Stage 2: Tour de Suisse

Philippe Gilbert’s fifth victory of the season comes after a sprint which brought down the curtain on a nervous stage

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Stage 2: Tour de Suisse

Philippe Gilbert returned to winning ways two months after powering to a fourth career success at Amstel Gold Race. This time, the 34-year-old, who was sidelined with an injury for several weeks before making a solid return at the Belgium Tour, sprinted to an emphatic win on stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse, which saw the peloton ride a hard four-lap circuit around Cham.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele

Nick Dougall (Dimension Data), Antoine Duchesne (Direct Energie), Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport), Lasse Norman Hansen (Aqua Blue Sport) and Nick Van der Lijke (Roompot) were the five men to book a place in an escape which went more than five minutes clear before the sprinters’ teams started a frantic chase with around 80 kilometers to go, bringing the advantage of the quintet down.

The stage wasn’t an incident-free one, with a big crash which occurred in the final 30 kilometers splitting the peloton and allowing the breakaway riders to extend their stay at the front. A few kilometers later, the breakaway was reeled in and it all pointed out to a calm finale, but it wasn’t to be so, as another crash took several riders to the ground, including yellow jersey Rohan Dennis (BMC).

Jan Bakelants (AG2R), Damiano Caruso (BMC) and Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) staged an attack almost immediately, hoping to catch the bunch off-guard, but despite having 30 seconds in hand with 15 kilometers to go, they were brought back by the chasers. Then, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) accelerated, but he too was reabsorbed inside the final five kilometers, and the stage came down to a sprint.

Philippe Gilbert was imperious in the bunch gallop, opening his effort with less than 150 meters to go and holding all his opponents at bay for Quick-Step Floors’ 31st UCI victory of the season. Patrick Bevin (Cannondale-Drapac) and Anthony Roux (FDJ) rounded out the podium of this spectacular stage, at the end of which Philippe became the first Belgian in six years to nab a win at the Tour de Suisse.

“It was very nervous out there, because the peloton let the escapees open up a big gap and then started to chase hard, but the margin still wasn’t coming down. So it was no surprise that we had some crashes in the peloton, even I was involved in one five kilometers from the last climb and had to make a big effort to return in the pack, which brought me to the limit”, said Philippe after his fifth win of the season.
… continued after advert

2016_ShuttVeloRapideAdvert

The 34-year-old Belgian, who made his sixth appearance at the Tour de Suisse, took us through the final kilometers of the hectic stage 2: “The plan was to work for Matteo, so I followed the moves and helped him move to the front before the finish, but we lost each other because of some riders who pushed us. Fortunately, our team came on top today and I couldn’t be happier, because this race is one of the most prestigious in the world and to take a stage here is really great. This victory gives us an even bigger motivation for next week, when we hope to notch other nice results.”

Küng Moves into Yellow on Tour de Suisse Stage 2
BMC’s Stefan Küng moved into the leader’s yellow jersey in his home race after Rohan Dennis was caught up in a late crash. With 27km to go, the peloton had brought the breakaway to within one minute before the catch was ultimately made 3km later. At the same moment, with riders battling for position, Rohan Dennis was involved in a crash in the middle of the bunch. He was able to get back on the bike and finished the stage but lost contact with the peloton. An update on Rohan’s condition will be provided by BMC Racing Team doctor, Dr. Dario Spinelli as soon as possible.

Stefan Küng, who finished second yesterday, crossed the line in the bunch and moved into the yellow jersey as the race heads to Bern on stage 3.

Stefan Küng: “It was a pretty hard start today, and it just got faster and faster. In the end, it got pretty hectic but we had a strong team with Daniel Oss then Martin Elmiger controlling the race which allowed the rest of us to sit safely in the peloton and save ourselves for the end. We did a really active race with me, Damiano and Greg all giving it a go. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for the stage win, but we showed that we are here and we will keep trying.”

“It was really unfortunate that Rohan Dennis crashed. To take the jersey like that never feels good especially when it is a teammate. But, I will definitely try to enjoy my day in yellow tomorrow especially as we are racing to our capital city, Bern. I am really looking forward to it.”

“This is like my childhood dream becoming a reality. It wasn’t that long ago that I was standing on the side of the road watching the race and now I am the leader. I am sure I can count on my teammates one more time tomorrow. They are all looking good, and we are ready to show our best.”

1. Philippe Gilbert Quick-Step Floors
2. Patrick Bevin Cannondale-Drapac
3. Anthony Roux FDJ
4. Michael Albasini ORICA-Scott
5. Matteo Trentin Quick-Step Floors
6. Marcus Burghardt Bora – Hansgrohe
7. Niccolo Bonifazio Bahrain Merida
8. Peter Sagan Bora – Hansgrohe
9. Valerio Conti UAE Team Emirates
10. Michael Matthews Team Sunweb

43. PearsonDanielAqua Blue Sport
46. DumoulinTomTeam Sunweb
47. ChristianMarkAqua Blue Sport
48. Geoghegan HartTaoTeam Sky
72. DoullOwainTeam Sky 6.47
130. CarthyHughCannondale-Drapac
144. MullenRyanCannondale-Drapac
150. DowsettAlexMovistar Team
159. DunneConorAqua Blue Sport
166. DibbenJonathanTeam Sky 20:22

Overall
1 Stefan Küng BMC Racing Team104:29:08
2 Michael Matthews Team Sunweb 0:01
3 Tom Dumoulin Team Sunweb
4 Lars Boom Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:04
5 Peter Sagan Bora – Hansgrohe 0:08
6 Damiano Caruso BMC Racing Team 0:10
7 Michael Albasini ORICA-Scott 0:11
8 Hugo Houle AG2R La Mondiale 0:12
9 Patrick Bevin Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team 0:13
10 Matteo Trentin Quick-Step Floors 0:14

AlpsCyclesMidstory

 

Send your results as well as club, team & event news here

Cero

Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)

Other News on VeloUK

Tags: ,