It's halftime-day in the 2022 Tour de Suisse - welcome back to Switzerland! We're still in the Bernese Oberland; in fact, the riders just travelled about 6km from Meiringen to Innertkirchen, where we have today's start line. You may remember the name - indeed, the second intermediate sprint point was here yesterday.
There's not a whole lot to say about this village - but it's an important transit point, as the roads both to Grimsel Pass and Susten Pass start here. And you can also get to Brünig Pass rather easily from here.
But unfortunately - or to the sprinters' delight - none of those climbs will be ridden today, as the riders are heading down the Aare valley, followed by rides alongside Lake Brienz and Lake Thun - pretty much the reverse road from yesterday. However, they don't turn in Spiez, but continue to Thun this time, where we have today's first intermediate sprint after 51km. And yes, the reporter knows this region pretty well, having grown up and living in Thun...
The course then leads the riders to the Emme Valley - or Emmental in German, which gives a pretty clear hint at what cheese the region is best known for. It's a rather flat ride, but it's actually a false flat all the way long up the Emme Valley, with the highest point being in Escholzmatt. From there, it's downhill as we reach the canton of Lucerne, with the second intermediate sprint in Schüpfheim after 107km.
We then have a short climb up to Rengg - but the organizers decided it's still worth category 2 points. The riders will arrive on top with 117km already in their legs; then it's downhill to Malters, and another 4th category climb named Rengglochstrasse. 132km will be covered by then - after which it's 25 flat kilometers to Buochs, where we can expect the first bunch sprint of the tour!
We'll actually again have changed cantons by then, as the finish line is in Nidwalden - as we're at a lakeside again. Buochs is located on the shores of Lake Lucerne and might be best known for its landmark mountain, the Buochserhorn. There's also a former air base of the Swiss Air Force in Buochs (Meiringen actually has one as well, we forgot to tell you yesterday), but nowadays it's only used for civil purposes.
Now, let's find out who is most likely to fly the highest today. The bookies agree that a sprinter should take the stage - but with no top sprinter present, the field should be wide open. In fact, the sprint skills of the riders on the favorite list range from 80 down to 75 - so basically anyone with some kind of decent top speed could come out victorious today. Most likely to win, however, should be Moser, Hayakawa and Aniolkowski, according to the bookies. Cisse, Abdul Halil and Ovsyannikov get two stars, while the list is completed by Kurianov, Redecker, Kuroeda and Welten. The likes of Zhao, Rojus or Barbari don't make the list, but will want to have their say, too!
So, let's take a look at what happened so far - including the first intermediate sprint - before we'll get some live images from the second sprint in Schüpfheim!
What happened so far
After yesterday's intermediate sprint in Innertkirchen was held under pouring rain, the weather is much more friendly today. There's no wind, either, so it should be pretty much a straight forward stage for the sprinter teams.
If you're confused by Seibeb not wearing pink today - that's because he now leads two classifications, and the one for sprint points is more important than the one for KoM points. So the Namibian is wearing the ladybug jersey today, while Tediashvili is riding in pink. Yellow still belongs to Geoghegan Hart, and the man in white is Almeida.
It took a lot of time today until the final breakaway was formed. Hvideberg and Howson attacked as the peloton was already past Brienz; before them, we had a plethora of attempts, notably by national champions Jurado, Campbell and Finkler, as well as the likes of Bagioli, Knotten, Dumoulin, Thill or Arashiro. Howson himself also needed three or four tries to finally get away.
At first it was mainly Neuman who shut down all the moves, later on he got some support by Hoole and Rucigaj.
It was only arriving in Interlaken - when the riders had left behind Lake Brienz for good this time - that Ghani was able to sneak away, too. He was almost caught due to another wave of attacks behind him, but just stayed clear and finally was let go.
Finally, Arashiro and Atkins gave the reporter the golden opportunity to take a picture with his home town in (virtual) sight. They attacked with 10km to go to the intermediate sprint in Thun - and surprisingly the pack instantly let them go.
It was only when the riders arrived in the outskirts of Thun that the five escapees finally regrouped. 3km left until the sprint, which should be pretty interesting for both Howson and Arashiro, as they already have some points to their name.
However, after an almost 50km long fight to be in the breakaway, the general energy level was pretty low, and so there was not sprint at all. Howson got maximum points without having to fight for them.
Sprint - Thun
1.
Howson
6 (22)
2.
Hvideberg
4 (4)
3.
Ghani
2 (2)
Of these 5 riders, Arashiro clearly has the biggest engine - he clearly proved that yesterday as well. And he's also by far the best sprinter in the group, so if they should make it through, he should be the strongest regardless whether he tries a long-range attack or waits for the sprint.
Howson and Atkins bot are great time triallists, while Ghani is the best puncheur - although there are no really big KoM points available, there still are 15 points on offer, which could be a good starting position for a serious KoM jersey attack on day 6.
Hvideberg doesn't really have a particular strength, although he's a solid rouleur and a good fighter.
One final picture of Lake Thun, as the pack arrived at the sprint point. They only trailed by 2'25" and seemed to have everything under control. Hoole, Rucigaj, Gayral and Smirnovs were the ones doing most of the work - representing three sprinter teams and the GC leader team.
We jump right ahead to the second intermediate sprint in Schüpfheim, where the riders rolled through in exactly the same order as they did at the first one.
Sprint - Schüpfheim
1.
Howson
6 (28)
2.
Hvideberg
4 (8)
3.
Ghani
2 (4)
With these additional points, Howson moved up to 4th in the virtual points standings - with a great closing time trial, maybe that could even be a podium spot? Some more points scored at the finish line today would definitely help, though!
The latter scenario however was already pretty unlikely at that point, given that the bunch, led by Sütterlin, only trailed by 1'24" in Schüpfheim. 50km to go - and that's where live coverage picks up!
LIVE +++ LIVE +++ LIVE
The breakaway is about to tackle today's main obstacle, the climb to Rengg, yielding 2nd category points. Ghani should be the favorite for maximum points, but you never know.
The hill is just 2.4km long, but the gradients reach 10% and more!
With 1.7km to go, it's Arashiro - the worst puncheur in the group - who accelerates! TTers Atkins and Howson try to hang on, Hvideberg and Ghani don't look too interested.
And the peloton is just 1'07" behind - it looks like it'd be even less, but with 10% slopes even a short distance can take quite some time to cover!
Surprisingly, Arashiro pulled all the way through to score maximum points here! Howson cracked, but Atkins didn't, and at least takes points for 2nd place. The escapees pick up all available points, so there shouldn't be any attacks from the pack.
KoM - Rengg (2nd)
1.
Arashiro
10 (25)
2.
Atkins
8 (8)
3.
Ghani
6 (6)
4.
Hvideberg
4 (4)
5.
Howson
2 (2)
Arashiro actually moves up to 2nd place in the KoM standings, leaving both Morton and Tediashvili behind! He still trails Seibeb by 16 points, though; the Namibian knew beforehand that nobody could take away his jersey today.
Hayakawa apparently has some really good legs today, as four of his teammates are making sure to keep the escapees on a short leash. The gap got back up to 1'27", but definitely nothing worrying. Howson is somewhere in no-man's-land, 44" behind the leaders and 43" ahead of the pack.
The front of the race already arrives at the foot of the category 4 Rengglochstrasse hill, as Howson is swept up by the pack, 1'01" back.
Arashiro again tries the long-range attack, as he accelerates with 1.6km to go already!
And exactly as last time, the Japanese holds on and takes maximum points again! This time, Atkins couldn't keep up and was dropped - both TTers are gone, and only three remain up front:
KoM - Rengglochstrasse (4th)
1.
Arashiro
5 (30)
2.
Ghani
3 (9)
3.
Hvideberg
1 (5)
Only 11 points separate Arashiro from Seibeb now - the Voyagin rider probably rarely had a higher KoM position than he's in now!
The peloton hasn't gained a lot of time on this climb - but they still were fast enough to create some splits! We only have a 23-man group chasing the breakaway now, containing three of today's favorites with Moser, Hayakawa and Abdul Halil - and race leader Geoghegan Hart as the only GC rider! Could this stage even be decisive for the entire race?
Not quite, as with 20km to go, the peloton looks to be back at full strength - almost! The highest ranked rider currently missing from the main group is Frankiny, but Berhane is back there as well! Among the sprinters, Welten is the only notable name not in the pack - but his teammate Ovsyannikov is, so probably no panic for Zwift.
Our three leaders still have a 58" gap over the bunch, and those twisty roads right now don't make it easy to reduce that deficit. Atkins is still in between.
Just as Lake Lucern gets within sight, Arashiro goes all-in! We said it before, he's got the biggest engine and might be able to pull through! Can Ghani and Hvideberg counter that move?
At least there's no decisive gap yet, and the chasing duo seems to control the race situation. Atkins however doesn't get closer - instead it's the pack gaining ground!
Atkins was reeled in with 13km to go, and it doesn't look good for the other escapees, either, as we reach the 10km mark! Arashiro, Hvideberg and Ghani all are on their own - not the best strategy probably...
And indeed, one kilometer later, it's game over for the escapees. Let' the sprint preparations begin!
5km to go, as the sprint trains seem to take shape. At least we can spot a line of EA Vesuvio riders, followed by a Red Bull train. Most other sprinters are lined up behind Moser right now.
With 3km to go, the Red Bull train already seems to fall apart, as only Tediashvili is left in front of Hayakawa! There's now a strong Los Pollos presence, with all other sprinters being on their own.
Hayakawa is the first sprinter, then we have Rojus on the left, Abdul Halil behind Sütterlin in the center - and the Malaysian is followed by Moser, Aniolkowski, Ovsyannikov, Lagane, Cisse, Barbari and Kuroeda.
Zhao and Redecker are way back and are probably out of it. So is Welten, who's still in the second group - over 2 minutes back by now!
2km to the line, and we only get one sprint train today! However, with that train being Stojnic - Hoole - Abdul Halil, one might wonder whether that really was a smart choice by Los Pollos...
Now everyone is lined up behind the Malaysian, even Hayakawa, who's following Rojus. Then we have Moser, Aniolkowski, Ovsyannikov, Lagane, Cisse and Barbari - plus Siric who wants to join the fun, too!
Kuroeda has just lost the Bosnian's wheel and doesn't look great anymore, either!
Stojnic has completed his job with 1.5km to go, leaving the final leadout to Hoole. Pretty much nothing has changed behind, the sprinters still are in the same order - it's questionable whether that's a good strategy for those at the end of this "queue", though!
However, as Hoole is done under the Flamme Rouge, the race almost comes to halt, as Abdul Halil feels like it's too early to launch!
Cisse on the other hand doesn't feel this at all - the Ivorian came from way behind and shoots past everyone else with great speed! They definitely have to react to that move now!
Just 600m to go, and Cisse has created a nice advantage with that early move - but can he hold on?
Behind him, the race now looks like this:
Abdul Halil
Rojus
Hayakawa
Moser
Aniolkowski
Ovsyannikov
Hoole
Cherkasov
Barbari
Lagane
Siric
Stojnic
Does someone have enough left to catch the African on this slightly inclined final stretch?
Only 400m left, and Cisse isn't fading at all! The others don't seem to have a higher speed, and so the gap is still real - and it could be decisive!
Hayakawa is now a clear 2nd, while Rojus is fading already and has dropped to 6th - but still almost level with Aniolkowski and Moser. Abdul Halil is 3rd, but doesn't seem to have much left.
Ovsyannikov, Cherkasov and Barbari are trying to find a free path to move up further, while Lagane seems to run out of steam as well. Siric is the final sprinter in this group of 10.
200m to go, as the others are closing in a bit on Cisse - but the Ivorian is still looking good!
Hayakawa is still holding onto 2nd, while Moser, Abdul Halil, Rojus, Ovsyannikov and Aniolkowski are currently fighting for 3rd - with Moser having a slight edge!
Barbari is trying to squeeze through, while Cherkasov has decided to try the outer lane - let's see who's faster!
The fastest today however is Issiaka Cisse! After his teammate Seibeb won yesterday's stage, the Ivorian makes it two in a row for Project: Africa, thanks to his well-timed and surprising move! Congratulations!
Hayakawa still looks to be ahead of the others, but they're getting closer and closer!
3rd place goes to Moreno Moser, narrowly edgin out Alexandr Ovsyannikov. EA Vesuvio got 1st and 2nd on stage one, now they have 3rd place as well.
Stanislaw Aniolkowski takes 5th, ahead of Adel Barbari, Adomaitis Rojus, a pretty disappointed Mohamad Abdul Halil, Christopher Lagane and Ivan Siric, who just misses out on the Top10.
Gayral coming in next ensures that there are no time gaps between the sprinters and the peloton, where almost all of the Top20 GC riders finished safely.
Which however wasn't the case for Frankiny, who lost 1'55" with this group, dropping from 18th to 31st. Fortunately, Sauber still have Hirschi in 12th position, so it wasn't a complete disaster for them - but still disappointing to lose a Top20 spot in their home race.
On the other hand, it wasn't a disappointing day at all for Issiaka Cisse, today's stage winner! His positioning didn't look great with 1.5km to go - but then he went all-in, launching the sprint under the red kite - and pulling through! It's another celebration day for Project: Africa, who will definitely remember this race!
2nd place goes to Tomohiro Hayakawa, who actually was the fastest sprinter - but not the smartest one. He'll get a chance for revenge tomorrow, though - just like Moreno Moser, who finished 3rd.
Although there were some splits during the stage, most of them didn't last, and none of them finally impacted the top of the GC. Which means that Tao Geoghegan Hart conserves his 14" advantage over Costa Seibeb, while Lachlan Morton is 21" down.
There's no change on top of the points standings, either, as Costa Seibeb retains the lead with his 43 points. Tom Wirtgen and Giorgi Tediashvili follow with 33 and 32 points respectively. The most notable changes are Howson moving up to 4th, and Cisse shooting up to 7th with those 25 points for the stage win.
Among the sprinters, only Cisse and Hayakawa actually have a chance to take over the points jersey tomorrow - without counting in any potential intermediate sprint points..
Costa Seibeb also keeps the lead in the KoM standings - which was clear before the stage already. However, his advantage has shrunk from 24 to 11 points, as Yudai Arashiro scored maximum points today, taking 2nd place from Giorgi Tediashvili. 21 points are on offer tomorrow, so only the Japanese actually could theoretically take the lead tomorrow.
Joao Almeida then enters the stage to present his white jersey, which never was in danger today. He's still 55" ahead of Egan Bernal and 1'09" ahead of Tadej Pogacar.
That's all from today's short yet intense sprint stage! Issiaka Cisse capitalized on a moment of inadvertence of the other sprinters to cruise to the win - tomorrow will be another flat stage with a chance for revenge for those beaten today! See you then!
Tour de Suisse 
