Welcome back to Switzerland! We're in Schaffhausen for today's showdown, the final stage of the 2022 Tour de Suisse! We're actually back by the shores of the Rhine, close to the Rhine Falls in Neuhausen, Europe's largest waterfall. Switzerland's northernmost city has a population of about 35,000, and its main tourist attraction is the Munot, a fortress built in the 16th century. Economically speaking, the International Watch Company - also hosting a big museum - might be the best known company, and one of the canton's most important employers.
And "watch" is the perfect keyword for today's stage, as we'll have a race against the clock! The 32.2km long course is entirely inside Switzerland - which isn't self-evident given that the German border is pretty much just around the corner - and there's that nasty climb up to Opfertshofner hill about two thirds into the race. The second time check on top of that hill - after 23km - should give us some clear indications of who's still got the legs and who hasn't. We also have another split time after 11km.
We expect the better climbers among the time triallists to have a certain advantage due to the hill - and probably also because of yesterday's tough stage. However, the bookies don't really agree with that assessment. They do have Wirtgen on top of their list, which makes sense - but it remains to be seen if the likes of Mullen, Dillier, Viennet, Sütterlin or Haugard can really make an impact today. At least they also have Bernal and Keizer on their sheet, but it seems more likely to us that they'll fight for the stage podium instead of a lower Top 10 spot. Razumov and Howson round off that list.
Before we jump into the race, let's take a look at the pre-stage Top 20 (and some more) and their skills on the TT bike:
Rank
Time Diff.
Rider
Mo
TT
Res
24
+ 7'12"
Rikunov
77
74
71
23
+ 7'00"
Fung
77
76
73
22
+ 6'59"
Crncevic
76
73
70
21
+ 6'21"
Lunke
78
73
74
20
+ 5'56"
Keizer
79
79
76
19
+ 5'55"
Borisavljevic
77
74
74
18
+ 4'58"
Karnulin
78
70
75
17
+ 4'47"
Pluchkin
81
75
72
16
+ 4'45"
Hirschi
75
66
77
15
+ 4'24"
Smith
78
68
74
14
+ 2'55"
Haig
82
77
75
13
+ 2'41"
Roglic
79
71
74
12
+ 2'39"
Shikai
81
76
76
11
+ 2'38"
Powless
77
78
74
10
+ 2'22"
Choi
81
75
76
9
+ 2'11"
Barguil
81
70
77
8
+ 2'04"
Taaramäe
81
77
74
7
+ 1'51"
Pogacar
78
74
78
6
+ 1'38"
Wirtgen
78
81
75
5
+ 1'37"
Bernal
81
78
80
4
+ 1'36"
Kudus
84
72
77
3
+ 1'23"
Almeida
78
71
77
2
+ 17"
Geoghegan Hart
79
76
74
1
23h41'10"
Morton
84
73
78
The four riders from 21st to 24th probably are the only ones who could potentially still move up to the Top 20. There aren't many who could potentially drop out, though - Hirschi is the weakest against the clock, but he still has over 1'30" of advantage on Lunke. However, the Swiss and Smith will probably drop some spots.
We also have a bit gap between 14th and 15th, making it unlikely that one of the Top 14 riders will drop beyond that 14th place. Haig, Shikai and Powless are surely hoping to enter the Top 10, while Barguil, Pogacar, Kudus and Almeida might be at risk of dropping out.
The fight for the win will obviously be the most interesting battle. Geoghegan Hart should be able to close that 17" gap - but if Morton can gain back some time on the climb, we might get a really close race!
And yet another question is: how much time can Wirtgen gain? He should be the favorite for 3rd place - although if he has a bad day, Bernal could very well take that spot. But if he's got a good day - will those 1'38" be enough for Morton, in a 32.2km time trial? Remember that he lost 40" on 8km on the first day...
So, plenty of questions to be answered - but before we dive in and closely follow the Top 20, let's already answer the question of who did well so far!
What happened so far
Currently in 10th position we have Rachid, who once again had a very solid stage. Nothing sensational, but rock solid, which should help him move up some spots in the end. He posted a time of 47'05", which puts him 47" behind the leader.
As on stage one, Dees had a good day again, and he finished 4" faster than the Lebanese.
While the two riders on P9 and P10 are decent climbers, Beniusis is first of all a great time triallist. The fact that he could "only" put 14" between himself and the Dutchman shows that climbing is not unimportant at all - and the Lithuanian definitely isn't as bad as some other TTers! His time of 46'47" is still 29" off the lead.
Main was probably the main surprise so far - worse on paper than Dees and Rachid, he still beat them, and even slotted in one second ahead of Beniusis! 7th place for him, 46'46".
Bosnian TT champion Crncevic is one of those riders still hoping to break into the Top 20, and he sure did a good job with current 6th place and a time of 46'42". Now he has to wait and hope.
Yet another second quicker out on the road was Bevin, who can be satisfied with his performance as well. He trails the leader by 23".
We then have a rather big jump, as Mano is just 10" off the lead - which is only enough for 4th place, though. 46'28" for him.
Oliveira is yet another one of those TT specialists who aren't too shabby climbers, and he currently sits on the final podium spot. His time of 46'26" is just 2" faster than Mano, who's a pretty similar rider.
Not really similar is Rikunov, who's more of a climber - but he had some great TT legs today! One second faster than the Portuguese, he currently sits in 2nd place with a time of 46'25", just 7" behind the leader!
And our current leader is a rider who already did a great job in the prologue - it's Conci! You can already see from his determination at the start that he should be in for a good result - and indeed, he's currently holding the best time in 46'18"!
It's definitely logical to see him on the hot seat, as he clearly was the strongest stage racer out on the road so far.
The pure TTers didn't stand any chance, except if they are somewhat capable climbers. They did do well at the first time check, but dropped pretty far down the rankings in the second and third sections, with the climb and the following descent.
Let's take a look at the current standings at all three checkpoints before the Top 20 enter the race:
Inter 1 - Thayngen
1.
Oliveira
15'32"
6.
Golovash
+ 9"
2.
Rikunov
+ 2"
7.
Conci
+ 9"
3.
Sütterlin
+ 6"
8.
Bevin
+ 10"
4.
Crncevic
+ 7"
9.
Dees
+ 11"
5.
Mano
+ 7"
10.
Beniusis
+ 11"
Inter 2 - Opfertshofner
1.
Conci
34'41"
6.
Bevin
+ 19"
2.
Rikunov
+ 5"
7.
Main
+ 23"
3.
Oliveira
+ 8"
8.
Dees
+ 29"
4.
Mano
+ 12"
9.
Beniusis
+ 30"
5.
Crncevic
+ 19"
10.
Prado
+ 31"
Finish - Schaffhausen
1.
Conci
46'18"
6.
Crncevic
+ 24"
2.
Rikunov
+ 7"
7.
Main
+ 28"
3.
Oliveira
+ 8"
8.
Beniusis
+ 29"
4.
Mano
+ 10"
9.
Dees
+ 43"
5.
Bevin
+ 23"
10.
Rachid
+ 47"
Rikunov currenlty holds the virtual GC lead, 4" ahead of Crncevic and 10" ahead of Lunke, and hence would be the first one breaking into the Top 20 if one of those has a really bad day today. Let's find out if that happens - and, of course, who wins the stage and the race!
LIVE +++ LIVE +++ LIVE
We're arriving just in time for Keizer's first time check! The Dutchman currently sits on P20, and given his skills against the clock should be looking rather ahead than backwards. And indeed, he posts a strong time: 15'35", which means that he takes 3rd place and is just 3" off the lead. Good start!
The same can be said about Borisavljevic. He's a tad weaker in TTs, but 9th place is a very solid result - 10th place at the first split time for the Serbian TT champion.
Karnulin is another level below in terms of TT skills, and in addition he doesn't look to be on a good day. 38" lost already, which is only 49th place. Given that he just has about a minute on the two previous riders, he'll have to up his pace if he doesn't want to lose some GC spots!
Pluchkin was one of the world's best stage racers in his prime, and he has won many an ITT competition. He no longer is at this top level, but still pretty solid. 16th place with a time of 15'50" should make sure he won't slip further down the rankings, and he probably has a good shot at overtaking at least the next two riders.
Hirschi was one of the big losers yesterday - and unfortunately for him and the local fans, he's looking to make it two in a row. Not a gifted TTer anyway, he moreover seems to have some bad legs, and loses already more than a minute here! 95th place - even for his standards, that's below expectations. He's just 6" ahead of Keizer at this point in the virtual GC - and looks to be the most likely rider to drop out of the Top 20 by now...
Or will Smith do even worse? He's definitely not a strongman against the clock, either, but he's holding his own by now, even beating Karnulin by a second. 48th place for him, 37" down - he's only got 4" of margin left vs. Pluchkin, but I guess he never supposed he'd stay ahead of the Moldovan anyway.
The next Oceanian rider is supposed to fare much better, as Haig is trying to somewhat salvage his race after some very disappointing rides so far. However, his first split time suggests that it'll be another mediocre day - 15'50", which is the same time as Pluchkin - 17th place. At least he surely won't drop further down, having a 1'29" advantage over Smith before the stage - and even 19" more now.
However, gaining some spots won't be easy as well, though, if the competition is rider stronger than expected! Roglic, a clearly slower TTer on paper, actually beats the Aussie by 3" - 15th place for the Slovenian.
And the next rider is even faster - so fast that the cameras only spot him as he had already crossed the line! Shikai is having a great ride so far - 2nd place, just 1" behind Oliveira!
However, the Chinese doesn't stay in that spot for long, as Powless posts a clear new best time at the first checkpoint! 15'26" is 6" faster than Oliveira's time - he's clearly targetting a Top 10 GC finish here, great work by the American so far!
In the meantime, Keizer has arrived on top of Opfertshofner hill - but his second split time confirms that his climbing form just isn't good. 34'51" means he's in 4th place and 10" down on Conci's time there - and given how bad of a downhiller he is, it's unlikely that he'll gain back some time.
Back at the first split, Choi posts a time suggesting that he just had an off-day yesterday - 2nd place for him, 5" behind Powless! A good start for the Philips man as well!
Borisavljevic is done with climbing now, and he climbed pretty well. It's provisional 8th place for him at the second checkpoint, 21" off the best time. He'll probably lose a spot to Keizer - but maybe he can gain back some time on the descent now!
Barguil is the weakest TT rider in the current Top 10, but he didn't lose the world on the first section. 15'58" means 32" off the lead and 36th place - while that's solid, it doesn't look like he'll be holding onto his Top 10 spot.
On the other hand, Karnulin continues his pretty disappointing ride. He's only 39th on top of the climb, which means 1'18" behind the best time. Luckily for him, Hirschi already lost almost as much at the first split...
Another legend reaches the first checkpoint - and Taaramäe will probably be slightly disappointed. He's doing a solid job, no question about it, but he has already lost 16" on the first part - 12th place for the Estonian.
Meanwhile, Pluchkin has just finished the climb. We somewhat expected him to gain back some time on this uphill section, but he doesn't have those good-old-time legs today. 15th place with a time of 35'16", which is a 35" deficit.
However, the next rider already has a 35" deficit at the first split, as Pogacar isn't looking as fresh as he did in the mountains. He's even some seconds slower than Barguil, definitely not a great day for him so far!
But now, we have today's #1 stage favorite at the first checkpoint! Wirtgen won the prologue six days ago - but he's unlikely to win today! Only 15th place with a 17" gap - what a bad ride so far!
When speaking of bad ride, however, there's no way to look past Hirschi! The Swiss must be on a horrible day, as he's just in 92nd place, 2'32" back! And now, let's make a quick calculation - Rikunov, the current virtual GC leader at the finish, was 2'27" back before the stage, and still sits in 2nd place, 5" behind the lead at checkpoint 2 - they're ex aequo! So if Hirschi wants to stay inside the Top 20, he'll have to ride the final section at least as fast as the Russian!
From a slow to a fast rider - a very fast one, an incredibly fast one - Bernal literally smashes the current best time at the first split! His time of 15'14" means he's a whopping 12" faster than Powless - that's attack for the final step on the podium is definitely looking great so far! Or could it be... even more?
Smith has reached the hilltop as well, and he continues his steady yet not very fast ride. 36th place and a deficit of 1'11" means he's lost a spot to Pluchkin in the virtual GC, but is looking good to keep everyone else at bay.
Keeping at bay is not at all what Haig is looking to do, as he wants to move up some spots! However, he just doesn't have the legs for that it seems. He posts the 15th time at the second checkpoint, and definitely doesn't have to be afraid of being overtaken - but how many rider could he be able to overtake?
Kudus knows that he'll very likely be losing at least two spots, as he was just 1" ahead of Bernal and 2" ahead of Wirtgen. The first intermediate time confirms that, as he's already 47" off the pace in 49th place. 3 riders left here!
But now, we're at the finish line, as Keizer completes his 2022 Tour de Suisse journey! As said before, he's a bad downhiller - and so his deficit doubles on that final section, and he slips down one spot:
46'38"
(5th, + 20")
It's still the clear new virtual GC lead for the Dutchman!
Borisavljevic is next up at the arrival. And surprisingly, the Serb even lost one second on Keizer in those closing kilometers, despite him being much stronger downhill! It's still a good time, though, and he slots into 2nd place in the virtual GC, a Top 20 result hence being guaranteed.
46'50"
(10th, + 32")
The previous rider at the second split was Haig, who was surely thinking he should easily overtake Roglic today - but sometimes things clearly don't go according to theory. In fact, the Slovenian takes provisional 8th place on top of Opfertshofner hill, losing just 21", and being 14" clear of Haig - he clearly doesn't look to drop today!
Someone who surely won't give away any spots as well is Shikai, who's still in 4th place at the first checkpoint - and now posts the clear new best time at the hilltop! 34'34" is 7" faster than Conci's time, a great job so far by the Chinese!
On the other hand, someone who will take a dive - probably a huge dive even - is Almeida. Not a great TTer for sure, he just has a horrible day - in fact, he's even almost as slow Hirschi! The Portuguese loses 1'21" on the first section, which is 102nd place! That hurts, even for the neutral spectator...
We have the next rider arriving at the finish line with Karnulin. He didn't have a good day, and actually lost a lot of time even on the downhill section:
48'05"
(47th, + 1'47")
He drops behind both Keizer and Borisavljevic in the virtual GC, but stays 34" clear of Rikunov and will end up in the Top 20 as well!
We're almost done at the first split, as Geoghegan Hart crosses the line! He doesn't post a great time, though, losing already 42" on that section, which is only 34th place! Meaning that a big opportunity is opening here for Morton to actually bring the race home!
Another English speaker is having a great day, though, as Powless climbs slightly faster than Shikai - he was 7" ahead at the first split, on top of the hill it's 9" - 34'25"!
It's English-only in this trio, as Morton is now arriving at the first intermediate time check! He was 17" ahead before the stage - and that goes down to 14", as he loses 3" to Geoghegan Hart! This will go down to the wire!
Let's take a look at the final Top 10 at this checkpoint - and at the provisional GC:
Inter 1 - Thayngen
Checkpoint standings
1.
Bernal
15'14"
6.
Rikunov
+ 20"
2.
Powless
+ 12"
7.
Keizer
+ 20"
3.
Choi
+ 17"
8.
Sütterlin
+ 24"
4.
Oliveira
+ 17"
9.
Crncevic
+ 25"
5.
Shikai
+ 19"
10.
Mano
+ 25"
Virtual GC
1.
Morton
23h57'09"
=
2.
Geoghegan Hart
+ 14"
=
3.
Bernal
+ 52"
2
4.
Wirtgen
+ 1'22"
2
5.
Kudus
+ 1'38"
1
6.
Taaramäe
+ 1'47"
2
7.
Pogacar
+ 1'53"
=
8.
Choi
+ 1'54"
2
9.
Almeida
+ 1'59"
6
10.
Powless
+ 2'05"
1
11.
Barguil
+ 2'10"
2
12.
Shikai
+ 2'13"
=
13.
Roglic
+ 2'28"
=
14.
Haig
+ 2'46"
=
15.
Smith
+ 4'34"
=
16.
Pluchkin
+ 4'38"
1
17.
Karnulin
+ 5'09"
1
18.
Hirschi
+ 5'26"
2
19.
Keizer
+ 5'31"
1
20.
Borisavljevic
+ 5'38"
1
While nobody has gained more than 2 spots so far, Almeida is the biggest loser so far, being at high risk of dropping outside the Top 10!
Pluchkin's Tour de Suisse 2022 also comes to an end. He was clearly disappointing in the mountains, but today's time trial is about OK for his current - declined - skills.
47'15"
(17th, + 57")
Although it's not an overwhelming performance, he still takes the virtual GC lead.
Only 10 riders are missing at the second checkpoint - and Choi is the first of them! He gets close, very close to Powless' time, having gained 6" - but he trailed by 7" at the first split! So it's 2nd place for him in 34'26"! However, he's a stronger downhiller than the American - can he make up that one tiny second on the final 9 kilometers?
Barguil is next on top - but only of the hill, not of the rankings unfortunately. The Frenchman is currently 56" off the pace in 23rd place - it isn't looking good for a Top 10 spot!
It's Taaramäe's turn now - and he confirms the good impression he already gave at checkpoint 1! The Estonian is 28" slower than the leader at this point, which is 8th place at Opfertshofner hill!
He wasn't fast out on the road, but Hirschi definitely wants to forget this day as fast as possible! He tried, but it just didn't work out at all for him:
49'38"
(104th, + 3'20")
It's not even a Top 100 spot, despite the up- and downhill sections - something just went horribly wrong. Besides Keizer and Borisavljevic, he drops behind all of Rikunov, Crncevic and Lunke and will finish the race in 23rd place - no Swiss rider even in the Top 20, a bad tour for the home nation!
The second candidate to maybe drop out of the Top 20 was Smith - who wasn't great, either, but easily good enough:
47'57"
(39th, + 1'39")
In the end, he only loses one spot to Pluchkin and even stays clear of Keizer by 13"! So he'll - in all likelihood - finish the race in 16th place. Good job!
Haig is next - started as a GC podium contender, he clearly didn't have the legs yesterday - nor today. Given his skillset, a provisional 17th place just isn't enough - and he has to hope for other riders to have really bad day if he wants to finish higher than 15th in the GC. Disappointing.
47'13"
(17th, + 55")
It's definitely a big surprise that Roglic doesn't drop behind the Australian - on the contrary, he even gained almost 20" today! He takes over the virtual GC lead and is looking to maybe move up one or two spots!
46'55"
(11th, + 37")
Pogacar will have to fight hard to stay ahead of his compatriot! He had a 50" advantage pre-stage, and has lost 32" now (+ 1'09" to Powless) - he'll surely drop behind Choi, Powless and Shikai, so he needs to keep both Barguil and Roglic at bay to stay inside the Top 10!
Top 10 is a sure thing for Wirtgen, but the Luxembourger surely wanted his second stage win today - it isn't looking good at all, though. He's only 12th, 37" down - a big, big disappointment for him! At least he probably won't be dropping in the GC.
But who will win the stage? Bernal by now looks like a safe bet - the Colombian is just flying! He beats the best time by 42 seconds - amazing! He's had a couple of really disappointing races so far, but today could be his day!
Just to note down: the new best time at Opfertshofner hill is 33'42". Just wow.
As we're talking about best times - Shikai is about to post one at the finish line, having a solid 7" lead over Conci at the second split. But it will go down to the wire I guess...
46'13" ... 46'14" ... 46'15" ... 46'16" ...
46'17"
(Leader)
We do have a new best time, indeed - he saved just one tiny second in the end! The Chinese obviously takes the virtual GC lead - 40" ahead of Roglic, and will be hoping to climb up some spots now!
I don't know whether Powless knows that his best time at the second time check has just been crushed, but he surely knows that he had a 9" advantage over Shikai up there - and unlike the Chinese, he has absolutely no interest in making this a close race -
46'03"
(Leader)
The American extended his lead to 14" and immediately takes away the virtual GC lead from his predecessor! He know that he has done a great race, and a GC Top 10 will be the most likely reward for this - along with a big stage result, according to the splits!
However, the one currently holding the final Top 10 spot won't just give it away - and we know that Choi was just 1" behind at the hilltop, could he capitalize on his better downhill skills to even take the race lead now?
No, he can't! It looks like time trialling was still more important than downhilling, and he just falls short of taking over the hot seat. Still, after yesterday's disappointment he strikes back directly and secures his Top 10 spot!
Just three riders missing at the second time check, and Kudus is the first one of them. He didn't look great on the flat section, but definitely made use of the climb to move up quite some spots - he's currently 19th, 1'30" back. Which sounds like a lot, but given Bernal's 42" lead over 2nd place, it's actually not that bad!
Not that bad - this unfortunately doesn't really hold for Almeida. The U25 leader is almost 3 minutes down - we'll soon take a look at what that means for his GC position. But it can't look good, that's for sure!
It's looking better for Geoghegan Hart - but he clearly isn't as strong as he was surely hoping for! He's even slower than Kudus - 24th place, 1'34" back! And he was just 1'20" ahead of Bernal, so although it seemed unlikely, the Brit will likely lose a spot! Or can he beat our GC leader?
Morton definitely isn't the fastest today, either - but he's at least somewhat limiting the damages. The final rider to reach the 2nd split time posts the 17th time, 1'24" back. So let's take a look at the checkpoint standings - and at the implications on the virtual GC!
Inter 2 - Opfertshofner hill
Checkpoint standings
1.
Bernal
33'42"
6.
Rikunov
+ 1'04"
2.
Powless
+ 42"
7.
Oliveira
+ 1'07"
3.
Choi
+ 43"
8.
Keizer
+ 1'08"
4.
Shikai
+ 51"
9.
Taaramäe
+ 1'10"
5.
Conci
+ 58"
10.
Mano
+ 1'11"
Virtual GC
1.
Morton
24h16'16"
=
2.
Bernal
+ 13"
3
3.
Geoghegan Hart
+ 27"
1
4.
Wirtgen
+ 1'33"
2
5.
Choi
+ 1'41"
5
6.
Kudus
+ 1'42"
2
7.
Taaramäe
+ 1'50"
1
8.
Powless
+ 1'56"
3
9.
Shikai
+ 2'06"
3
10.
Pogacar
+ 2'18"
3
11.
Barguil
+ 2'25"
2
12.
Roglic
+ 2'36"
1
13.
Almeida
+ 2'57"
10
14.
Haig
+ 3'06"
=
15.
Pluchkin
+ 4'57"
2
16.
Smith
+ 5'09"
1
17.
Keizer
+ 5'40"
3
18.
Karnulin
+ 5'51"
1
19.
Borisavljevic
+ 5'51"
=
20.
Hirschi
+ 6'51"
4
It looks like we'll have a big fight for the win, as expected - but we definitely didn't expect it to be Morton vs. Bernal! Are those 13 seconds enough for the Aussie to bring the jersey home?
Further down, it's also a close race for some of those spots - including for the final Top 10 spot, which will likely go to either Pogacar, Barguil or Roglic!
In the fight Barguil vs. Roglic, the Frenchman comes out on top, and so still has a small chance of finishing inside the Top 10!
47'18"
(23rd, + 1'15")
He does drop behind all of Shikai, Powless and Choi, though and is on 4th place in the virtual GC.
Taaramäe had a solid day on the course, but no more than that. In fact, he actually lost quite some momentum on the final section, not even finishing in the provisional stage Top 10 - and in the end he has to concede two spots in the virtual GC to be only 3rd currently.
46'42"
(11th, + 39")
Pogacar surely punched a bit above his weight throughout the race - probably mainly using his great physical condition and punch to perfection. However, even the youngster seems to get a bit tired, and today's TT definitely wasn't the best one he's ever done.
However, he's still fighting for a GC Top 10 finish, for which he probably has to beat Barguil - meaning he must stay below 47'38"!
47'30" ... 47'31" ... 47'32" ... 47'33" ...
47'34"
(35th, + 1'31")
And he does exactly that! Which means he's now 5th in the virtual GC with six riders left - but the intermediate times suggest that he'll easily stay ahead of Almeida, so that should be a Top 10 place locked up!
Prologue winner Wirtgen was surely hoping to make it 2/2 wins from TT stages - but today clearly wasn't his day at all! He doesn't even get close to winning - can he at least take over the provisional GC lead? He'll need a time of at most 46'51" to beat Choi!
He just beats that time, by a single second! So the Luxembourger will finish at least 6th in the GC, more probably 4th however, looking at the split times.
But now, ladies and gentlemen, the very likely winner of this final stage! Bernal had an incredible speed today - especially on the second section, where he was just 30" faster than everyone else!
He even posted the best time on every single sector, including the final one, which in total makes a finishing time of
45'08"
(Leader)
This is just 55" faster than Powless - and we have the same time gap between 2nd and 18th place, which just proves how amazing the Colombian's ride was! And he's putting some incredible pressure on Morton now - can the GC leader find something special to fend off this mighty attack?
We'll still have to wait a bit to answer this question - first we see Kudus finishing his race. He pretty much turned around things yesterday after a really disappointing start, but today it looks like he'll lose a couple of spots in the GC again.
The split times suggest that he'll be fighting against Taaramäe for 7th place, so let's take this as a reference - he'd need a time of at most 47'10".
47'05" ... 47'06" ... 47'08" ... 47'09" ...
47'10"
(14th, + 47")
It's exactly this reference time, so he's ex aequo with Taaramäe - but tough luck for the Eritrean, as he slots in behind the Estonian by some fractions of a second! So that's 6th place in the virtual GC with 3 riders left!
We already knew it, and the final time confirms that Almeida is one of today's biggest losers. He's definitely no awful TTer, but today things clearly didn't work out in his favor.
48'56"
(94th, + 3'48")
He drops all the way down to the end of that Top 14 group, after which we had a 90" gap. He even slots in behind Haig, by 11". What a final bummer after a great week for the young Portuguese!
Geoghegan Hart was leading the GC from stage 2 until yesterday, but it was clear early on that he wouldn't be able to get the jersey back today. On the contrary, flying Bernal had already passed him at the second checkpoint, and the Brit wasn't able to turn things around.
47'07"
(22nd, + 1'59")
Still, he easily fends off Wirtgen, meaning that he'll end up on the GC podium! Congratulations on this great achievement!
And then, we're just waiting for one more man - the only one who could still stop Bernal from winning this race! Morton will need to post a time of at most 46'45"...
46'40" ... 46'41" ... 46'42" ... 46'43" ... 46'44" ... 46'45" ... and he still has 100m to ride ...
47'00"
(18th, + 1'52")
He's 15 seconds too slow on this final day! Bernal does the improbable and steals the GC win from Morton, with a fantastic time trial! What a finish, what a thrilling end to a memorable Tour de Suisse!
And here he is - standing on the podium for the first time all race long, but he does it when it really counts! Egan Bernal wins today's closing time trial in Schaffhausen - and he does it in an extremely dominant way!
Neilson Powless did a fantastic job as well - but he just didn't stand the least chance against the Colombian. Neither did Ki Ho Choi, who takes 3rd place today - a great ride by him as well!
And with this one great stage, Egan Bernal also takes away the GC win from Lachlan Morton in the last possible moment - in the final section of this time trial! The Australian ends up in 2nd place - something he might have expected, but probably not the name of the rider ahead.
Instead, we were rather supposing that Tao Geoghegan Hart could take the GC win - but the Brit struggled a bit on his TT bike today, and ends up 3rd. Which definitely is still a great result for him!
It's Egan Bernal time once more, as he also wins the green jersey - which is quite an unexpected turn of events! And it was incredibly close in this classification as well - he's one point ahead of Lachlan Morton, with Tom Wirtgen and Costa Seibeb trailing by just 3 points on shared 3rd place!
But Costa Seibeb probably won't be caring about the points standings that much, as he takes home the KoM jersey! The 41 points he picked up on days 2 and 3 were enough to secure the win, 11 points ahead of Yudai Arashiro and 12 points ahead of Lachlan Morton. Bernal is "only" 4th here, by the way.
And it's Egan Bernal on the podium one last time - as the GC winner is still U25, he obviously wins those standings as well! What a race for him and his team!
Tadej Pogacar ends up 2nd, overtaking Joao Almeida on the final day.
Last but not least, the winners of the team standings are King Power! They were already in the lead before the stage - and EA Vesuvio weren't able to counter, on the contrary - the Thai were the strongest team today as well!
PCT outfit Cedevita hold onto their 3rd place, adding another great result to a strong week of racing here in Switzerland!
And that's all! I hope you enjoyed following the 2022 Tour de Suisse, with all its surprises and memorable stages! We'll be back next year - hopefully as a PT event again, and we hope you'll join us again!
Uf wiederluege - Au revoir - Arrivederci - A revair
Yes, the report is again a bit long, so the results are in a separate post once again. Apologies for those walls of text - I hope you can still somewhat enjoy the reports.
Tour de Suisse 
