Tour de Suisse: Stage 3

Michael Matthews wins stage 3 of Tour de Suisse ahead of Peter Segan and John Degenkolb. Matthews now leads as Setfan Kung loses time

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Tour de Suisse: Stage 3

Bora – Hansgrohe report

For day three of the Tour de Suisse, the race headed west towards Bern, on a route that took in three categorised climbs and some undulating terrain. While the finale was earmarked as a sprint, some hard climbs, as well as an uphill drag to the finish, would make the going tough for the pure sprinters.

In spite of looking strong in the sprint, the UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, was unable to find a gap in a close fought battle for the win, taking second and moving up to third in the GC.

Today’s route covered a 159km parcours – more undulating than the previous day’s stage, and with it came more strategic opportunities to go for the win. The stage saw three categorised climbs – the last being close to the finish in Bern, where there was every chance of a late attack. While the final kilometre was far from flat, the stage was classed as a sprint stage, and while not necessarily one for the out and out sprinters, it was one that the all-rounders would have no trouble contesting – as long as they kept their eye on any late attempts to break away, and were prepared for some pavé in the closing 10km.

As to be expected, a break made its way up the road early in the day, building up a significant advantage in a short time. Hitting the first climb, the escapees had almost nine minutes in hand over the peloton, but with only two riders in the break, it would be hard to hold that advantage to the finish. As the day went on, the gap steadily dropped, although the break made it clear they intended to hold out as long as they could. With 19km remaining, the first of the breakaway was caught, and 6km later, the last of the day’s break was brought in and it was all back together.

With things ramping up for the finish, the peloton made its way into Bern for the finale. While the UNESCO world heritage city had some beautiful buildings and stunning sights, the urban setting brought with it street furniture, roundabouts and some tight turns to negotiate.

Allowing the other teams to drive the pace today, the BORA-hansgrohe riders were working to keep UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, safe in the run up to the finish, making sure he was well protected as the race hit the cobblestone streets in a circuit that rode like a criterium course.

Well-placed in the bunch, Peter was keeping his eye on his rivals as the final kilometre brought with it some tough ascents, but sitting around five riders back, the Slovak rider could keep an eye on the other contenders, looking relaxed even as the race hit its final 500m. Kicking with 100m to go, his wheels squirming under the sheer power of his sprint, Peter was just outpaced by Sunweb’s Michael Matthews, having come close to the barriers in his push for the finish line.
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Michael Matthews said: “I wasn’t climbing so well today but it was enough to stay with the best. In the final I knew that I had Nikias and the other guys with me which gave me some extra motivation. I knew that he could do a huge pull in the final metres to make the situation perfect for me to take the win. It’s nice to get the win that I really wanted to get last year and it will be really good to have the leader’s jersey tomorrow.”

Team Sunweb coach Marc Reef added: “The plan for today was to go for Michael, we knew that the final suited him perfectly and everybody was feeling strong to put their all in to support this goal. We joined in the chase to control the breakaway and the rest of the team were able to put Nikias and Michael together in a perfect position going into the final 1.5 kilometres. The team stayed calm and Michael was able to follow Nikias’s perfect lead-out to sprint to the win in a very difficult finale.”

Peter Sagan: World Champion, Peter Sagan, was clear just how tough things were in the sprint for the line. “It was another tough stage at the Tour de Suisse, with a hectic finale on a hot day. The squad perfectly executed the plan we had in the morning. My sensations were good and I gave it my best, but unfortunately in the final sprint, I got boxed and took second. We will try again in the coming days.”

Billed as a mountain stage, much of Tuesday’s 143km parcours is a build-up to the climbs of the day. The first climb summits at 109km, where riders will contest the first category Col des Mosses, then a fast and furious descent before the climbing starts all over again for the Tour de Suisse’s first summit finish, and its first Hors Catégorie climb as well, from Aigle – the home of the UCI – to Villars-sur-Ollon, where the climbers and GC contenders will have to put their cards on the table.

John Degenkolb “We did a really good job, maybe we were a little too enthusiastic, too motivated, but we were up there,” Degenkolb said about the finish. “In the end, the speed was a little bit too high to make it completely up to the last final meters, so I had to drop back a few positions, but the team did really well.”

Stage 3
1. Michael Matthews Team Sunweb
2. Peter Sagan Bora – Hansgrohe
3. John Degenkolb Trek – Segafredo
4. Tim Wellens Lotto Soudal
5. Michael Albasini ORICA-Scott
6. Patrick Bevin Cannondale-Drapac
7. Arthur Vichot FDJ
8. Matteo Trentin Quick-Step Floors
9. Jan Bakelants AG2R La Mondiale
10. Damiano Caruso BMC Racing Team

22. Tom Dumoulin Team Sunweb
29. Tao Geoghegan Hart Team Sky
35. Mark Christian Aqua Blue Sport
39. Stefan Küng BMC Racing Team 19 secs
49. Daniel Pearson Aqua Blue Sport @ 26
50. Hugh Carthy Cannondale-Drapac
88. Ryan Mullen Cannondale-Drapac 1.14
104. Jack Bauer Quick-Step Floors
126. Owain Doull Team Sky 3:42
127. Alex Dowsett Movistar Team
169. Jon Dibben Team Sky 6.58

Overall
1. MatthewsMichaelTeam Sunweb
2. Tom Dumoulin Team Sunweb 0:10
3. Peter Sagan Bora – Hansgrohe 0:11
4. Damiano Caruso BMC Racing Team 0:19
5. Michael Albasini ORICA-Scott 0:20
6. Patrick Bevin Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team 0:22
7. Matteo Trentin Quick-Step Floors 0:23
8. John Degenkolb Trek – Segafredo 0:24
9. Ion Izagirre Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team 0:25
10. Marc Soler Movistar Team

20. Geoghegan HartTaoTeam Sky
21. ChristianMarkAqua Blue Sport 0:31

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