Richie Porte wins Tour de Suisse overall as Stefan Küng takes final time trial
Porte seals the overall win as Nairo Quintana drops to third
Richie Porte (BMC Racing) sealed overall victory at the 2018 Tour de Suisse after the final stage time trial, as his team-mate Stefan Küng took stage victory.
Küng was the only rider on the day to clock a time of less than 40 minutes over the 34.1km course, with the Swiss time trial champion finishing 19 seconds ahead of second place Søren Kragh Andersen (Sunweb).
In the overall, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was unable to make any gains on the 17 second gap to race leader Richie Porte, losing 55 seconds to the Australian on the day and dropping down to third overall.
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) made the biggest gains on the day, jumping from sixth on GC to second after a strong ride to finish eighth on the stage.
How it happened
After eight tough stages this week in the final WorldTour stage race before the Tour de France, the riders of the Tour de Suisse faced one last test with a fairly flat 34.1km time trial.
With a stage win up for grabs for the time trial specialists and potential movement in for the GC riders in the top-10, there was a lot to play for on the final day.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Maciej Bodnar (Bora-Hansgrohe) set the early benchmark for the day, powering along the course to a decent time of 40-10.
The Pole's time stood for some time until stage six winner Kragh Andersen powered to a time of 40-03, and it looked like the young Dane could be in with a chance of taking a second victory at the race.
Out on course however, two BMC riders in Tejay van Garderen and Stefan Küng looked like they could be in with a chance of setting the new best time.
Van Garderen came close, setting a time of 40-07 after fading slightly in the latter part of the course. Küng however, continued to look faster and faster as his effort went on, and he was able to cross the line with the first sub-40 minute time of 39-45.
That put the Swiss time trial champion in the hot seat with just the GC contenders to come and potentially usurp him.
None really came close though. Jakob Fuglsang performed the best of the riders in the top-10, finishing with a time 40-22 and moving into -- overall.
That move in overall for Fuglsang was in part thanks to Quintana, just 17 seconds down on Porte at the start of the day, third place Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) and fifth place Sam Oomen (Sunweb), who all failed to put in a performance to potentially worry anyone above them.
Enric Mas (Quick-Step), was able to hold onto his fourth place overall after a solid ride, but saw Fuglsang move above him thanks to his strong ride.
Mikel Landa (Movistar), who rode well alongside Quintana during the mountain stages of the race, put in a dismal time trial effort to lose around 2-30 and drop to 16th overall.
Porte was the last rider to come in with a 40-48; enough to comfortably hold on to the overall and also confirm his team-mate Küng as winner of the final time trial.
Results
Tour de Suisse 2018, stage nine: Bellinzona - Bellinzona (34.1km)
1 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team, in 39-44
2 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb, at 19s
3 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team, at 23s
4 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora - Hansgrohe, at 26s
5 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb, at 26s
6 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky, at 37s
7 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton - Scott, same time
8 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team, at 38s
9 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb, at 44s
10 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team, at 46s
Final general classification
1 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team, in 29-28-05
2 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team, at 1-02
3 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team, at 1:12
4 Enric Mas Nicolau (Esp) Quick Step Floors, at 1-20
5 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 1-21
6 Simon Špilak (Slo) Team Katusha - Alpecin, at 1-47
7 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb, at 1-52
8 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL - Jumbo, at 1-59
9 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, at 2-27
10 Arthur Vichot (Fra) Groupama - FDJ, at 2-41
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Follow on Twitter: @richwindy
Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
-
We rode and reviewed the Ouray, Parlee Cycles' first new bike model since facing bankruptcy
The storied American brand continues with a Portugal-made carbon steed that goes zoom but doesn’t fit like a race bike
By Tyler Boucher Published
-
Forget distance covered, these are the key stats to note in your Strava Year in Sport
We asked a coach how to best analyse our end of year Strava data
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Demi Vollering wins third stage in four days at Tour de Suisse to win overall
Dutchwoman takes her fourth Women's WorldTour stage race in a row, proving her dominance
By Adam Becket Published
-
Neve Bradbury takes first pro victory in Canyon-Sram one-two on stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse
Australian breaks away with team-mate Kasia Niewiadoma, who happily gifts win in Champagne
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Adam Yates seals the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse as João Almeida wins the final stage time trial
The UAE Team Emirates teammates take their fourth consecutive one-two finish of the race on the final stage
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Adam Yates wins stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse in another one-two finish with João Almeida
The UAE Team Emirates duo complete the three-peat with their third one-two finish in a row
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
João Almeida springs to Tour de Suisse stage six win as UAE Team Emirates dominate
On shortened day, Almeida wins as his teammate Adam Yates extends lead on other squads
By Adam Becket Published
-
Adam Yates wins Tour de Suisse stage five with virtuoso mountains performance
The Briton attacks to win solo, with team-mate Joāo Almeida coming in second
By James Shrubsall Published
-
'It's for Gino': Torstein Træen wins Tour de Suisse stage four as Adam Yates takes control of race
Norwegian rider takes maiden professional victory as he wins from the break
By Adam Becket Published
-
Thibau Nys claims 'unbelievable' Tour de Suisse stage three victory after recent crash
Young Belgian continues impressive form as Alberto Bettiol takes over race lead
By Tom Davidson Published