Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) edged out Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) by the narrowest of margins in the 23.8-kilometre Individual Time Trial around Aarburg to win stage 4. Just 0.04 seconds separated the pair at the finish. Tobias Foss (Netcompany INEOS) took third, 6 seconds down.
On the fast course, several riders initially set strong benchmark times. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates XRG) briefly took the lead before Van der Poel’s time of 26:37 set a new low. The Dutchman’s time looked strong enough to keep him on the hot seat for much of the stage.
Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) also attacked the course, bettering Van der Poel at the intermediate time check. In the second half of the course, however, the Czech lost time and missed out on the lead at the finish. As overall race leader, Pogačar set off last and was only narrowly ahead of Vacek at the intermediate split. In the final metres the General Classification leader threw everything he had into the race against the clock and edged ahead of Van der Poel by a minimal margin.
With his second stage win at this Tour de Suisse, Pogačar further extends his lead in the General Classification. Heading into the closing queen stage, he now holds a 4:22 advantage over Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost). The Slovenian thus goes into the final race day comfortably ahead of the competition.
Schmid rides into the top 10
Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) delivered a strong time trial to finish eighth as best Swiss rider. The Zurich native lost only around half a minute to Pogačar, producing the best Swiss result of the day and of the Tour so far. Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) finished 42nd, Fabian Weiss (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) 48th and Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Premier Tech) came home 60th.
On Sunday the queen stage rounds things off, starting and finishing in Villars-sur-Ollon. Over roughly 152 kilometres, more than 4,000 metres of altitude and several tough climbs await. After the time trial, Pogačar himself spoke of a “brutal stage” that will ultimately decide this year’s Tour de Suisse.
