This is the fourth stage in a row that follows a similar pattern in this Tour de Suisse 2017. The stage will be above 200 kilometers again and there will be a circuit again around Bichofszell, in the canton of Thurgau. The circuit has a couple of small climbs, the last of those being only 1.5 kilometers long, Schocherswil. It sits 6 kilometers from the finish line but it should not be hard enough to prevent the sprinters from making it to the finish line. Nevertheless, there is always a chance of a break taking the stage.
The break of the day was much stronger than what the teams of the sprinters would have liked. A group of 9 riders had 3' 45'' over the bunch at the intermediate sprint in Mullheim. Among those in the break there were quite strong riders like Cameron Meyer (Trek), Ramunas Navardauskas (IAM), Gregory Rast (Orica), Jonathan Hivert (Sky) and Taylor Phinney (Discovery). With 97 kilometers to go the bunch had the race more or less controlled but Euskaltel and Etixx, which had been the teams most interested in chasing, were going to have a hard time chasing them back.
The riders entered the final circuit facing the first climb to Schocherswil, the 1.5 kilometers long climb that would be raced 6 kilometers before the finish line in the final lap. Euskaltel was leading the main bunch with Zdenek Stybar (Euskaltel) doing most of the work. The gap had grown a bit more to 4' 30'' so the pace in the bunch increased accordingly. Meanwhile, the riders in the break were collaborating but Cameron Meyer was the only one interested in the KoM sprint. It was going to be a tough job for the peloton to bring them back.
The peloton was having difficulties chasing down the break and Ramunas Navardauskas decided to attack from the front group. With 12 kilometers to go he was on the descent towards Amriswil before facing the last hill. The rest of the early break was chasing him 10 seconds behind but the bunch was 1' 25''. Rohan Dennis (Lotto) was leading the chase but he was going to need the help of other teams if they wanted to have a mass sprint. Euskaltel and Etixx were the other teams most interested in the final sprint. They might need to collaborate to catch the break.
For the second day in a row there were no sprint trains as such and it was only Dries Devenyns (Euskaltel) preparing the sprint for Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel). The break had finally been caught at the last climb to Schocherswil after a big effort from several riders from the top teams. The terrain from the top of the hill until the 1 kilometer mark was very favorable for the riders and it would be difficult to gain positions at the very high pace they were riding. The best positioned sprinters at that time were Bernhard Eisel (LottoNL), Michael Matthews (Cannondale) and Peter Sagan (Sky).
The peloton was about to reach the last kilometer of the stage when Rui Costa (Ag2r) attacked from the left-hand side of the road. Dries Devenyns was still leading Alexander Kristoff while their teammate Elia Viviani (Euskaltel) was taking care of David Lopez (Euskaltel) so that the leader did not have any trouble in the final sprint. The crashes that happened yesterday must have put them on guard. Among those sprinters that were not really close to the front we could see Lloyd Mondory (Etixx), Marcel Kittel (Astana) and Tyler Farrar (Tinkoff). It was surprising that Mondory did not have any teammates to bring him forward.
Rui Costa was still leading the way with 600 meters to the finish line but the sprinters were starting to close on him. However, the first rider on the main bunch was David Lopez, who had been led by Elia Viviani and was chasing the bonus seconds. The fact that Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) grabbed some bonus seconds yesterday might have triggered him getting involved. Among the favorites for the stage it was Andre Greipel that led the way ahead of Alexander Kristoff and Bernhard Eisel. They were quite close to David Lopez so it seemed like one of the sprinters was going to take the stage.
Andre Greipel wins in Bischofszell! The German is clearly in great shape in this Tour de Suisse and ahead of the Tour de France. It is his second win in the race and has won the two stages that were within his reach. Alexander Kristoff had properly taken his tow but the Norwegian was unable to get around the German and clearly lost the stage. Lloyd Mondory took the 3rd place even though he had been poorly positioned ahead of the sprint. The top 5 was completed by Bernhard Eisel and David Lopez. In the end, it was the pure sprinters that had an edge in today's stage.
There was also a break in the bunch today and a few of the riders close to the front of the GC lost 55 seconds. Among those riders behind we could find Xavi Tondo (Lampre), Juanjo Cobo (HTC) and Chris Horner (HTC). IT is surprising how the GC has been losing contenders in the last couple of stages due to crashes and favorites that were not properly positioned in the key parts of the stage. Tomorrow's stage should start making the GC a bit clearer as the time trial in Gossau is quite long and the gaps should be significant. Nevertheless, it is a mixed route and not as flat as the time trial in the Dauphine.
The last 3 stages of the Tour de Suisse should be the ones that are crucial for the outcome of the race. There were gaps in the stage finishing in Verbier but the stages remaining are hard enough so that anyone in the top 10 can still have a shot at the overall win. These stages start with a 35 kilometers long time trial around Gossau, close to the Zurichsee lake. It will be a very hard test but the gaps are not expected to be as big as in the time trial of the Dauphine. The route is quite hilly and the pure time trialists should have a hard time trying to take the win.
The first among the favorites for the stage to start was Levi Leipheimer (Trek). The American has always been a rider that was expected to be strong in stage races but one way or another he has consistently under-delivered. His only podium in a race was the 2nd place in the Tour de Romandie 2015. Today was not too different as the time trialists were expected to have difficulties in such a hilly stage. Leipheimer could only be 2nd provisionally, 14 seconds behind David Millar (HTC) and still with 34 riders left to cross the finish line.
The next rider among the favorites was the local Mathias Frank (IAM). Frank took the win last year in the Tour de Suisse but a crash in the stage finishing in Gansingen meant that he is going to have a hard time trying to repeat that performance in 2017. Nevertheless, he almost took the first provisional time at the finish line but he was 2 seconds slower than David Millar. Frank had been quicker by 5 seconds in the 2nd intermediate check but the last part of the time trial was favorable to the specialists and Millar flew in that section.
Xavi Tondo (Lampre) started the stage right behind Mathias Frank. The Spaniard was 19th in the GC before the stage almost 3 minutes behind David Lopez. He has a good chance to prove himself as Chris Froome (Lampre) is not racing the Tour de Suisse so Tondo does not have to be subordinated to the leader of the Lampre team. His performance was actually quite good and he took the 4th provisional position at the finish line, 16 seconds behind David Millar. Tondo is quite a good rider in the stage races for a team like Lampre and he is on track to proving it again at the Tour de Suisse.
Laurens Ten Dam (Cannondale) was 7th in the GC before the start of the stage. The Dutch is preparing in the Tour de Suisse to try to win again the Tour de France but he should already be in good shape if he wants to be on top shape form the start of the Tour. However, he could only take the 6th provisional place in the stage, 20 seconds behind David Millar. This should have been a time trial that fits quite well his riding but his performance is going to cast some doubts on his chances on the Tour de France, even if the start is still a couple of weeks away.
Jose Serpa (Ag2r) was next at the finish line. He was an unexpected rider in the top 10 of the race but he would be no more after his performance in today's time trial. The Colombian showed how much he has to work if he wants to be a factor in stage races with time trials as he lost 1' 31'' at the finish line against David Millar. He was on the 51st position as he finished. Serpa has never been in the podium of a stage race and, even though he gets good positions every now and then, he is too inconsistent to be a threat. At 29 years old he may never be.
Mikel Nieve (Katusha) is not a very proficient time trialist either but he is much better than Jose Serpa. The Spaniard, who has been in Grand Tour podiums 3 times in his career, signed for Katusha this year with the hope of reviving his past performances. Today was quite good for him as he expected to lose time in the time trial but crossed the finish line in the provisional 7th place, 29 seconds behind David Millar. This means that he would not lose any places in the GC and riders like Laurens Ten Dam only put 9 seconds on him.
Cadel Evans (Lotto) is only the first of the 2 choices that the Lotto team has to take over the Tour de Suisse. The Australian is very good against the clock and he was in the podium of the Rest of the World Championships last year. Today's time trial was even better for him and he grabbed the best provisional time putting 12 seconds on David Millar. The gap was significant enough that most of the favorites for the race were between 30 seconds and 1 minute behind. Considering that he can also perform in the mountains he could well be on track for at least a podium finish.
Frank Schleck (Etixx) is another of those riders that does not quite enjoy the time trials. The Luxembourgish had a really good Dauphine a couple of weeks ago but his hopes of winning the race were almost non-existent after the time trial. On the other hand, he has already won the Tour de Suisse twice. Today's result was not too bad for him as he crossed the finish line with the 8th provisional time, 33 seconds behind Cadel Evans. That will put him behind Evans in the GC but only 14 seconds will separate both of them.
Jelle Vanendert (Lotto) was 2nd in the GC before the start of today's time trial. The Belgian was 2nd in the Tour de Suisse last year and he came to Switzerland with the win in his sights as he is not racing the Tour de France afterwards. On the other hand, even though he has won many classics he has only won a stage race once in his career (the 2015 Paris - Nice). His performance today was quite similar to Frank Schleck's. Vanendert took the 9th place provisionally, 34 seconds behind. That will leave him 10 seconds ahead of his teammate Cadel Evans in the GC.
The last rider on the road today was David Lopez (Euskaltel). The Euskaltel rider is not very good against the clock when the road is flat but he has been quite good in the past in mixed time trials like the one today. He even won some, like in the Pais Vasco last year. His performance today was not that good but still outstanding considering the route. He took the final 4th position, only 16 seconds behind Cadel Evans. That was 18 seconds quicker than Jelle Vanendert and it is enough for him to extend his lead in the GC to 41 seconds.
The GC is considerably clearer than it was before today's stage. Lopez now has only two riders within 1 minute of his time. The fact that they are both Lotto, Evans and Vanendert, is not the best of the scenarios for him. If the Belgian team plays their cards properly they could put him in trouble, especially at the last stage in Sorenberg. He will also have to take care of Frank Schleck, especially if he climbs as well as he did in the Dauphine. It is also worth noting how Mathias Frank jumped to the 7th place in the GC. Had he not crashed, he would have been a contender for the podium.
The last couple of stages in the Tour de Suisse are a good test in the mountains. This one will take the riders to Arosa, in the canton of Graubuden and quite close to Davos. The stage is rather short and easy until the last 30 kilometers, when the riders will have to face the climb to Castiel. That first part of the final climb is the hardest, with 8 kilometers of climbing. The riders will then have a slightly uphill terrain until the final 6 kilometers. The final climb averages 5.1% gradient. The stage is ideal for the climbers but it is not too hard so the gaps at the finish line should not be big.
A group of 7 riders formed the break of the day. We could see some important names in it, like Cameron Meyer (Trek), Johan Vansummeren (HTC), Maxim Iglinskiy (Sky), Luka Mezgec (LottoNL) and Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff). The start of the stage was rather quiet and Euskaltel was the team controlling the bunch. Nevertheless, he was getting help from several other teams. With 90 kilometers to go the break was in the valley of the Rhine and the group had 3' 45'' over he peloton. They were going to need much more time to face the final 30 kilometers of the stage.
The second intermediate sprint was placed in Trimmis, with 41 kilometers to go and only 11 before the start of the most interesting part of the stage. Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel), Joaquim Rodriguez (Euskaltel) and Elia Viviani (Euskaltel) were leading the group at that stage, proving how committed the Spanish team is on defending David Lopez's (Euskaltel) lead. The gap had grown to 5' 45'', which meant that Johan Vansummeren was the virtual leader of the race but Euskaltel was already starting to reduce that gap.
The climbing had barely started when Robert Kiserlovski (Discovery) decided that he wanted a battle from far out. With 4 kilometers to the top of the climb to Castiel he had 10 seconds over Laurens Ten Dam (Cannondale) and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto), who were trying to join forces with him. Emanuele Sella (Movistar) and Wilco Kelderman (Giant) had also jumped from the peloton but David Lopez was not in panic. He even got help from others as Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) had started to work at the front of the group. There was a lot of terrain between Castiel and Arosa for a bigger group to get organized.
Cameron Meyer was the only rider at the break that jumped to grab the KoM points at Castiel. With 22 kilometers to go the gap of the break was dropping quite fast as the pace of the chasers had dramatically increased. The rest of the break was only 20 seconds behind under the KoM sprint. Meanwhile, Robert Kiserlovski had been joined by Laurens Ten Dam and Jelle Vanendert. Frank Schleck (Etixx) had also attacked from the group of the favorites and the group of the leader was greatly reduced and only around 35 riders remained. Juanjo Cobo (HTC) was leading that group and David Lopez only had Dries Devenyns (Euskaltel) as teammate.
The flat kilometers between Castiel and the start of the climb proper to Arosa were a frantic chase between the 5 riders that had jumped from the peloton and the group of the leader. Linus Gerdemann (BMC) was surprisingly working at the chasing group where David Lopez also had to work briefly. Lotto was playing their cards quite cleverly as Cadel Evans (Lotto), 3rd in the GC was sitting comfortably at the wheel of many riders in Lopez's group. Meanwhile, the 5 riders that had attacked were getting quite close to the early break, which could be caught before the climb to Arosa started.
As soon as the climb to Arosa started Mathias Frank (IAM) attacked and managed to get to the front group, which had merged with the early break. However, the gap to the group of the leader had slowly come down and the gap was no bigger than 20 seconds. The chasing group was very stretched at the flat and looked on the verge of breaking down into pieces at the start of the climb. David Lopez had to chase for a while so there could be room for surprises at the final climb to Arosa. The climb itself is not too hard but we expected small gaps at the finish line.
Mathias Frank pushed on before the chasers made contact with the front group and with 3 kilometers to go he was alongside Frank Schleck, Jelle Vanendert, Emanuele Sella and Robert Kiserlovski. They still held a 25 seconds gap over the chasers with Juanjo Cobo again pushing hard at the front of that group. David Lopez was lucky that he was not the only riders that had to chase as otherwise he would have wasted a lot of energies. Meanwhile, Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) and Laurens Ten Dam were also close to the front of the group.
The pace of the front group was not strong enough and they ended up being swallowed by the group of the leader as they crossed the flame rouge. However, that was when Jelle Vanendert decided to go for it and take advantage of the meters that he still had on the chasers. With 700 meters to go he was still at the front but David Lopez had made progress on the left-hand side of the road. Frank Schleck was almost on par with him while they were being chased by Emanuele Sella, who has a strong final punch, Cadel Evans and Laurens Ten Dam.
Jelle Vanendert wins in Arosa! The Belgian held his lead to deny David Lopez and grab his 3rd win of the season, including the Fleche Wallonne. Vanendert was surprisingly able to hold his lead even though Lopez looked stronger at some point during the last kilometer. Even though the Lotto rider had been on the attack for the last 25 kilometers he had enough in his tank. Lopez took the second place and they both took 15 seconds over the next group. Frank Schleck took the 3rd place in the stage ahead of Cadel Evans, Laurens Ten Dam, Emanuele Sella, Mathias Frank and a surprising Simone Ponzi.
Among those that lost more time we could see Bauke Mollema, Robert Kiserlovski and Juanjo Cobo, all losing 42 seconds at the finish line. It is also worth noting that David Lopez became the leader in the points, mountains and general classifications. It is quite a feature by the Spaniard. However, tomorrow's stage is the most important and last. A lot of time could be won and lost at the huge Glaubenberg Pass, from which top there will be many kilometers of racing with very few domestiques available. It has been a stage that worked quite well in past editions of the race.
The last stage of the Tour de Suisse is by far the most difficult of the race. The route not only has climbs like the Glaubenbielen and the Glaubenberg, with 14.2 kilometers averaging 7.5% gradient but it is 217 kilometers long, which might trigger surprises at the end of the day. It has been a very interesting stage in past years with riders in small groups after the climb the the Glaubenberg, which is 42 kilometers from the finish line in Sorenberg. If there are big groups, the final kilometers are also uphill but not very steep.
The break of the day was a huge group of 19 riders that no team in the peloton was willing to control. They got to the first categorized climb of the day, Rengg, with a gap of 7' 30'' over the bunch. Among the riders in the break we could see Bernhard Eisel (LottoNL), Anthony Roux (IAM), Lars Peter Nordhaug (Ag2r), David Millar (HTC), Maarten Tjallingii (Etixx), Rohan Dennis (Lotto), Manuele Boaro (Astana), Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre), Thomas de Gendt (Tinkoff) and Kanstantsin Siutsou (BMC). Euskaltel was the only team setting the pace but they were not really chasing as there was no one dangerous for the GC in the break.
Euskaltel was setting the pace as they approached the top of the Glaubenbielen, the first of the HC climbs that were climbed today. However, with Joaquim Rodriguez (Euskaltel), Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel) and Elia Viviani (Euskaltel) it was clear that the pace could not be too high. Indeed, the gap to the early break had been extended to 11 minutes, although with 80 kilometers to the finish line one could never say whether that would be enough. The minimal fatigue that the riders were accumulating today might favor David Lopez (Euskaltel) as the differences will probably be smaller at the finish line.
The riders in the break had started the toughest climb of the day, the Glaubenberg, with 11' 25'' so they were probably thinking about the stage win. Among those in the front group the best climbers should be Lars PEter Nordhaug, Thomas de Gendt, Manuele Boaro and Tom Danielson (Cannondale). With 51 kilometers to go it would be unlikely that they get caught by the bunch. The fact that it was now the turn of Juan Antonio Flecha (Euskaltel) to lead the bunch probably was helping their cause. Nevertheless, some riders in the break should start to think about attacking in the climb to reduce the size of the group.
The attacks in the peloton started quite early with Robert Kiserlovski (Discovery) attacking before halfway through the climb to the Glubenberg. He was followed by Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil), Mathias Frank (IAM), Mikel Nieve (Katusha) and Xavi Tondo (Lampre). They had managed to cut the gap to the break massively and with a bit less than 4 kilometers to the top they were only 4' 20'' behind. It was clear that the understanding from the riders at the break was far from ideal. Meanwhile, Laurens Ten Dam (Cannondale) and Damiano Caruso (Cannondale) were leading the peloton, only 5' 30'' behind the leaders.
None of the riders that attacked in the Glaubenberg was really dangerous for David Lopez in the GC and the Spaniard was quite comfortable letting Juanjo Cobo (HTC) reach the top of the climb with a few meters over his group, which was led by Frank Schleck (Etixx) and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto). The head wind in the climb made the attacking far more difficult than in previous years and the 80 riders that survived in the group of the leader were the proof. It could also be the reason why the break lost that much time in the climb as their deficit was close to 10 minutes.
Maarten Tjallingii was the head of the race at the intermediate sprint in Hasle, placed at the bottom of the descent from the Glaubenberg. However, the break had already collapsed and his gap was only 15 seconds over a group of 5 that included Mathias Frank and Mikel Nieve. The peloton was only 30 seconds behind him. It was strange that LottoNL was chasing with Luka Mezgec (LottoNL) and Simone Ponzi (LottoNL). The Italian must have been be thinking that he can take the stage win at Sorenberg. It was clear at this stage that there would be a merge of the several groups.
The false flat section on the way to Sorenberg was really difficult to control in the bunch. Jelle Vanendert tried to attack with no luck but other riders were more successful. Maarten Tjallingii was surprisingly still ahead with 10 kilometers to go and a group of 6 riders was 15 seconds behind. This group included Michele Scarponi (Astana), Levi Leipheimer (Trek) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana). Meanwhile, there was no reaction at the group of the leader and they lost 1 minute against Tjallingii. Dries Devenyns (Euskaltel) was the only rider setting the pace but he was not in a rush.
The final part of the stage was slightly uphill as it is where the Glaubenbielen starts. Jelle Vanendert was determined to try to win the race and attacked until he managed to leave David Lopez behind. There were 20 seconds between their groups. With 3 kilometers to go the race had completely broken apart and Michele Scarponi was leading, followed 15 seconds behind by a group of 4 including Levi Leipheimer and Simon Spilak (Tinkoff). Vanendert was in a group with Frank Schleck 50 seconds behind, while David Lopez was 1' 10'' behind the leader in a group of 9 alongside Laurens Ten Dam. The bad news were for Cadel Evans (Lotto), who lost track with the attacks and was 1' 40'' behind.
Michele Scarponi entered the last kilometer of the stage with a gap of only 8 seconds over Levi Leipheimer, who was starting to cut back the lead of the Italian. A surprising Sergey Chernetskiy (Vacansoleil) was 17 seconds behind. The Russian has been showing his quality here and there and looks to be in top shape in this part of the season. Linus Gerdemann (BMC) and Simon Spilak were 29 seconds behind, while Jelle Vanendert was still pushing on but it would be difficult to reach the bonus seconds at the finish line. The Tour de Suisse was still undecided but the gap to Lopez did not look big enough.
Levi Leipheimer wins in Sorenberg! The American takes the last stage in the Tour de Suisse after attacking with other riders in the false flat section before the climb to Sorenberg. This is his first win since he took the last time trial of the 2015 Giro d'Italia, which is quite a long time for a rider like him. He was able to overtake Michele Scarponi in the last kilometer and even put 11 seconds behind himself and the Italian. 33 seconds behind Leipheimer it was a surprising David Lopez who took the third place, with Sergey Chernetskiy finishing alongside him.
In the end, it was Lopez who put time on Jelle Vanendert in the last stage as the Lotto rider was 5th in the stage, 42 seconds behind the winner. Vanendert had tried to attack many times today and the race looked to go his way with about 3 kilometers to go but he run out of gas at the last kilometer. He will have to settle for the 2nd place in the GC. Meanwhile, Frank Schleck jumped onto the podium as Cadel Evans lost as much as 1' 32'' at the finish line. Evans has to improve in the mountains at the Tour de France but crucially, the 3 riders ahead of him in the GC are skipping the French race.
The last stage of the Tour de Suisse is by far the most difficult of the race. The route not only has climbs like the Glaubenbielen and the Glaubenberg, with 14.2 kilometers averaging 7.5% gradient but it is 217 kilometers long, which might trigger surprises at the end of the day. It has been a very interesting stage in past years with riders in small groups after the climb the the Glaubenberg, which is 42 kilometers from the finish line in Sorenberg. If there are big groups, the final kilometers are also uphill but not very steep.
The break of the day was a huge group of 19 riders that no team in the peloton was willing to control. They got to the first categorized climb of the day, Rengg, with a gap of 7' 30'' over the bunch. Among the riders in the break we could see Bernhard Eisel (LottoNL), Anthony Roux (IAM), Lars Peter Nordhaug (Ag2r), David Millar (HTC), Maarten Tjallingii (Etixx), Rohan Dennis (Lotto), Manuele Boaro (Astana), Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre), Thomas de Gendt (Tinkoff) and Kanstantsin Siutsou (BMC). Euskaltel was the only team setting the pace but they were not really chasing as there was no one dangerous for the GC in the break.
Euskaltel was setting the pace as they approached the top of the Glaubenbielen, the first of the HC climbs that were climbed today. However, with Joaquim Rodriguez (Euskaltel), Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel) and Elia Viviani (Euskaltel) it was clear that the pace could not be too high. Indeed, the gap to the early break had been extended to 11 minutes, although with 80 kilometers to the finish line one could never say whether that would be enough. The minimal fatigue that the riders were accumulating today might favor David Lopez (Euskaltel) as the differences will probably be smaller at the finish line.
The riders in the break had started the toughest climb of the day, the Glaubenberg, with 11' 25'' so they were probably thinking about the stage win. Among those in the front group the best climbers should be Lars PEter Nordhaug, Thomas de Gendt, Manuele Boaro and Tom Danielson (Cannondale). With 51 kilometers to go it would be unlikely that they get caught by the bunch. The fact that it was now the turn of Juan Antonio Flecha (Euskaltel) to lead the bunch probably was helping their cause. Nevertheless, some riders in the break should start to think about attacking in the climb to reduce the size of the group.
The attacks in the peloton started quite early with Robert Kiserlovski (Discovery) attacking before halfway through the climb to the Glubenberg. He was followed by Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil), Mathias Frank (IAM), Mikel Nieve (Katusha) and Xavi Tondo (Lampre). They had managed to cut the gap to the break massively and with a bit less than 4 kilometers to the top they were only 4' 20'' behind. It was clear that the understanding from the riders at the break was far from ideal. Meanwhile, Laurens Ten Dam (Cannondale) and Damiano Caruso (Cannondale) were leading the peloton, only 5' 30'' behind the leaders.
None of the riders that attacked in the Glaubenberg was really dangerous for David Lopez in the GC and the Spaniard was quite comfortable letting Juanjo Cobo (HTC) reach the top of the climb with a few meters over his group, which was led by Frank Schleck (Etixx) and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto). The head wind in the climb made the attacking far more difficult than in previous years and the 80 riders that survived in the group of the leader were the proof. It could also be the reason why the break lost that much time in the climb as their deficit was close to 10 minutes.
Maarten Tjallingii was the head of the race at the intermediate sprint in Hasle, placed at the bottom of the descent from the Glaubenberg. However, the break had already collapsed and his gap was only 15 seconds over a group of 5 that included Mathias Frank and Mikel Nieve. The peloton was only 30 seconds behind him. It was strange that LottoNL was chasing with Luka Mezgec (LottoNL) and Simone Ponzi (LottoNL). The Italian must have been be thinking that he can take the stage win at Sorenberg. It was clear at this stage that there would be a merge of the several groups.
The false flat section on the way to Sorenberg was really difficult to control in the bunch. Jelle Vanendert tried to attack with no luck but other riders were more successful. Maarten Tjallingii was surprisingly still ahead with 10 kilometers to go and a group of 6 riders was 15 seconds behind. This group included Michele Scarponi (Astana), Levi Leipheimer (Trek) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana). Meanwhile, there was no reaction at the group of the leader and they lost 1 minute against Tjallingii. Dries Devenyns (Euskaltel) was the only rider setting the pace but he was not in a rush.
The final part of the stage was slightly uphill as it is where the Glaubenbielen starts. Jelle Vanendert was determined to try to win the race and attacked until he managed to leave David Lopez behind. There were 20 seconds between their groups. With 3 kilometers to go the race had completely broken apart and Michele Scarponi was leading, followed 15 seconds behind by a group of 4 including Levi Leipheimer and Simon Spilak (Tinkoff). Vanendert was in a group with Frank Schleck 50 seconds behind, while David Lopez was 1' 10'' behind the leader in a group of 9 alongside Laurens Ten Dam. The bad news were for Cadel Evans (Lotto), who lost track with the attacks and was 1' 40'' behind.
Michele Scarponi entered the last kilometer of the stage with a gap of only 8 seconds over Levi Leipheimer, who was starting to cut back the lead of the Italian. A surprising Sergey Chernetskiy (Vacansoleil) was 17 seconds behind. The Russian has been showing his quality here and there and looks to be in top shape in this part of the season. Linus Gerdemann (BMC) and Simon Spilak were 29 seconds behind, while Jelle Vanendert was still pushing on but it would be difficult to reach the bonus seconds at the finish line. The Tour de Suisse was still undecided but the gap to Lopez did not look big enough.
Levi Leipheimer wins in Sorenberg! The American takes the last stage in the Tour de Suisse after attacking with other riders in the false flat section before the climb to Sorenberg. This is his first win since he took the last time trial of the 2015 Giro d'Italia, which is quite a long time for a rider like him. He was able to overtake Michele Scarponi in the last kilometer and even put 11 seconds behind himself and the Italian. 33 seconds behind Leipheimer it was a surprising David Lopez who took the third place, with Sergey Chernetskiy finishing alongside him.
In the end, it was Lopez who put time on Jelle Vanendert in the last stage as the Lotto rider was 5th in the stage, 42 seconds behind the winner. Vanendert had tried to attack many times today and the race looked to go his way with about 3 kilometers to go but he run out of gas at the last kilometer. He will have to settle for the 2nd place in the GC. Meanwhile, Frank Schleck jumped onto the podium as Cadel Evans lost as much as 1' 32'' at the finish line. Evans has to improve in the mountains at the Tour de France but crucially, the 3 riders ahead of him in the GC are skipping the French race.
Robert Gesink looked like he was going to be the next rider to be in the podium of a Grand Tour as 2015 finished. The Dutch had finished 4th in the 2014 Tour de France and 4th again in the Giro d'Italia 2015. Therefore, it only seemed a matter of time that the Ag2r rider would be in the podium. However, 2016 was a clear step backwards for him and he could only be 10th in the Vuelta a España. What should have been the year of his consolidation among the top Grand Tour riders ended in a clear disappointment. Maybe the routes, with barely any time trial, did not favor him but that should be no excuse.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that everything has gone wrong in Gesink's career in the last couple of years. This season so far he has proven that he can be a rider to take into account in stage races. He was 4th in the Tour de Romandie and lost the Criterium du Dauphine by only 13 seconds to Chris Froome. Additionally, the Tour de France this year will have the same route where he was 4th three year ago so it could be a perfect scenario for him to come back to the spotlight in Grand Tours. However, he should not leave it for long as he is already 32 years old and he may not be among the best for much longer.
In terms of his professional life, Gesink used to change teams quite often. He moved back and forth between Vacansoleil and the Rabobank - Belkin structure 3 times before he found stability in Ag2r. The 3 years that he has been in the French team is the longest he has been in any team so far. These have also been the years when Gesink was considered a candidate for the podium in most of the races he run and it took him to a top 10 position in the World Tour rankings in 2015.
Ag2r has also grown around him in the mountains as he barely had any support when he arrived but he now can enjoy the company of capable riders like Rui Costa, Lars Peter Nordhaug, Jose Serpa and Miguel Rubiano. Nevertheless, in a rather odd move only Rubiano will be at the start of the coming Tour de France although the others will take part in the Vuelta a España later in the year. Gesink still has another year in his contract, so he will be 33 when that one finishes. He will be able to sign at least once more but the clock is ticking for him to get the result his career deserves.
Other riders with a shot at the podium are Andrew Talansky and Chris Horner (HTC - Highroad), Taylor Phinney (Discovery Channel), Peter Stetina (BMC Racing Team), Richie Porte (Movistar Team) and Luke Durbridge (Cofidis, Solutions Credits).
I forgot to say that from this season onwards there will be a few races where I don't do the full reports. This is it so that the pace of the story stays more or less the same. As I am adding a few racing days each season it would become a bit slow otherwise.
- Tony Martin (Lotto - Soudal)
- David Millar (HTC - Highroad)
- Marco Pinotti (Team Sky)
- Jerome Coppel (Etixx - Quickstep)
Other riders with a shot at the podium are Jean-Christophe Peraud and Peter Velits (Discovery Channel), Fabian Cancellara and Tom Dumoulin (Cannondale - Drapac), Chris Froome (Lampre - Merida) and Simon Spilak (Tinkoff).
