Stage 4
All non-climbers, fear this stage!!!! 234 kilometres between Vevey and Chalet De La Lec, with 4 big clims, and a total of 5761 height metres! The time limit is your enemy today!
186km to go
The mountains await in the 4th stage of the Tour de Suisse. A bad day, and your GC-ambitions will melt as snow for the snow. 8 riders dare to take the challenge and form a very nice BOTD: Andrey Amador (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (BMC), Cyril Dessel (AG2R), Nicki Sorensen (Saxo), Martin Reimer (Sony Ericsson), Luigi Sestili (Liquigas), Yannick Talabardon (Saur) and Johan Vansummeren). The 8 quickly create a huge gap to the peloton, and at the summit of the Les Botequit (14.7km at 9.0%) their margin to the peloton is 8'23 and still growing.
127km to go
The 8 leaders even have enlarged their margin to the peloton to almost 14 minutes at the foot of the 2nd climb of the day, the Col du Lein (10.3km at 9.0%). At this moment, a Sicilian shark attacks out of the peloton and starts his chase to catch the BOTD. Everybody in the peloton is looking at each other: "what is Vincenzo Nibali thinking, doesn't he know how far it is to the finish?"
122km to go
Amador, Mollema and Dessel lead the leading group over the summit of the Col du Lein. Nibali follows at 7'52, what means he has cut back the margin by almost 6 minutes in 5 kilometres!!!
The peloton continues to take it easy and follows at 16'36.... Did you say sixteen and a half minutes? Yes, I did...
66km to go
It has taken Nibbles 60 kilometres of chasing before he joins the 8 leaders. The L'Aminoma (13.5km at 7.4%) has started and also the peloton has start to close the gap, only 9'42 behind at this moment.
62km to go
Nibali doesn't take the time to rest a bit, and goes to the front of the leading group. With the increased pace, the BOTD is teared apart and only 2 are capable following. Andrey Amador is still in Nibbles wheel, whereas also Mollema is getting dropped. The peloton follows at 8'53.
58km to go
It's no surprise to see Nibali cresting the summit solo. Amador got cracked 2km before the summit and now follows at 1'11. Th epeloton has lost ground again: 9'50.
23km to go
After the descend and a flat part, Vincenzo Nibali has arrived at the foot of the last climb of the day, the Col du Senetsch. The 18.1km climb has an average gradient of 7.9% and brings the riders to an altitude of 2238 metres above sea level.
In the last 35 kilometres, the peloton was only capable in decreasing the gap with 1 minute, so Nibali is still 8'40 in front.
13km to go
After 10 kilometres of climbing, Nibali suddenly is looking human again. His gap his melting as snow for the sun and has been decreased to 55 seconds to JoaquÃm RodrÃguez! The first group (Pinot,
A. Schleck, Kruijswijk, Brajkovic, Van den Broeck, Caruso, Contador, F. Schleck,
Kelderman and T. Martin) follows at 2'02.
11km to go
After 2 more kilometres, Nibali gets caught by a group of 3: RodrÃguez, Kruijswijk and Van den Broeck. The group with
Schleck & Kelderman follows at '54 and is starting to close the gap.
9km to go
And they close the gap, so with 9km to go, 11 riders form the leading group.
(oh, I apparantly make a faut with the equipment, as myriders are riding without a frame....).
8km to go
Only 3 kilometres before the riders crest the summit of the Col du Senetsch, and JoaquÃm RodrÃguez attacks again. We don't react, but try to close the gap with a high pace.
Schleck is serving as a very luxury domestique for
Kelderman and is doing the work here.
5km to go
RodrÃguez gets caught again, and the next one to try is BMC's Jurgen Van den Broeck. The Belgian manages to create a gap and leads
Schleck,
Kelderman, Kruijswijk and RodrÃguez by 23 seconds at the summit of the Col de Senetsch.
Finish
Wilco Kelderman tries to counter at athe summit, and manages to close the gap to Van den Broeck. But it's not enough for the win, as the Belgian climber takes his 2nd win of 2013. 21 seconds behind them, Kruijswijk leads RodrÃguez and
Schleck over the finish. Brajkovic follows at 1'04 and Fränk Schleck, Nibali, Caruso, Pinot and Contador at 1'59. 18 riders finish outside the timelimit.
Results
| 1 | Jurgen Van den Broeck | BMC Racing Team | 7h20'11 |
| 2 | Wilco Kelderman | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 3 | Steven Kruijswijk | Qantas Airways | + 21 |
| 4 | JoaquÃm RodrÃguez | Katusha Team | s.t. |
| 5 | Andy Schleck | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 6 | Janez Brajkovic | Radio Shack - Nissan | + 1'04 |
| 7 | Fränk Schleck | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | + 1'59 |
| 8 | Vincenzo Nibali | Radio Shack - Nissan | s.t. |
| 9 | Giampaolo Caruso | Katusha Team | s.t. |
| 10 | Thibaut Pinot | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
Spoiler
| 11 | Alberto Contador | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 12 | Levi Leipheimer | Radio Shack - Nissan | + 3'29 |
| 13 | Tony Martin | Red Bull - Cervélo | + 3'40 |
| 14 | Damiano Caruso | Liquigas - Cannondale | + 4'44 |
| 15 | Mikel Nieve | Pro Team Astana | s.t. |
| 16 | Emanuele Sella | Lampre - Generali | s.t. |
| 17 | Sandy Casar | FDJ | s.t. |
| 18 | Arnold Jeanneson | FDJ | s.t. |
| 19 | David Arroyo | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 20 | Iván Velasco | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 21 | Johann Tschopp | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
| 22 | Vladimir Karpets | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 5'13 |
| 23 | Denis Menchov | Liquigas - Cannondale | + 7'10 |
| 24 | Sylvain Chavanel | Garmin - Barracuda | + 7'24 |
| 25 | Peter Velits | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | + 7'40 |
| 26 | Fabio Duarte | Pro Team Astana | s.t. |
| 27 | Vasil Kiryienka | Pro Team Astana | s.t. |
| 28 | Mikel Landa | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 29 | Ben Hermans | Radio Shack - Nissan | s.t. |
| 30 | Mitja Mahoric | Saur - Sojasun | + 9'17 |
| 31 | Florian Stalder | Red Bull - Cervélo | + 12'38 |
| 32 | Franco Pellizotti | Lampre - Generali | s.t. |
| 33 | Linus Gerdemann | Red Bull - Cervélo | s.t. |
| 34 | Wim Van Huffel | Lotto - Belisol | s.t. |
| 35 | Rob Ruijgh | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 36 | Tom Stubbe | Lotto - Belisol | s.t. |
| 37 | Simon Gerrans | Qantas Airways | + 13'01 |
| 38 | Philippe Gilbert | Lotto - Belisol | + 14'24 |
| 39 | Stefan Schumacher | Sony Ericsson | s.t. |
| 40 | Michael Albasini | Red Bull - Cervélo | + 15'29 |
| 41 | Paolo Tiralongo | Pro Team Astana | + 15'45 |
| 42 | Andriy Grivko | Pro Team Astana | + 16'10 |
| 43 | John Gadret | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 44 | Jelle Vanendert | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 45 | Matthew Lloyd | Pro Team Astana | + 18'50 |
| 46 | Miguel Rubiano | Radio Shack - Nissan | s.t. |
| 47 | Jérôme Pineau | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. |
| 48 | Gianni Meersman | FDJ | s.t. |
| 49 | Beñat Intxausti | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 50 | Gorka Izagirre | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 51 | Chris Barton | Sony Ericsson | s.t. |
| 52 | Andrey Amador | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 53 | Andreas Klöden | Radio Shack - Nissan | + 19'58 |
| 54 | Thor Hushovd | Lotto - Belisol | s.t. |
| 55 | Vladimir Efimkin | Katusha Team | + 20'27 |
| 56 | Dalivier Ospina | Radio Shack - Nissan | + 20'47 |
| 57 | Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy | Pro Team Astana | s.t. |
| 58 | Kevin Seeldraeyers | Sony Ericsson | s.t. |
| 59 | Sylwester Szmyd | Liquigas - Cannondale | s.t. |
| 60 | Jakob Fuglsang | Radio Shack - Nissan | + 22'16 |
| 61 | Carlos Barredo | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 62 | Jean-Christophe Peraud | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 63 | Fabian Cancellara | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 23'06 |
| 64 | Lars Ytting Bak | Saur - Sojasun | + 25'10 |
| 65 | Geraint Thomas | Qantas Airways | s.t. |
| 66 | Bauke Mollema | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
| 67 | Yoann Barbas | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 68 | Tosh Van der Sande | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | + 26'45 |
| 69 | Zdenek Stybar | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. |
| 70 | Anthony Colby | Garmin - Barracuda | + 29'44 |
| 71 | Frantisek Rabon | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | + 30'34 |
| 72 | Luca Solari | Lampre - Generali | s.t. |
| 73 | André Steensen | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 31'32 |
| 74 | Jesús Herrada | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 75 | Cyril Dessel | AG2R La Mondiale | + 33'54 |
| 76 | David Zabriskie | Qantas Airways | + 34'20 |
| 77 | Nicki Sørensen | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 35'35 |
| 78 | Peter Sagan | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 79 | Johan Vansummeren | Garmin - Barracuda | + 37'23 |
| 80 | Luigi Sestili | Liquigas - Cannondale | + 38'20 |
| 81 | Martin Reimer | Sony Ericsson | + 38'47 |
| 82 | Ben Jacques-Maynes | Garmin - Barracuda | + 38'58 |
| 83 | Enrico Zen | Androni Giocattoli | + 39'36 |
| 84 | Leonardo Moser | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. |
| 85 | Marco Pinotti | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. |
| 86 | Francesco Ginanni | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. |
| 87 | Cristiano Salerno | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. |
| 88 | Yannick Talabardon | Saur - Sojasun | + 39'57 |
| 89 | Antonio D'Aniello | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. |
| 90 | Marcus Burghardt | Red Bull - Cervélo | + 42'42 |
| 91 | Darren Lapthorne | Qantas Airways | s.t. |
| 92 | Simon Zahner | BMC Racing Team | + 43'26 |
| 93 | Gianluca Mirenda | Lampre - Generali | + 45'17 |
| 94 | Kristof Vandewalle | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | + 45'45 |
| 95 | Mauro Finetto | Liquigas - Cannondale | + 48'56 |
| 96 | Michael Schär | Red Bull - Cervélo | + 50'24 |
| 97 | Francesco Gavazzi | Rabobank Cycling Team | + 55'00 |
| 98 | Laurent Beuret | Red Bull - Cervélo | + 56'03 |
| 99 | Niki Terpstra | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 100 | Lieuwe Westra | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 101 | Luca Barla | Androni Giocattoli | + 59'14 |
| 102 | Maarten Neyens | Lotto - Belisol | + 59'42 |
| 103 | Matti Breschel | Monster Energy - Subway | s.t. |
| 104 | Gert Dockx | Lotto - Belisol | + 1h03'27 |
| 105 | Alessandro Petacchi | BMC Racing Team | + 1h08'10 |
| 106 | José JoaquÃn Rojas | Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
| 107 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | s.t. |
| 108 | Heinrich Haussler | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 109 | Mikhail Ignatiev | Katusha Team | s.t. |
| 110 | Nick Nuyens | Saxo Bank SunGard | s.t. |
| 111 | Lars Boom | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 112 | Marko Kump | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 113 | Anthony Geslin | FDJ | s.t. |
| 114 | Lars Petter Nordhaug | Sky ProCycling | s.t. |
| 115 | André Greipel | Red Bull - Cervélo | s.t. |
| 116 | Mark Cavendish | Sky ProCycling | s.t. |
| 117 | Dirk Bellemakers | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 118 | Ronan Van Zandbeek | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 119 | Graeme Brown | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 120 | Ian Stannard | Sky ProCycling | s.t. |
| 121 | John Murphy | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
| 122 | Martin Kohler | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
| 123 | Óscar Freire | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 124 | Tomas Vaitkus | Qantas Airways | s.t. |
| 125 | Ben Gastauer | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 126 | Lucas Sebastián Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | s.t. |
| 127 | Nadir Haddou | FDJ | s.t. |
| 128 | David Tanner | Saxo Bank SunGard | s.t. |
| 129 | Cameron Meyer | Qantas Airways | s.t. |
| 130 | Mitchell Docker | Qantas Airways | s.t. |
| 131 | Jorge Azanza | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 132 | Grega Bole | Lampre - Generali | s.t. |
| 133 | Chris Opie | Sky ProCycling | s.t. |
| 134 | Denis Galimzyanov | Katusha Team | s.t. |
| 135 | Juan Manuel Gárate | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 136 | Aitor Pérez Arrieta | Lampre - Generali | s.t. |
| 137 | Haimar Zubeldia | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 138 | Balint Szeghalmi | Lampre - Generali | s.t. |
| 139 | Koldo Fernández | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 140 | Yohan Offredo | FDJ | s.t. |
| 141 | Jürgen Roelandts | Sony Ericsson | s.t. |
| 142 | Davide Appollonio | Sky ProCycling | s.t. |
| 143 | Matthew Goss | Lotto - Belisol | s.t. |
| 144 | Mathieu Drujon | FDJ | s.t. |
| 145 | Juan Antonio Flecha | Sky ProCycling | s.t. |
| 146 | Romain Matheou | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. |
| 147 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. |
| 148 | Arnoud Van Groen | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 149 | Manuel Quinziato | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
| 150 | Daniele Bennati | Liquigas - Cannondale | s.t. |
| 151 | Christopher Sutton | Pro Team Astana | s.t. |
| 152 | Björn Leukemans | Sony Ericsson | s.t. |
| 153 | Shawn Milne | Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
| 154 | Alexei Markov | Katusha Team | s.t. |
| 155 | William Clarke | Sony Ericsson | s.t. |
| 156 | Javier Francisco Aramendia | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
| 157 | Yuriy Krivtsov | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
GC
| 1 | Jurgen Van den Broeck | BMC Racing Team | 14h46'37 |
| 2 | Wilco Kelderman | Monster Energy - Subway | + 6 |
| 3 | Steven Kruijswijk | Qantas Airways | + 25 |
| 4 | Andy Schleck | Monster Energy - Subway | + 35 |
| 5 | JoaquÃm RodrÃguez | Katusha Team | + 43 |
| 6 | Janez Brajkovic | Radio Shack - Nissan | + 1'12 |
| 7 | Fränk Schleck | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | + 2'25 |
| 8 | Giampaolo Caruso | Katusha Team | + 2'28 |
| 9 | Vincenzo Nibali | Radio Shack - Nissan | + 3'14 |
| 10 | Alberto Contador | Movistar Team | + 3'18 |
Points
| 1 | Wilco Kelderman | Monster Energy - Subway | 32 |
| 2 | Mark Cavendish | Sky ProCycling | 31 |
| 3 | Janez Brajkovic | Radio Shack - Nissan | 27 |
| 4 | Jurgen Van den Broeck | BMC Racing Team | 25 |
| 5 | Lieuwe Westra | Monster Energy - Subway | 23 |
KOTM
| 1 | Andrey Amador | Movistar Team | 32 |
| 2 | Zdenek Stybar | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | 24 |
| 3 | Antonio D'Aniello | Androni Giocattoli | 22 |
| 4 | Bauke Mollema | BMC Racing Team | 22 |
| 5 | Mikhail Ignatiev | Katusha Team | 18 |
U25
| 1 | Wilco Kelderman | Monster Energy - Subway | 14h46'43 |
| 2 | Thibaut Pinot | AG2R La Mondiale | + 3'22 |
| 3 | Mikel Landa | Euskaltel - Euskadi | + 10'53 |
Teams
| 1 | Radio Shack - Nissan | 44h28'05 |
| 2 | Monster Energy - Subway | + 5'40 |
| 3 | Pro Team Astana | + 15'10 |
Today's winner
Word from the DS
What a stage, so incredibly tough.... And what an effort by Nibali, amazing! We're very happy with the result. Okay, no stage win, but 2 in the top 5, and a good chance to get a Top 3 in the GC!