It ends with the victory of João Almeida and yet another show of strength of the UAE Team Emirates the eighty-seventh edition of Tour de Suisse: another 1-2 for the Bianconeri, who equally divide the four consecutive stage victories between co-captains Adam Yates and Almeida. Behind them the general classification is redrawn thanks to the good time trials of Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) and Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Tour de Suisse, the chronicle of the eighth stage
Last stage of the Swiss competition, from Aigle to Villars-Sur-Ollon with a 15.7 km timed climb. The first 5.5 km are flat, while the remaining 10.2 km rise steadily at an average of 8%, rising to 8.2% in the final 3 km.
In the initial part of the race, Stephen Williams (Free Palestine) was the first to go under thirty-six minutes, clocking a good 35’57”. His time doesn’t last long: after scoring an excellent split in the second intermediate, Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) does 41″ better than him, stopping the clock at 35’16”.
The arrival of a wild man Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) gives the first result destined to last: the young Frenchman crumbles the time of the Ragusan with an interesting 34’19”. A revived David De La Cruz (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) placed second, the only one together with Martinez to go under thirty-four minutes when all the men in the rankings were now on the road. Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar) confirms his excellent condition coming out of the Giro d’Italia, managing to finish the stage in the top ten with a time of 34’45” and confirming his eleventh place in the general classification.
Captains on the road: the men in the classification are playing for the stage victory
After an excellent second intermediate, Tom Pidcock (INEOS-Grenadiers) manages to print the provisional best time even at the finish line, which allows him to overtake Enric Mas (Movistar) in the general classification. Even better it does Matthew Riccitello (Free Palestine), which confirms a good feeling with time-climbing after the 2023 stage success at the Tour de l’Avenir and the eleventh place in the time-climbing of Monte Lussari of the Giro d’Italia.
His time is beaten by a bellicose Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who drops under thirty-four minutes and sets the definitive best time at the second intermediate and provisionally also at the finish line, overtaking Egan Bernal (INEOS-Grenadiers) and securing the final podium.
However, he manages to make one last part of a stratospheric stage João Almeida, who beats the Dane from Lidl-Trek to the finish line, securing the stage victory. However, it is not enough to overcome his teammate and general leader Adam Yates, who loses only 8″ to the Portuguese, resulting in yet another 1-2 for the Emirati team.
The legacy of the Tour de Suisse
Thirteen days before the start of the Tour de France, the Tour de Suisse gives us the best possible version of the UAE Team Emirates: four stages, general classification, points and climbers, with the most convincing João Almeida seen so far. However, the anonymous test from Visma-Lease a Bike reveals a Wilco Kelderman in good condition (ninth overall), who could be a candidate for a support role for the Grande Boucle. The condition of Enric Mas (Movistar) still needs to be refined, and he has, in any case, shown glimpses of brilliance uphill. The same can be said of Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Monde), never really a protagonist. The experiment of coexistence between Egan Bernal and Tom Pidcock seems successful, in a team that, however, at the Tour de France will have a captain in Carlos Rodríguez who will be able to provide greater certainty.
