Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) won the spectacular Queen Stage of the Tour de Suisse over three alpine passes. He gained a minute on the competition with a powerful attack on the Albula pass to celebrate a superb solo victory. Felix Gall returns the yellow jersey to Mattias Skjelmose, who secured six bonus seconds in the final sprint.
Switzerland seems to be a great place for the 20-year-old stage winner Juan Ayuso. In Spring he won a stage of the Tour de Romandie. “I like the stages here in Switzerland. And it would be great if I could also win my first big Tour in Switzerland,” smiled the young Spaniard. But he is aware of the strong competition: “At the moment I am in third place, only a few seconds behind the leader. However, Remco Evenepoel, the best time trialist, is only a few seconds behind. That’s why it will definitely be exciting next Sunday in the individual time trial. Anything can happen in the next few days as well.”
Swiss in Leading Group
At the beginning of the 211 kilometres long Queen Stage, 36 riders broke away from the peloton. Among them were three Swiss, Stefan Küng (Groupama – FDJ), Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) and Mauro Schmid (Soudal – QuickStep). Several riders dropped back into the peloton over the Furka and Oberalp passes. The maximum advantage of the breakaway was three and a half minutes. At around 15 kilometres before the finish, the group of leader Felix Gall (AG2R Citroen) picked up the pace, but Juan Ayuso countered with explosive acceleration a short time later. The Spaniard extended his lead to 54 seconds at the finish. With today’s bonus seconds as runner-up, Tuesday’s stage winner Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) regains the yellow jersey from Felix Gall, who finished the stage in eighth place.
Stage 6 Preview
On the sixth stage of the Tour de Suisse the cyclists leave the high mountains behind them. Heading in the opposite direction they cross the Albula Pass from La Punt and leave the Grisons via Lenzerheide and Chur. The final section will suit the classic specialists and puncheurs. The stage is hilly for the last 50 kilometres to Oberwil-Lieli. And at 215.3 kilometres it is the longest stage of this year’s Tour de Suisse.
Update on Crash at Albula Pass
At race kilometre 197 in the descent from the Albula Pass, two riders crashed at very high speed. The race doctor was on the scene of the accident within two minutes. Magnus Sheffield was responsive. He was transported to Samedan hospital with bruises and a concussion. Gino Mäder lay motionless in the water. He was immediately resuscitated and then transported to Chur hospital by air ambulance. The severity of his injuries has not yet been fully clarified. An update will be given as soon as new information is available. The circumstances of the accident are being clarified.
