Welcome back to Switzerland - more precisely back in the canton of Bern, where already yesterday's stage started. We're in Huttwil today, a village with about 5,000 inhabitants. Yet, it is more important for cycling than you might guess, as it's home to Flyer AG, producing e-bikes under the same name. The Flyer was one of Europe's first serial e-bikes, and in Switzerland the name "Flyer" is nowadays used as a synonym for e-bike, no matter the brand.
The riders shouldn't have electric support today, however, so they'll be happy that the first part of the stage is mainly downhill. They'll reach the first intermediate sprint in Oftringen after 27km, after which they'll soon tackle today's toughest climb to Staffelegg (3rd category). The climb peaks at km 48, but the up-and-down continues for a while. The category 4 hill Zurziberg will be reached after 84km - and we're not even halfway done.
It's only after 150 kilomters - and some more rollercoaster riding - that we'll reach Freudenberg, another category 4 hill. After the second intermediate sprint in Sedel (164km) and the third and final 4th category hill Eschlikon (174km), a still slightly bumpy run-in to the finish line in Tobel-Tägerschen awaits the riders - until they'll finally be done with the second-longest stage of the 2022 Tour de Suisse!
There's not a whole lot to say about this village that got its name from the 1999 merger of Tobel and Tägerschen - there's not even a lake close by. However, the whole Tobel area is listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites, and contains ancient buildings like the Saint John Church, a pilgrim accomodation or a former taverna. Cheers!
Who will get out the champaign today, though? Will Project: Africa make it three in a row, most likely with Cisse? Or will Hayakawa, who again gets three stars, time his sprint better than yesterday? Other main favorites include Moser and Aniolkowski, besides the previously named sprinters who got 1st and 2nd yesterday. Redecker was anonymous yesterday, but still gets a mention - just like Abdul Halil, who wants to do better than 8th today. Kurianov, Welten and Kuroeda, who all were anonymous yesterday, are listed again - alongside Ovsyannikov who narrowly missed out on the podium in Buochs.
Let's see if the sprinters indeed get that one, or if some attackers capitalize on the long and pretty bumpy course!
What happened so far
Sunny and cloudy days are really alternating in this race, which will probably not be really appreciated by the riders. One more reason to get to the finish line as fast as possible!
We again have all the special jerseys in the front row - although Geoghegan Hart apparently doesn't really agree with one of his teammates about who gets the best starting position.
And please note Arashiro wearing the pink KoM jersey (in Seibeb's stead, who's still wearing ladybug) - something that probably didn't and won't happen too often in his career...
On the first bump into the stage, we had our first attack of the day - to the local fans' delight, Pellaud joined Duchesne and Swift in this move.
Thill, Broxham and Vichot are depicted representatively for many more attackers - but they were all denied. Smirnovs, Hoole and Rucigaj made it very clear that today would be a stage for the sprinters, and that they wouldn't allow more riders up front.
So the initial escapees actually are our breakaway of the day - which would become clear after the first intermediate sprint, as the pack finally relented. It looked like a half-hearted attempt by the sprinter teams to keep the bunch together until the sprint point in Oftringen - but they clearly didn't insist enough to catch the leading trio.
Sprint - Oftringen
1.
Pellaud
6 (6)
2.
Duchesne
4 (4)
3.
Swift
2 (2)
This also meant that the KoM standings would not be affected by this group - at least not the Top 2. Seibeb and Arashiro were in for a calm day in the pack, which trailed by 1'33" at this point.
Should the group make it to the line, Duchesne and Swift would be most likely to fight for the win, given their superior speed compared with Pellaud. The Canadian has great acceleration, while the Brit is physically stronger.
Despite all of the escapees being decent puncheurs, there was no fight at all for the KoM points. Pellaud just happened to cross the line first on today's toughest climb.
KoM - Staffelegg (3rd)
1.
Pellaud
6 (6)
2.
Swift
4 (4)
3.
Duchesne
2 (2)
The pack, still led by Red Bull, EA Vesuvio and Los Pollos, trailed by 3'20" - which was about the maximum gap we observed today.
The Zurziberg was so easy that the organisers didn't even bother publishing a detailed profile of the hill. No fight again, Swift was lucky this time.
KoM - Zurziberg (4th)
1.
Swift
5 (9)
2.
Duchesne
3 (5)
3.
Pellaud
1 (7)
The peloton was still 3'20" back, just controlling the race with more than 100km to go.
Absolutely nothing worth noting happened during the following 60 kilometers, and so we'll pick up live coverage with 55km to go!
LIVE +++ LIVE +++ LIVE
The leaders are about to tackle the third ascent of the day, the Freudenberg ("Mountain of Joy"). They can clearly see the pack closing in in the rear mirror, the gap having shrunk to 1'47". They're still cooperating, and we don't expect any attacks on this hill, either.
Indeed, they just roll across the line, and now everyone has won one KoM "sprint" with Duchesne being first on top.
KoM - Freudenberg (4th)
1.
Duchesne
5 (10)
2.
Pellaud
3 (10)
3.
Swift
1 (10)
You can't share the points more equally, as all three have now scored 10. Which is enough for shared 9th place in the virtual KoM standings.
It's still mostly the same riders setting the pace in the pack, as Rucigaj leads them over the top. Januskevicius and Hoole are the other heavy workers.
They even have slightly reduced the gap on the ascent, as it's now 1'32" separating them from the breakaway.
Swift then crosses the finish line first - unfortunately for him and his companions, there are still almost 40km to go. The pack is discovering the final - slightly uphill - kilometer as well, as they're just 1'16" behind.
The second intermediate sprint of the day comes just 1.7km after the finish line, and Swift is still leading the group, picking up maximum points here.
Sprint - Sedel
1.
Swift
6 (8)
2.
Pellaud
4 (10)
3.
Duchesne
2 (6)
The escapees have clearly picked up the pace a bit, as they have extended the lead to 1'40" within just 2 kilometers!
Pellaud then grabs maximum points on the final KoM of the day, moving up to 5th in the standings. Duchesne is 8th, and Swift misses out on the virtual Top 10.
KoM - Eschlikon (4th)
1.
Pellaud
5 (15)
2.
Duchesne
3 (13)
3.
Swift
1 (11)
28km to go!
The peloton is trying to make an early catch, meaning that the speed is high! And so we again have some splits - this is the first group consisting of just 36 riders!
We have most of today's favorites in this group - Moser, Hayakawa, Aniolkowski, Cisse, Ovsyannikov, Abdul Halil, Barbari and Rojus - but not many GC riders! We spot Geoghegan Hart, Bernal, Wirtgen, Morton, Haig and Choi - that's quite some of the current Top 20 missing out!
And the pack - first of all Red Bull - keeps on pushing, and so the leaders' advantage is down to 37" with 20km to go!
Some more riders have been able to join the first peloton, notably Zhao and Kuroeda - but no further GC riders! The gap isn't huge, just about 30", but there's still some work to do if they don't want to lose any seconds today!
Sütterlin makes the catch with still 12.5km to go - plenty of time to organize the sprint trains now!
The gap to the second peloton has clearly opened now - currently there are 91 riders in the pack, and 89 in the second group. Besides sprinters Redecker, Kurianov and Welten, the main absentees are Karnulin, Barguil, Smith, Lunke - and Seibeb! They're officially 1'44" behind already, but that should be much less to the tail of the pack.
5km to go, and Hayakawa definitely wants to leave nothing to chance today! His team has done a ton of work all day long, and they're pushing even harder now - and given that they don't have a serious GC contender here, they're really just preparing the sprint!
The second group has come quite a bit closer, but there are still a couple of meters missing!
With 3km to the line, we can again see a Los Pollos train shaping up - this time they're trying the composition Keizer - Hoole - Abdul Halil. Let's see if that works better than having Stojnic in the first position!
Hayakawa is being led out by Beniusis, while Hepburn is doing the same for Moser. Only one leadout left with 3km to go - the hard day apparently is taking its toll!
Rojus then is the only one following Hayakawa, while Cisse, Ovsyannikov, Hennis and Cherkasov are lined up behind Moser.
Aniolkowski is somewhat blocked by Stojnic, while being followed by Kuroeda, Lagane and Zingle, as well as Lienhard and Barbari. Zhao is in the first 25 positions as well, but he's looking a bit lost.
Further behind, salvation looks to be really close now for the second group, as they've almost reached the tail of the peloton! However, with that uphill final stretch, watch out for more gaps opening!
1.8km to go, as Li has somehow gotten in front of Hayakawa and is now pulling his sprinter! That's looking much better now, but he definitely needs to hold on for some more time!
Hoole absolutely wants to overtake the Red Bull duo with Abdul Halil in his wheel, closely followed by Rojus.
1,500m left, and Li has run out of steam already! Hayakawa knows that launching his sprint now would be pointless, and so he just waits!
In the meantime, Hoole continues pushing, pulling a whole line of sprinters with him - of course Abdul Halil, who in turn is followed by Rojus, Moser, Hennis - and Wirtgen?!?
Cisse is there as well, while Aniolkowski still is leading out some other sprinters on the left side of the road. We can spot Barbari, Kuroeda, Ovsyannikov, Cherkasov, Lienhard, Zingle, Siric, Lagane, Szarka and Zhao - it's a mess, but all should still have their chances!
Flamme Rouge! Hoole has lost his sprinter - or is just too fast - and behind him, the situation looks as follows:
Aniolkowski
Abdul Halil
Barbari
Hayakawa
Cisse
Moser
Rojus
Ovsyannikov
Hennis
Kuroeda
Wirtgen
Zingle
Li
Siric
Pogacar
Lagane
Cherkasov
Szarka
Lienhard
Keizer
Vichot
Shikai
Zhao
Bernal
Zhao again seems to have missed the key moment, but a lot of other sprinters are right there - with Aniolkowski being the first of them under the red kite! Usually not a position to be, but who knows?
700m to go, and the Pole definitely takes the lead as Hoole sits up, but Barbari is very cloase already! Cisse, Hayakawa and Moser - yesterday's Top 3 - are neck-and-neck, with Abdul Halil, Ovsyannikov and Kuroeda slightly behind. Rojus and the surprising Hennis are next, followed by Zingle.
With 500m left, Aniolkowski is still holding onto the lead, while Barbari seems to be fading already - Hayakawa, Cisse and Ovsyannikov are clearly faster now! And what's up with Moser? He looks to have an issue with his left shoe - at full speed!
Full speed is a good subject for Abdul Halil, who's trying to find an opening in the front row - which also holds for Rojus, Kuroeda and Hennis!
Zingle is catching up as well, bringing Siric, Lagane and Szarka with him!
Problem solved, and now Moser even takes the lead, narrowly ahead of Hayakawa, Aniolkowski and Cisse!
Barbari has some free space ahead, but doesn't seem to have much left - instead Kuroeda is trying to break through! Abdul Halil looks to be slightly blocked by the frontrunners, just like Rojus, Ovsyannikov and Hennis!
Just 300m to go!
200m, and it's Moser vs. Hayakawa for the win now! Cisse didn't have the head start he had yesterday and rather looks to be going backward, but still holds onto 3rd!
Then it's impossible to say who has the upside in the next line, as Rojus, Abdul Halil, Hennis and Aniolkowski are neck-and-neck!
Ovsyannikov, Barbari and Kuroeda are another row behind - the others probably are out of it.
Look at this! 100m to go, and all of a sudden Hennis seems to join the fight for the win! Moser and Hayakawa are still neck-and-neck, but the Anguillan is looking much faster currently!
Rojus is now a clear 4th, while Ovsyannikov and Cisse are fighting for 5th. Abdul Halil again looks to be going backward - but still not as much as Aniolkowski, who clearly took the lead too early!
50m to the line, and we currently have a dead heat! Hennis has indeed joined Hayakawa and Moser up front - but beware of Ovsyannikov who has finally found his top speed and is the fastest on the road!
But it is Hasani Hennis who wins this race! What a crazy sprint, what a crazy win! The Anguillan gets a sensational win here in Tobel-Tägerschen - has that even happened before? I still can't believe it - what a sprint!
But let's not forget about the rest of the sprinters, where Hayakawa now has a slight edge over Moser! Rojus, Ovsyannikov and Kuroeda are fighting for 4th place, while Abdul Halil and Cisse currently are 7th and 8th.
2nd and 3rd indeed go to Tomohiro Hayakawa and Moreno Moser, just like yesterday - and it's the third 2nd place in a row for Red Bull!
Adomaitis Rojus then narrowly edges out Alexandr Ovsyannikov for 5th, while Shiki Kuroeda takes a decent 6th place.
Mohamad Abdul Halil, Issiaka Cisse, Stanislaw Aniolkowski and Christopher Lagane round out the Top 10 - while Zhao once again fails and only gets 17th place.
In the end, there are no gaps, so everyone who was in the second group should be happy with that.
But no-one will be as happy as Hasani Hennis today! He had a career-defining race today, delivering a sensational sprint! Caribbean cycling is alive, and the Anguillan is one of the big hopes of the Podium Ambition project - I guess TMM will be celebrating like crazy! Although Hennis is currently riding - and winning - for Isostar, this stage must mean the world for his home team! Congratulations!
Let's not forget our other podium riders, though - Tomohiro Hayakawa again missed out on the win, and today that was just a huge surprise. Moreno Moser takes 3rd place again - both sprinters were really consistent, but none got a win in the end.
And Isostar can continue celebrating, as Tao Geoghegan Hart easily defends the GC leader jersey. Before the two decisive stages, he still leads 14" ahead of Costa Seibeb and 21" ahead of Lachlan Morton. It will definitely be a tense race for the GC win, with a tough hilly stage and a pretty long time trial yet to be raced!
Costa Seibeb was in danger of losing his points lead until the very last meters of the stage - and without the surprising late push by Hennis, Tomohiro Hayakawa would have won the stage and taken the ladybug jersey. But with his second 2nd place, the Japanese "only" moves up to 2nd, and the Namibian keeps a 3 point advantage.
Tom Wirtgen is still 3rd, 10 points back, and should actually be in a pretty decent position to win this jersey! Issiaka Cisse has now joined him, totalling 33 points as well.
While the points jersey and even the 2nd GC place were in danger, the KoM jersey never was. Costa Seibeb had a calm day in the pack, given that his closest rival, Yudai Arashiro, passed on a 3rd straight day in the breakaway. Tomorrow will be the decisive day for the KoM standings, with 46 points on offer - the Namibian currently has 41!
By the way, Giorgi Tediashvili still sits in 3rd place, but he definitely needs more points to stay there, given that an HC climb alone is worth 20 points.
It was a calm day for the GC contenders - at least for those not being caught out on the wrong side of a split - and so Joao Almeida easily defends his white jersey. He enters the final two days with a 55" lead over Egan Bernal, while Tadej Pogacar is 1'09" back.
You can say what you want - I think it's been a memorable Tour de Suisse so far! In the last three stages, we had two black African and a Caribbean winner - cycling for sure has become a global sport! Let's see if the "traditional" cycling nations strike back tomorrow on the longest stage - see you then!
Tour de Suisse 
