TotalEnergies and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux all put the effort in, with a potential sprint finish available at the end of the race if they are in the optimal position. However, the distance between the break and bunch soon opened up, with three minutes soon the time gap. 

Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën) tried bridging across, but he found himself in no-man's land as he eventually had to concede defeat on his solo effort and drop back to the peloton. Meanwhile, a crash by Kamil Małecki (Lotto Soudal) saw him abandon the race.

Quinn Simmons extended his mountains classification lead by summiting the Côte au Bouvier first, the first of four classified climbs in the day. By this point, though, the peloton had brought the gap down to 2-30 as the race intensified somewhat. Predictably, Simmons picked up a further six mountain points at Bellelay, as the young American extended his virtual lead over three riders to 21 points. 

With 50km remaining, the time gap stood at 1-50 as the peloton continued to eat into the leaders out front. Multiple bike changes for Marc Hirshi (UAE Team Emirates) also ensued at this point, as he expended extra energy on a stage that he might well have fancied a win on. 

Out front, Bissegger attacked to try and up the pace. Simmons quickly joined him, with Gilbert and Rosskopf making the move to the front as well. However, Boaro and Reutimann were both dropped, eventually making their way back into the peloton. Simmons took more KOM points up Vauffelin, but, by this point, the peloton continued to reduce the time gap. With 33km to go, they managed to come within a minute of the front riders. 

At this point, Bissegger attacked again, which ultimately worked to build up a gap. The Swiss rider livened up the tempo at his home race, leaving the other three riders behind and creating more than a minute gap to the peloton. He continued to attack each corner on the limit, utilising every millimetre of road available to him on the tight corners.

Heading up the final categorised climb of the day with 16km remaining, up Lommiswil, Bissegger's lead stood at just 25 seconds. He was soon caught with just over 11km in the race, which provided a largely flat run to the line in Grenchen. As soon as this happened, an attack by Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) secured the bonus seconds at Bellach.

UAE Team Emirates then took over at the front of the pack, with Team DSM soon taking over the mantle. Battles started in the final 5km, with each team's lead out attempting to get in the best position to launch their respective sprinters for the finale. 

However, a crash involving eight riders reduced the peloton at the front, with Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) one of the riders caught out with just 4.3km left, damaging his GC hopes, as he ended up losing 53 seconds to the bunch.

Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) had worked his way into prime position in the final kilometre, sitting five bikes back from the front. From there, he proved unstoppable. 

Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) started leading his teammate Alexander Kristoff to the line, but an early launch by Sagan left Kristoff with work to do. The Norwegian couldn't get his sprint working as he would've liked from there, as Sagan managed to win the race by a bike's length. In fact, Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) also overtook Kristoff, just hanging onto Sagan's back wheel in the closing stages to take second place.

Tom Pidcock crossed the line fourth, just missing out on a podium position. Fellow Briton Stephen Williams continues to lead the Tour de Suisse on GC, though, his lead growing to six seconds over Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal). 

RESULTS

TOUR DE SUISSE, STAGE THREE: AESCH TO GRENCHEN (176.9KM)

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) TotalEnergies, in 4-28-38
2. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis
3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
4. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
5. Alex Aranburu (Spa) Movistar
6. Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
7. Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
8. Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
9. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
10. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE THREE

1. Stephen Williams (GBr) Bahrain Victorious, in 13-32-19
2. Andreas Kron (Nor) Lotto Soudal, at 6s
3. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM, at 7s
4. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at same time
5. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama FDJ, at 10s
6. Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo Visma
7. Marc Hirschi (Sui) UAE Team Emirates
8. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe
9. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, all at same time

Welshman Stephen Williams has said every day he can hold onto the lead at the tour de Suisse is "a bonus" after his stage win on day one.

The 26-year-old took an impressive stage win as he outsprinted the likes of Bora-Hansgrohe’s Max Schachmann and backed it up by retaining the jersey on stage two.

On his hopes for the rest of the week-long race, Williams feels that anything else that comes will be an added luxury. “Anything else this week for me personally is a bonus, I’ll continue each day now and see how it goes," he told Cycling Weekly. 

"We’ve come here with Gino (Mäder) for the overall classification which is 100% what we’re going to stick to. In terms of myself and this jersey we’ll take each day as it comes” he said.

The Welshman has long been considered one of Britain's strongest up and coming climbers but spent the early years of his career hampered by a serious knee injury. He announced his return to form when he took a stage win at the Cro Race 2021, beating Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) in the process. 

However, backing this early promise up with a first World Tour stage win and then retaining the leader's jersey the next day is a step up for Williams. 

“It feels like a bit of weights been lifted off my shoulders and it’s been a long time coming,” said Williams “then at the end of last season to go to Croatia and win I almost felt like I needed to go and win again you know how it is, to back that up.” 

“To go and do it at this level and show what I’m capable of is even more special for me” he added. 

Wearing the leader’s jersey at any World Tour race is a prestigious moment for any rider. “It’s amazing, last night I was full of emotion. After the stage yesterday it hadn’t really sunk in. I got back to my hotel room and phoned my parents and friends, that’s when it really hit me to be honest. I’m over the moon to still hold the jersey.” Williams adds. 

“I’ll just continue to enjoy it and wear the jersey with pride as things like this don’t come around very often. I’ll appreciate every moment I’m in it for now.” 

Thirty seconds after Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) had soloed to victory on stage two of the Tour de Suisse, the peloton charged towards the line. No one had told Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) that the day had already been claimed by the Norwegian.

The Italian out-sprinted what was left of the fast men in the peloton, not insignificantly beating Michael Matthews (Team BikeExhange-Jayco), Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates). He punched the air in delight, thinking that he had clinched his fourth ever professional win; his first since the Giro d'Italia last year

However, Leknessund had already claimed the moment of glory, celebrating in the sun alone, and so Bettiol's cheer was erroneous. He was soon over his mistake, as silly as it looked on the cameras, and was seen joking around with Trentin after the stage, as the UAE rider attempted to get him to celebrate again for the waiting cameras. He was smiling by the time he was interviewed on television.

"I beat my Italian friend so I was still happy," Bettiol explained after. "I don’t know what happened – as you can see, my radio is off – and now my friends will all be joking with me today and tomorrow."

It is not the first time that such an event has happened. It brought to mind Annemiek van Vleuten's silver medal in the road race at the Tokyo Olympics last year, when the Dutchwoman celebrated, not knowing Anna Kiesenhofer had already won gold.

Last week, Wout van Aert did the opposite, celebrating too early, which partly gifted victory to David Gaudu on stage three of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

"It was a really tough stage, and we almost won," Bettiol continued. "Jonas was in the front. Yesterday he wasn’t feeling good but today he showed that he was. I had all the team around me in the final and I think after the bad performance from yesterday, we are back on track."

It has not been an easy 2022 for the former Tour of Flanders winner. His result on Monday was his joint-best result all year, as he has been a casualty of illness, which has been such a problem for the peloton this year.

"I just started my approach to the Tour de France, my big appointment of the year," Bettiol said. "I didn’t race much in the first part of the year because I had some health problems with COVID and stuff, but I’m really, really happy. I’ve just started and I think I will improve a lot during the Tour de Suisse. This year it’s really tough and I think that’s good for me."

He will hope he is actually in first place the next time he celebrates crossing the line, and his form in this sprint suggests this could happen sooner rather than later.

Stephen Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) took his first WorldTour victory at stage one of the Tour de Suisse, storming up the outside line in a fast paced sprint against a host of general classification contenders.

The enormity of the win took time to process, for the 26-year-old from Aberystwyth (Wales). 

"I don't think it's sunk in yet, to be honest," he said, once he'd had time to collect his thoughts. "It's been a strange few years - to come here and win a stage, I am over the moon."

"It's my first big race back since Romandie, so it's been a good month training," he added, saying: "I was unsure where my form was...but I knew I'd done the work before this. To win the first stage, in a group like that, is really special."

So far this year, at WorldTour level, Williams' strongest result was 77th on stage one of the Tour of Romandie. He had surgery on his knee in 2020, and placed 43rd on the GC at the 2021 Tour de Suisse - his best stage placing being 25th.

A seven strong break was allowed to escape early into the 177 kilometre race, starting and finishing in Küsnacht. Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) used every available opportunity to gain points in the King of the Mountains competition before the break was swept up with 6km left to race. 

On the final climb, a gaggle of general classification contenders made themselves known, with a selection coming to the fore, including the likes of Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team), Jakob Fuglsang (Isreal PremierTech) and Adam Yates (Ineos).

Though Evenepoel looked to have a small gap with 2km to go, the group was intact at the 1km mark. With the pace ramping up ahead of the line, it was Williams who was able to ride up the outside of the bunch to storm to victory - ahead of Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Andreas Kron (Lotto-Soudal).

How the race unfolded 

The Tour de Suisse opened with a circuit race, starting and finishing in Küsnacht; the 177 kilometre parcours was made up of four 45.7km laps, the repeating features being climbs of the Pfannenstiel and Küsnachter Berg - with intermediate sprints at Mönchaltorferstrasse.

Attacks began from the flag drop, and eventually, a seven strong group was able to clear the peloton. Whilst the bunch initially aimed to close this down, eventually, the distance was allowed to accumulate between the two groups.

The seven rider break consisted of Casper Pedersen (DSM), Davide Villella (Cofidis), Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma), Chad Haga (Human Powered Health), Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Simon Vitzthum (Swiss Cycling) and Johan Jacobs (Movistar Team) with Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal) chasing in no man's land - and eventually dispatched back to the bunch.

Come the first ascent of the Pfannenstiel - 20km in - the seven leaders had 2 minutes 40 seconds on the bunch, once they reached the climb of the Küsnachter Berg, this had let out to 3-22, then 3-45 by the conclusion of the first lap.

The first of three intermediate sprints came at Mönchaltorferstrasse, with the win going to Simmons, Askey was second followed by Jacobs.

The second ascent of the Pfannenstiel was another opportunity, this time for KOM points, with Jacobs crossing the line first, ahead of Simmons and Vitzthum.

Askey briefly found himself adrift of the break, dropping ahead of the second KOM sprint, on the Küsnachter Berg, with the honours there going to Simmonds. However, this time, he was able to find strength in his reserves and time trial his way back to the leaders.

Another intermediate sprint at Mönchaltorferstrasse provided a further opportunity for Simmons to shine, though he wasn't allowed to win every opportunity for bonus seconds - at the third KOM climb on the Pfannenstiel, his winning streak was usurped by National rider Vitzthum.

With 51km to go, the gap had reduced - to 1-20, and Askey was once again distanced on the Küsnachter Berg - this time remaining so and drifting back to the bunch. At the summit, Simmons raced Vitzthum for the KOM points, the American leading across the line.

The bunch began to coordinate towards the end of the third lap, and with 46km to go, the gap was down to 57s, increasing to 1-09 at 40km to go - but still unlikely to hold until the finale. Simmons, clearly motived to mop up every bonus available, took the final intermediate sprint at Mönchaltorferstrass.

Come 25km to go, the break of six had 40s advantage, the seconds quickly coming down to 29s at 22.1km, when Jacobs and Teunissen dropped from the break - decreasing their number to four.

Evidently, Simmons and Vitzthum still had strength left in their legs, doing battle for the final KOM on the Pfannenstiel - eventually won by the American rider. Not far behind, the slopes proved too much for Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) and Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux) - who both dropped from the peloton.

With less than 10km to go, Vitzthum attacked the break - leaving Simmons to drift back to the bunch, content to have secured the climber's jersey for the day. Villella then Haga also dropped; come 8km left, just the Swiss national rider and Pedersen were out front alone, Vitzthum attacking again to distance Pederson before the final remaining escapee was swept up with 6km remaining. 

UAE's Alessandro Covi put in a dig, gaining a gap but only to be caught, before  Groupama–FDJ's Stefan Küng upped the pace - giving way for a GC battle as Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team), Jakob Fuglsang (Isreal Premier Tech) and Adam Yates (Ineos) came to the fore. 

The injection of pace created a gap for a strong selection group, including Fuglsang, Evenepoel and Yates, with a further group of six between them and the bunch.

With 2km to go, Evenepoel and Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) had a small advantage over the rest of the leading group - but this didn't hold. The group was together with 1km to go, with the fight for a sprint win ramping up with 400km left. 

It was Stephen Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) who moved up on the outside, storming to his first WorldTour victory, in front of Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Andreas Kron (Lotto-Soudal).

Results

Tour de Suisse, stage one: Küsnacht to Küsnacht (177km)

1 Stephen Williams (GBR) Bahrain Victorious in 4-16-51
2 Maximilian Schachmann (GER) BORA-hansgrohe
3 Andreas Kron (DEN) Lotto Soudal
4 Marc Hirschi (SUI) UAE Team Emirates
5 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Qazaqstan Team
6 Ilan Van Wilder (BEL) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
7 Stefan Küng (SUI) Groupama-FDJ
8 Sergio Higuita (COL) Bora-hansgrohe
9 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
10 Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, all at same time

General Classification after Tour de Suisse, stage one

1 Stephen Williams (GBR) Bahrain Victorious in 4-16-51
2 Maximilian Schachmann (GER) BORA-hansgrohe, at 4s
3 Andreas Kron (DEN) Lotto Soudal, at 6s
4 Marc Hirschi (SUI) UAE Team Emirates, at 10s
5 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Qazaqstan Team
6 Ilan Van Wilder (BEL) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
7 Stefan Küng (SUI) Groupama-FDJ
8 Sergio Higuita (COL) Bora-hansgrohe
9 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
10 Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, all at same time

Richard Carapaz looks in top form heading into the Tour de France

Richard Carapaz showed he is in very good form as he prepares for his main objectives of the year, the Tour de France and the Olympic Games road race, having taken a stage and the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse 2021.

Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) used his team well on the flatter lands with the British super-team looking after the Ecuadorian, but he was left a bit isolated in the highest mountains, with only Irishman Eddie Dunbar left to look after him.

The Ineos leader was most impressive on stage five where he took his stage win. To attack with such force and speed to immediately distance his rivals and bridge across to the leader on the road, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech), was impressive, but then to win the sprint a couple of kilometres later was outstanding.

Everyone should fear Mathieu van der Poel in France this summer

It was almost as if Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) had never stepped off his road bike to race mountain bike after taking two stage wins in emphatic style at the Tour de Suisse.

>>> Ineos 'confident' ahead of Tour de France after Carapaz seals team's fifth 2021 stage race win at Tour de Suisse

Van der Poel says that he is only looking for a stage win in his debut Grand Tour at the Tour de France, but many are tipping him as one of the big favourites for the green jersey if he decides to stay for the entire three weeks.

But it seems unlikely that the Dutch champion will be at the Tour for the duration as he also targets the mountain bike cross country gold medal at the Olympics in Tokyo.

The Swiss put on a good show on home turf 

Switzerland has been searching for a new talismanic figure since Fabian Cancellara retired a few years ago, but they seem to be getting four all at once.

Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo) showed he can use his immense power on the road bike as well as the time trial bike after taking his second career win from the break on stage four of the Tour de Suisse.

This was after finishing second behind European time trial champion, and fellow countryman, Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) in the opening time trial. Bissegger also took the time trial at Paris-Nice, denying Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) and Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) that day.

As well as Bissegger, Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious) and Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) are also looking like fine talents, while Hirschi doesn't look near his 2020 form, Mäder has been superb, second on a Paris-Nice stage before winning at the Giro d'Italia and then victorious on the final stage on home roads.

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Marc Soler continues to miss the mark

At the start of the 2021 season, expectations for the Spanish climber weren't exactly sky high. But he did show a brief flash of brilliance at the Tour de Romandie where he took a stage and the overall lead for a day.

He was also looking strong at the Giro d'Italia before crashing out with a clumsy fall at the back of the peloton at the start of the second week.

So, he came into the Tour de Suisse as someone who was rather under the radar, although did get his team to set him up for the first major mountains stage, taking bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint too, but when it came to the climb he was nowhere to be seen and finished over 20 minutes down.

Soler, who has won Paris-Nice in the past, is one of the main focuses in his team's Netflix documentary series where he isn't always shown in a great light. You can imagine that season three won't be getting any more positive.

Tom Dumoulin returns to racing

Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) opened his 2021 season at the Tour de Suisse after taking a break from the sport.

Fortunately, the 2017 Giro d'Italia winner decided that cycling is where he wanted to be and returned to his team of Jumbo-Visma.

His first race was his bread and butter - a time trial. Although it was his first race since the Tour de France in 2020, Dumoulin looked good and managed a very respectable 16th place, beating the likes of Bob Jungels (Ag2r-Citroën).

He then mostly stayed around the top 30 to 50 riders until the penultimate stage that was the second time trial of the race. And also one that suited him very well. The Dutchman managed an exceptional fifth place on the day beating some of the best riders in the world. 

He finished 40th in the overall standings and all signs are very promising that he can get back to where he once was.

Richard Carapaz recorded Ineos' fifth WorldTour stage race victory of the season after claiming the overall at the Tour de Suisse 2021, underlying his and the team's confidence ahead of the Tour de France and the Olympics.

Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) took the overall title by 17 seconds over Colombian Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) with Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech) third.

"It’s a really beautiful victory, we’ve worked really hard for it, we’ve been in great form, we’ve been testing ourselves to see where we’re all at, and to win here in Switzerland it gives me a lot of confidence and the team as well," Carapaz said after the race. "It’s a beautiful race, and to win it makes it all the better, and to have this title on my palmarès is something really special, I’m really happy."

Uran tried multiple attacks on the cobbled final climb of the Gottardpass but Carapaz stuck to his wheel along with Dunbar. In the end, the stage win was contested between Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious) with Mäder adding a Tour de Suisse stage win to his Giro stage victory.

>>> Mark Cavendish coy on Tour de France inclusion after Belgium Tour stage win

"At the start of the day we didn’t have many seconds ahead of Rigo [Uran], but I knew that I was feeling good and that the team is going really well, I have a lot of trust in them and them in me, and we knew that they were going to attack, but in the end, I had Eddie [Dunbar] with me and he was responding to all the attacks, and I was feeling good so I knew I could be there with them. When Rigo attacked I was there, and during the final, it was really important to have a team-mate with me, it makes you feel stronger and it was great to arrive at the line together.

"It’s been great having the team around me, how strong they’ve all been, in the end, we had the situation under control right from the start, and in the end, we had a good day together."

Ineos had been strong throughout the race, chasing down early attacks from riders such as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) in the opening stages.

It was important for Carapaz to have riders like Rohan Dennis and Luke Rowe around him on the flatter sections of the race, but it was mostly left down to Dunbar to look after the 2019 Giro d'Italia winner in the mountains as riders like Pavel Sivakov looked to still be returning to form after he had crashed out of this year's Italian Grand Tour in the first week.

Carapaz will now be setting his sights firmly on his next two objectives, which are the Tour de France and the road race at this summer's Olympic Games. The Ecuadorian previously told Cycling Weekly he would be one of the leaders of Ineos at the Tour at the start of the year.

"It’s good to come here, we’ve been working hard since last year and it’s great to get this result. It’s been one of my main objectives, so to come away with the win gives me confidence and the team as well ahead of the rest of the summer," he said.

Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz resisted all attempts to dislodge to win the Tour de Suisse overall on Sunday. The Ineos Grenadiers rider was left with only one team mate three kilometres before the top of the final climb, but fought off his challengers to take the win, 17 seconds ahead of Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo).

Irishman Eddie Dunbar played a large part in Carapaz’s defence, chasing down attacks, and keeping the pace high enough to ensure any attacks were blunted.

The 160k stage was exciting from gun to line, with home rider Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious) coming out on top. On the descent from the final climb the 24-year-old bridged to solo leader Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation), the pair working well into the final 300m.

Woods opened his sprint 200m out, but as cobbles turned to tarmac the Swiss was able to come over the top. Woods took second place, nine seconds ahead of third placed Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck-Quick-Step).

With the general classification so tight ahead of Sunday’s final stage, there was jeopardy right to line, especially with Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech) fighting hard to win a place on the podium.

The day was aggressive throughout, and such was the persistence of the attacking his Ineos Grenadiers team only gained control in the valley after the day’s second climb.

The king of the mountains was a fantastic subtext, and saw the classifications’ chief protagonists fighting to get into the day’s breakaway, then fighting for the points. The winner of that competition though came from the GC group, Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) winning the points on the last climb.

How it happened

For the third stage in succession the Tour de Suisse based itself in the Alpine town of Andermatt, more than 1400m above sea level.

Sunday’s race was a combination of Friday’s sixth stage and Saturday’s mountain time trial, with both routes added together and ridden in the opposite direction. This made for a particularly tough day, with Oberalppass, Lukmanierpass and the Gotthardpass combing for a total of 3,560 metres of ascent.

After that final climb, bridging the border between Italian and Swiss speaking Switzerland, there was then the 16km descent back to where they started in Andermatt, the line situated by the Aurora Hotel, once the site of a petrol station visited by James Bond in the 1964 film, Goldfinger.

Uphill from the start attacks began the moment the flag dropped, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) getting away while chaos reigned behind him, other teams desperate to close him down.

Over the top of the Oberalppass, with 12km done, Poels had a lead of around 20 seconds, but Poels was caught by five chasers on the descent. Now with Marc Soler (Movistar) Omar Fraile (Astana-Premier Tech), Fabien Doubey (Total Direct Energie) Dries Devenyns (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) and Søren Kragh Andersen (DSM) Poels’s group were not allowed too much space, with three chasers only 15 seconds back when they reached the bottom.

The road began to climb almost as soon as they reached the valley, and the leaders were joined by Swiss champion Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and two DSM riders, Tiesj Benoot and Andreas Leknessund, making for a group of nine riders.

However, behind, after 37km and the briefest of respites, more attacks came from the peloton and those who had just managed to get back on drifted backwards again as the bunch began to shatter on the climb to Lukmanierpass. 

All looking for mountains points, Sergio Samitier (Movistar), David de la Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) and overnight king of the mountains Antonio Nibali (Trek-Segafredo), were first to bridge to the leaders.

Hermann Persteiner (Bahrain Victorious), Nans Peters (Ag2R Citröen), Mauri Vansevenant (Deceuninck-Quick-step) also got across, and a group of 15 fought for the mountains points on Lukmanier, as the peloton allowed the gap to grow.

The gap was never more than 2-30, but when another small group of chasers was caught inside the final 70km the race finally settled. With the peloton re-formed and leaders reunited with their domestiques, Quebeka-Assos, Jumbo-Visma, Bora-Hansgrohe and Israel Start-Up Nation leading the peloton.

As the final climb approached cohesion in the breakaway began to falter, leaving only Devenyns, Pernsteiner, Peters, Leknessund and his DSM team-mate Benoot at the front.

As they reached the cobbles of the Tremola climb of the Gotthardpass only Benoot and Pernsteiner remained, while Carapaz’s team led the bunch only 30 seconds back. 

The Austrian made an attempt to stay away, but was only delaying the inevitable and was caught when the attacks began three kilometres before the top of the climb, when Neilson Powless (EF Education-Nippo).

The American’s team leader Urán began the day only 17 seconds behind Carapaz and himself attacked shortly afterwards, dropping Carapaz’s only domestique, Eddie Dunbar. However, Urán was unable to shake his rival and a group of nine formed. 

Israel Start-Up Nation’s Mike Woods took a 20 second lead over the top of the climb, and on the  15km descent to the line was joined by Gino Mäder (Bahrain-Victorious) the pair going on to fight for the win. 

Results

Tour de Suisse 2021, stage eight: Andermatt - Andermatt (160km)

1. Gino Mäder (Swi) Bahrain Victorious, in 4-06-25
2. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-up Nation, at same time
3. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-Quick-Step, at 9 seconds
4. Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers
5. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers
6. Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
7. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo
8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
9. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech, all at same time
10. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 21s

General classification after stage eight

1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, in 24-44-01
2. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo, at 17s
3. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech, at 1-15
4. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 1-19
5. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-up Nation, at 2-55
6. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos, at 3-16
7. Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates, at 3-43
8. Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 4-16
9. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-Quick-Step, at 4-39
10. Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Team BikeExchange, at 5-33

Rigoberto Urán won his first time trial in more than six years, with the Colombian devastating the Tour de Suisse competition with a rapid time on stage seven.

The EF Education – Nippo rider was a huge 40 seconds faster than nearest challenger Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) in the 23.2km mountainous time trial. 

Not since the 2015 Colombian nationals has Urán, now 34, won a time trial, but he showed his form just a fortnight out from the Tour de France to move into second overall on GC with just one stage remaining.

Stage five victor Richard Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers was fourth fastest and he remained in the lead ahead of the decisive final day.

Although he increased his advantage to Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech), who was second on GC going into the stage, by almost a minute, Carapaz’s 26 second lead was whittled down to just 17 seconds thanks to Urán’s impressive effort.

Elsewhere, Tom Dumoulin was just two seconds off a podium spot on his continued return to racing, the Jumbo-Visma man settling for fifth with the same time as Carapaz, the duo two seconds slower than Bahrain-Victorious’ Gino Mäder who claimed third-place.

How it happened

The mountainous time trial was as simple in design as it was risky in reality, with riders starting in the valley at 1,400m of elevation before climbing 9.5km to 2,046m. They then had an 11km descent into Andermatt. 

Riders chose different set-ups for the race, some on road bikes, others on time trial-specific machines. Disc wheels or deep rims were also dependent on a rider’s preference.

From the moment he set off, Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM) looked fast, powerful and intent on proving competitive, reaching the summit of Overalp Pass in a time of 26:49, the quickest in the race up to that point by some 34 seconds.

On the descent, the Dane touched speeds approaching 100kmh as he favoured a risky approach in order to improve his time. He finished with a time of 37:06.

The next rider to impress was Dumoulin who posted a time six seconds faster than Andersen at the top of the climb, and then finished with a new fastest time of 36:58. Just a minute later, however, Mader beat him by two seconds.

New best times were being reset almost every few minutes at the climb’s summit, with Domenico Pozzovivo of Qhubeka Assos going six seconds faster than Mader but not descending fast enough to maintain his lead, eventually finishing seventh.

Urán was the first and only rider to go sub-26 minutes up the climb, Alaphilippe threatening to as well, but ultimately 12 seconds shy of Uran with a time of 26:11.

Urán maintained his advantage on the downhill and recorded a blistering time of 36:02, with Alaphilippe coming home 40 seconds in arrears but still posting the second quickest time.

Carapaz was the eighth fastest up the mountain, but Fugslang was way down in 20th position, the Dane unable to mount a comeback on the descent neither, finishing with the 15th fastest time, 103 seconds off Uran’s effort. He slipped to fifth on GC.

Carapaz descended quickly and impressively finished in fourth place with a time of 36:56. The 2019 Giro d’Italia winner, who hasn’t won a stage race since his Grand Tour victory, will be confident of sealing the victory on Sunday.

Result: Tour de Suisse, stage seven: Disentis Sedrun > Andermatt (23.2km)

1. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo in 36.02
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceunink-Quick Step at 40 seconds
3. Gino Mäder (Sui) Bahrain-Victorious at 54s
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers at same time
5. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 56s
6. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-Quick Step at 58s
7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Qhubeka Assos at 1:00
8. Rui Costa (Por) UAE-Team Emirates at same time
9. Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM at 1:04
10. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ at 1:05

General classification after stage seven

1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers in 20:37.27
2. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo at 17s
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-Quick Step at 39s
4. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Bora-hansgrohe at 1.07
5. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech at 1.15
6. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation at 3.10
7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Qhubeka-Assos at 3.16
8. Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 3.39
9. Rui Costa (Por) UAE-Team Emirates at 3.43
10. Esteban Chaves (Col) BikeExchange at 4.29

Rui Costa crossed the line first but Andreas Kron protested on stage six of the Tour de Suisse 2021 after Costa moved dramatically in his sprint, the stage eventually being awarded to Kron.

Costa (UAE Team Emirates) was relegated to second place after deviating into the path of Kron (Lotto-Soudal) with the young Dane handed the win following a decision from the race jury. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) kept the overall lead over Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech) after finishing safely in the main bunch.

The pace was incredibly fast throughout the day with four riders making the early break, but the presence of birthday boy, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), who sits at under a minute in GC, was just too dangerous.

A huge group followed and they rode all the way to the finish hitting each other with multiple attacks on the final two climbs.

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How it happened

The sixth stage of the 2021 Tour de Suisse started in the town of Fiesch before tackling three mountain passes on the 130.1km course with the finish in Disentis Sedrun. The race was ridden at a leg-breaking pace for the entire day with four riders getting clear early on.

Those four riders were Julian Alaphilippe, Mattia Cattaneo (both Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Marc Soler (Movistar), and Antonio Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) but the pace behind was rapid, with a new break of over 40 riders swallowing that up at the end of the descent of the first climb, the Gotthardpass.

On the second of the three climbs, David De La Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) went out solo after the group continuously hit each other with attacks. The Spaniard made it away and went over the top on his own.

The peloton was being controlled well by Ineos Grenadiers as they kept the gap at around three minutes to the leaders.

On the final climb, De La Cruz began to fade and riders started to bridge across to him in the final 7km. Team-mate of his, Ruis Costa (UAE Team Emirates) followed a move by Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain Victorious), giving UAE Team Emirates the advantage.

But, De La Cruz went pop moments later. Andreas Kron (Lotto-Soudal), one of the overall best-placed riders in the break at just over six minutes down, made his way across to the leaders with 5km to go.

Pernsteiner tried a kick into the final 2km knowing the two riders he was with were faster than him in a sprint, but he could not get away. The five chasers, Neilson Powless (EF-Nippo), Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar), Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma), Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech), and Pierre Latour (Total Direct Energie) continued to launch attacks at each other as they tried to close the 15-second gap to the leaders.

It ended up being a sprint between Costa and Kron with the Portuguese crossing the line first. However, the former world champion deviated dramatically from his line, blocking his rival and was relegated to second place with Kron given the win.

Carapaz keeps his overall lead over Fuglsang with Schachmann in third after Alaphilippe was deducted 20 seconds for an illegal feed on stage five.

Stage seven is an individual time trial up and down the massive Oberalppass starting in Disentis Sedrun and finishing 23.2km later in Andermatt.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2021, stage six: Fiesch to Disentis Sendrun (130.1km)

1. Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto-Soudal, in 3-14-52
2. Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates, at same time
3. Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain Victorious, at 1 second
4. Gonzalo Serrano (Esp) Movistar Team, at 3s
5. Pierre Latour (Fra) Total Direct Energie
6. Hugo Houle (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
7. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo
8. Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma, all at same time
9. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 50s
10. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM, at 1-00

General classification after stage six

1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, in 20-00-31
2. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech, at 26s
3. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 38s
4. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 53s
5. Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo, at 1-11
6. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation, at 1-32
7. Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma, at 2-19
8. Esteban Chaves (Col) Team BikeExchange, at 2-22
9. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka-Assos, at 3-10
10. Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates, at 3-37

Mathieu van der Poel has abandoned the 2021 Tour de Suisse ahead of stage six. 

The Dutchman had already taken back-to-back victories on stages two and three, but has left the race due to a minor cold, his team have confirmed.

Alpecin-Fenix said the 26-year-old had caught a mild illness while racing through some tough weather conditions in Switzerland, with Van der Poel opting to leave the race to recover for his upcoming goals. 

A statement from the team, released ahead of stage six, said: “After the rainfall from the past days, Mathieu van der Poel is suffering from a mild cold.

"While he was looking forward to the next stages, the team’s medical staff decided to pull him out of the Tour de Suisse so as not to compromise his health in light of his next goals.”

Van der Poel, the reigning cyclocross world champion and former Tour of Flanders winner, was using the Tour de Suisse as preparation for his debut in the Tour de France later this month. 

During his first Grand Tour, Van der Poel has set himself the goal of winning a stage in this year’s Tour, before he turns his attention to the Tokyo Olympics where he hopes to compete for a medal on the mountain bike. 

Van der Poel looks to be in stellar form heading into the Tour, as he dominated the first two road stages of the Tour de Suisse.

On stage two, Van der Poel forced a breakaway late in the day and was able to outsprint Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) to take his first victory.

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The following day, Van der Poel took a bunch sprint on another Classics-style day, overpowering Christoph Laporte (Cofidis) and Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) to secure his second win. 

His mountain bike preparation has also looked promising, as he won two short track events in recent mountain bike World Cup rounds, and finished second to Tom Pidcock in the XCO event in Nove Mesto.  

Richard Carapaz took stage five of the Tour de Suisse 2021 along with the overall lead, after bridging to Jakob Fuglsang in the final 4km and outsprinting the Dane at the line. 

Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) left it until the final 5km of the uphill finish stage to kick after multiple riders tried to go clear, chasing down lone leader Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech). 

Fuglsang tried to hold something back to beat Carapaz but the 2019 Giro d'Italia winner had the final kick to get by in the final 25 metres. Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) led the sprint to the line for third place.  

Carapaz now holds the overall lead by 26 seconds over Fuglsang as the race heads into the major mountain stages.

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How it happened 

The fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse started in the finish town of stage four in Gstaad before tackling four climbs over 175.2km to Leukerbad.

It was a very fast start with multiple riders trying to get up the road in the break. Eventually four riders got away including the race leader, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), who was joined by Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain Victorious), Sergio Samitier (Movistar) and Claudio Imhoff (Switzerland) but they did not hold a large gap due to Van der Poel being there.

Ineos Grenadiers, Israel Start-Up Nation, Deceuninck - Quick-Step, Trek-Segafredo and Ag2r-Citroën were all involved with keeping the pace down as the gap was around 1-15 with 40km to go.

Imhoff was dropped a couple of kilometres later due to the start of the second climb of the day. This was the start of the final three kicks after a long ride in the valley floor. 

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In the peloton, as the peloton went over the second climb of the day, Ineos Grenadiers had taken full control of the pacing with 36km to go, just over a minute to the leaders.

Some very awkward road furniture saw the Ineos riders leave the front of the race with Deceuninck - Quick-Step, BikeExchange, Israel Start-Up Nation and Bora-Hansgrohe taking over with 31km to go, the gap being brought down to 35 seconds.

More really horribly laid out roundabouts meant that half of the peloton went the wrong way and had to cut across the grass to get back to the bunch. Meanwhile, Van der Poel dropped back from the break to rejoin the peloton with Pernsteiner and Samitier getting caught with 28km to go.

The bunch then turned onto an airfield for the intermediate sprint, Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) and Marc Soler (Movistar) both taking bonus seconds as they rejoined the road and headed to the penultimate climb of Erschmatt with 25km to go.

Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma) launched a vicious attack gaining an 11 second gap very quickly, leaving Movistar chasing on the front of the peloton at the 24km to go mark. Ineos then took over with Rohan Dennis tapping out the pace.

Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange) was the first main GC name to hit out, as Dennis pulled off with Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) left to chase for his leader with 23km to go. Chaves bridged across to Tolhoek with ease and took up the pacing.

Chaves distanced Tolhoek a kilometre later. The Colombian Chaves pulled out a 24-second lead. The pace from Dunbar in the peloton saw Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) lose touch with 21km to go.

Tolhoek was dragged back with 19km to go. But Chaves had pulled his gap out to 47 seconds as Dunbar’s pacing seemed to be a bit slower than Richard Carapaz wanted, despite the GC group being strung out.

Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech) forced Dunbar out of the way to go onto the attack with 18km to go, Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation), Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo), Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Carapaz, Domenico Pozzovivo (Qhubeka-Assos) all trying to follow, but the Dane kicked on clear.

Chaves went over the top of the climb with Fuglsang cresting the climb 20 seconds later. Tolhoek dragged his leader Sam Oomen (Jumbo-Visma) back to the chasing group along with Dunbar.

On the descent Chaves got a corner all wrong and went up a driveway which brought him to a stop, cutting a huge amount of time off his lead to Fuglsang and the chasing group with 10km to go. Chaves sat up and waited for Fuglsang to work together but the gap to the chase was not that big.

Fuglsang powered away from Chaves with 5.5km to go and pulled out a very good gap of 38 seconds, Woods was the first to kick but he was countered by a massive acceleration from Carapaz. The Ecuadorian flew by Chaves and kicked on after Fuglsang with 4km to go.

Nobody could follow Carapaz as Woods kept trying to get away but he would kick, look around and sit up again. Alaphilippe, Lucas Hamilton (BikeExchange) and Schachmann all got dropped by a big push by Woods. Alaphilippe found some energy with Schachmann to get back onto the main chase group with Chaves getting caught.

Carapaz caught Fuglsang and immediately attacked, but the Dane was able to follow the kick with 2.5km to go, this left Carapaz to do all the pacing.

Hamilton, Woods and Urán attacked the chase group with Schachmann bridging across. Pozzovivo, Alaphilippe and Chaves got back on and they all sat up again as the leaders went under the flamme rouge with a 28-second gap.

Fuglsang kicked with 200 metres to go but Carapaz followed the wheel well before kicking in the final 25 metres to take the stage and the overall lead.

Carapaz leads Fuglsang in the GC by 26 seconds with Alaphilippe dropping to third at 33 seconds behind Carapaz.

The sixth stage is a short day of 130.1km ,taking on three mountains along the way, perhaps another day for Carapaz from Fiesch to Disentis Sedrum.

Tour de Suisse 2021 stage five, Gstaad to Leukerbad (175.2km)

1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, in 4-01-52
2. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech, at the same time
3. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation, at 39s
4. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Team BikeExchange
5. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo
6. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
7. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka-Assos, all at the same time
9. Esteban Chaves (Col) Team BikeExchange, at 49s
10. Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma, at 1-22.

General classification after stage five

1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, in 16-42-50
2. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech, at 26s
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) EF Education-Nippo, at 33s
4. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 38s
5. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-Nippo, at 1-11
6. Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Team BikeExchange, at 1-31
7. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation, at 1-32
8. Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma, at 2-19
9. Esteban Chaves (Col) Team BikeExchange, at 2-22
10. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka-Assos, at 3-10.

Stefan Bissegger was the strongest from a four-man breakaway, winning in a sprint to the line on the airport runway in Gstaad on stage four of the Tour de Suisse 2021, with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) keeping yellow.

Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo) took victory from the break after the climb saw Joel Suter (Switzerland) dropped, leaving Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ) and Joey Rosskopf (Rally) to fill the respective podium spots in the final sprint for the line.

The Swiss rider, Bissegger has only been a professional for six months but he has already won a stage of Paris-Nice and now Tour de Suisse as well.

Van der Poel held on over the day's final climb and avoided any splits in the rain at the finish to keep his one-second advantage over Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) in the general classification.

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How it happened

Stage four of the Tour de Suisse would see the riders tackle 171km between Sankt Urban and Gstaad with a largely flat stage before one categorised climb, Saanenmöser Pass, before a descent to the line.

One break did go clear in the early part of the stage but it was dragged back relatively quickly before four strong riders went clear. They were Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ), Joel Suter (Switzerland), Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo) and Joey Rosskopf (Rally). They achieved a gap of over eight minutes at its peak.

Back in the peloton, several teams seemed keen to chase the break for much of the day until around 30km to go when all the riders on the front of the peloton knocked off their efforts. This allowed the gap to the break, that had come down considerably, stretch out yet again to 7-30 at the base of the climb with 20km to go.

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Rosskopf attacked multiple times on the early slopes of the climb which dropped Suter, whittling it down to three riders. Back in the main bunch, Bahrain-Victorious were the team pacing for their leader Wout Poels bringing the gap inside seven minutes.

Thomas attacked the break just before the top of the climb but he was closed down by Bissegger and Rosskopf. By this point, Suter was properly distanced with 9km to go.

The three riders continued to hammer each other with attacks but all three used their exceptional time trial engines to not let any move go.

It eventually came down to a three-up sprint with Rosskopf leading out. Bissegger kicked hard from second wheel and held off the sprint of Thomas to take his second win as a professional rider.

Behind, the peloton finished at high speed with Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) leading in the bunch. Both Alaphilippe and Van der Poel stayed together in the peloton meaning the latter keeps yellow going into the first major climbing stage of the race.

Stage five of the Tour de Suisse starts in today's finish town of Gstaad and takes on four categorised climbs with one at the start before a pan flat stretch to three climbs and a summit finish on Leukerbad after 175.2km.

Results

Tour de Suisse 2021, stage four: Sankt Urban to Gstaad (171km)

1. Stefan Bissegger (Sui) EF Education-Nippo, in 3-46-21
2. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
3. Joey Rosskopf (USA) Rally Cycling, all at same time
4. Joel Suter (Sui) Switzerland, at 23 seconds
5. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-16
6. Juan Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates
7. Omar Fraile (Esp) Astana-Premier Tech
8. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
9. Fred Wright (GBr) Team Bahrain Victorious
10. Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange, all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Methieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, in 12-40-51
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 1 second
3. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, at 4s
4. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 6s
5. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 13s
6. Iván García (Esp) Movistar Team, at 16s
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, at 17s
8. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo, at 29s
9. Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto-Soudal, at 37s
10. Stefan Bissegger (Sui) EF Education-Nippo, at 38s

Mathieu van der Poel took his second stage win in as many days at the Tour de Suisse 2021 as well as taking the overall lead by just one second over Julian Alaphilippe.

Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) kicked hard with 200 metres to go on stage three, which immediately gapped everyone. Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) put in a very good sprint to take second with Alaphilippe in third.

The Dutch champion, Van der Poel, also goes into the yellow jersey with Alaphilippe staying in second overall with a one second deficit. Former leader, Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) now sits in third at four seconds.

The race was exploded in the final 30km with Van der Poel attacking hard, which then led to Alaphilippe trying a move before various counters hit out. Iván García (Movistar) held on solo for a few kilometres but was caught in the last 800 metres.

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How it happened

The third stage started in the stage two finish town of Lachen before heading over an undulating course of 182.1km and finishing in Pfaffnau.

Much like stage two, the break was made up of four riders. Those riders were Ben King (Rally), Rémy Rochas (Cofidis), local rider Mathias Frank (Ag2r-Citroën) and the most combative rider from the second stage, Claudio Imhoff (Switzerland). They managed a six-minute gap over the peloton.

Groupama-FDJ was the team that controlled the pace for much of the day yet again for their main man, Küng. But they were replaced by Alpecin-Fenix who dramatically upped the pace with 40km to go. All the other GC teams looked to be near the front as well, forcing the pace up.

This saw a couple of crashes but most riders managed to get back in without any major issues. 

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The break got to the bottom of the Rutsch climb, the second and final categorised climb of the day, with 1-23 but as Alpecin-Fenix and Bora-Hansgrohe returned to the front, the gap did start to plummet. Imhoff was the first rider dropped from the breakaway.

Rochas attacked with just over a kilometre to go on the climb, dropping Frank immediately with the Swiss veteran waving to the camera, enjoying the last race of his career. King also lost touch as Rochas kicked on solo with 25km to go, but the gap was inside 40 seconds to the peloton.

Van der Poel went on the attack at that same moment with Alaphilippe, Eddie Dunbar, Richard Carapaz (both Ineos Grenadiers), Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange), Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Omar Fraile (Astana-Premier Tech) but they were brought back.

Alaphilippe then countered that move as he looked to split the group and make it a very selective race. The world champion then used the fast descent to get a bit of a gap with 20km to go. Ineos Grenadiers and Astana-Premier Tech were the teams chasing but Alaphilippe’s team-mates were trying to block the chase.

Rohan Dennis was the man tasked to drag Alaphilippe back, which he did very quickly with 18km to go. Anthony Turgis (Total Direct Energie) attacked with Amund Grøndahl Jansen (BikeExchange) which then saw multiple riders try to bridge the gap.

Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) managed to get in the group that attacked off the front of the peloton and he took the three bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint ahead of Dunbar and Woods with 11km to go. Neilson Powless (EF Education-Nippo) and Marc Soler (Movistar) were in the lead group too but it was all brought back again a kilometre later.

García decided to hit the peloton when the pace dropped to go clear on his own. Behind, there was a delayed reaction but the chase came with multiple teams working to drag him back inside the final 8km.

There were only about 40 riders left in the bunch with Team BikeExchange keen to pull the Spaniard back for their sprinter, Michael Matthews along with Alpecin-Fenix. But the gap was holding at around 15 seconds as García went inside the last 6km.

Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Fenix) and Mauri Vansevenant (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) both did huge turns to pull García back inside the final kilometre.

Vansevenant led out the peloton with Van de Poel kicking first with 200 metres to go, Alaphilippe couldn't follow the acceleration of the Dutchman who powered to a second stage win in as many days.

Laporte managed to sprint to second place ahead of Alaphilippe. Van der Poel goes into the overall lead by one second over Alaphilippe and four over former leader Küng.

Stage four of the race is a bit flatter but does see one medium mountain in the final 20km before descending to the finish. The day starts in Sankt Urban and finishes 171km later in Gstaad.

Tour de Suisse 2021 stage three, Lachen to Pfaffnau (182.1km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, in 4-24-26
2. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
4. Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange
5. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
6. Alex Kamp (Den) Trek-Segafredo
7. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Team DSM
8. Omar Fraile (Esp) Astana-Premier Tech
9. Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
10. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation, all at same time.

General classification after stage three

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, in 8-49-14
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 1 second
3. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, at 4s
4. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 6s
5. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 13s
6. Iván García (Esp) Movistar Team, at 16s
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, at 17s
8. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo, at 29s
9. Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto-Soudal, at 37s
10. Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo, at 39s.

Mathieu van der Poel returned to road racing with a bang at the Tour de Suisse 2021, attacking after the final climb and putting in an explosive sprint to beat Max Schachmann to the line. 

Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) limited his losses on the final climb of the day as the likes of Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) attacked, before then managing to bridge back on and kick on the flat in the final 3km.

The Dutch champion took his fifth win of the season in the pouring rain and lightning after a very attacking stage. The rest of the stage podium was made up of Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious).

Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) held onto the yellow jersey by one second over Alaphilippe.

How it happened

The day started in the town of Neuhausen am Rheinfall before heading over 178km before finishing in Lachen after tackling three punchy climbs.

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A four-man break went away with two Swiss riders and two Canadian riders. Those riders were Claudio Imhoff (Switzerland), Tom Bohli (Cofidis), Matteo Dal-Cin and Nickolas Zukowsky (both Rally).

They held a maximum gap of around seven minutes on the chasing peloton which was led for much of the day by Groupama-FDJ with the Swiss national champion, Küng, in the yellow jersey.

Alpecin-Fenix, Astana-Premier Tech, EF Education-Nippo and Deceuninck - Quick-Step eventually came up to chase with Groupama-FDJ at 60km to go as the weather completely changed after the first climb, with sunny skies turning to heavy rain.

Zukowsky was dropped with 48km to go after getting hit by an intense cramp for a moment. Fortunately for the Rally rider, he did manage to drag himself back after taking a bottle from his team car.

Van der Poel tried to go off the front over the second climb of the day but Küng followed along with Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) and Alaphilippe but the Dutch champion, Van der Poel, was dragged back as the lightning flashed around them.

Meanwhile, in the break, the rain had stopped as Bohli kicked on after taking the KOM points on the second climb with Imhoff hitting the two Rally riders with 35km to go. Imhoff did make it across to Bohli, dropping both Rally riders.

The peloton split on the descent with multiple large groups forming with some riders such as John Degenkolb (Lotto-Soudal) getting caught out. The pace was being kept very high by Alpecin-Fenix and Team BikeExchange with 26km to go, but the gap to the two leaders was still just over two minutes.

Dal-Cin and Zukowsky were caught with 20km to go by the first peloton who continued to hammer the pace along with the gap to Imhoff and Bohli, not losing much time. Imhoff used a bit of a kick in the road to drop Bohli before the final climb as the gap to the peloton dropped inside a minute.

Bohli was caught by the break with 16km to go with BikeExchange continuing the very high pace for their leaders. The rain returned in a big way for the descent towards the final climb of the day. 

Alpecin-Fenix and Ineos Grenadiers both moved up for the start of the final climb as Deceuninck - Quick-Step were the first to really up the pace for Alaphilippe. This immediately brought Imhoff back with 9km to go.

Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) and Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) were the first to really kick but they didn’t get far. Alaphilippe then kicked hard with 7.6km to go, Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), Iván García (Movistar), Schachmann and Woods all stayed with the world champion.

Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech) and Van der Poel both made it across before being dropped again along with García as Woods and Alaphilippe continued to put in attacks. Van der Poel and co. rejoined with Poels and Hirschi both joined too over the top of the climb with 6km to go.

Küng was unable to follow and was in a chasing group that included Esteban Chaves and Michael Matthews (both BikeExchange). 

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Van der Poel then decided to attack himself with 3.3km to go, as Fuglsang tried to follow with Poel staying with the Danish rider. Schachmann was the next man to kick hard to bridge too, this dropped the rest inside the last 3km.

Carapaz was the next to kick out of the chasing group. Schachmann managed to bridge to Van der Poel and sat on the Dutch champion’s wheel before taking a turn with 1.3km to go. The two-time winner of Paris-Nice, Schachmann led under the flamme rouge with Van der Poel sat on his wheel.

The two leaders started to look at each other which meant that Poel and the rest almost caught up, but Schachmann decided to try an early move with 500 metres to go.

Van der Poel responded quickly and kicked around the German with his trademark vicious acceleration to take the stage and even put a one-second gap into Schachmann. 

In the end, the leader's jersey stayed with Küng by just one second over Alaphilippe, the Swiss road race champion will be hoping he can hang onto yellow after stage three, which should suit him more with a 182.1km stage from Lachen to Pfaffnau.

The stage is down as a sprinters day and it could well be just that but some tricky short climbs in the final third of the day may cause some issues for the fast men.

Tour de Suisse stage two, Neuhausen am Rheinfall to Lachen (178km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, in 4-12-30
2. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 1 second
3. Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious, at 3s
4. Iván García (Esp) Movistar Team, at 4s
5. Marc Hirschi (Sui) UAE Team Emirates
6. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers
7. Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation
8. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step
9. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana-Premier Tech, all at same time
10. Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto-Soudal, at 9s.

General classification after stage two

1. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, in 4-24-52
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 1 second
3. Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 2s
4. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, at 6s
5. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 12s
6. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, at 13s
7. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo, at 25s
8. Gino Mäder (Sui) Bahrain Victorious, at 30s
9. Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto-Soudal, at 33s
10. Gonzalo Serrano (Esp) Movistar Team, at 34s.