Tejay van Garderen (BMC) bounced back from yesterday’s huge disappointment by riding to a dominant solo win in the Tour de Suisse queen stage. Attacking 4.5km from the top of the brutal Rettenbachferner, one of the hardest climbs in Europe, he dropped an elite group of climbers and held off Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) and Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin). Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo) lost more than two minutes and so Barguil takes over the lead, with Andrew Talansky (Cannondale) now looking like th big favourite as he is just 24 seconds behind in third place.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Tejay van Garderen: This is a nice consolation prize

Tejay van Garderen showed his form by taking a brilliant solo win on the Queen Stage of the Tour de Suisse in another day of harsh conditions. An early breakaway of three riders went away on the 224.3km stage, staying away until the final climb when the battle of the General Classification riders began.

 

After losing time on the previous mountain stage, van Garderen bounced back by attacking solo with just under five kilometers to the summit finish on the Rettenbachferner. As the General Classification group slowly broke apart behind him, van Garderen held a 20 second lead as he approached the finish line.

 

As he approached the finish line solo and took one last look behind him, van Garderen secured the second stage win for BMC Racing Team at this year’s Tour de Suisse, and his third stage win in 2016. Today’s stage win has elevated van Garderen to seventh place on the General Classification, 1’31” behind new race leader Waren Barguil (Team Giant-Alpecin).

 

“The feelings today were good,” van Garderen said. “The feelings have been good all race except for yesterday when I had a bad moment and got really cold when I came off the Klausenpass. It’s still very regrettable that it happened because I feel like I have the form to win this race overall. At least to come away with the stage victory is a nice consolation prize.

 

“There was a hard moment and I saw that some of the other riders didn’t look so strong and I was feeling good so I thought it was a good opportunity to attack and go for the stage victory. And that’s how it happened. They gave me a little bit of freedom because I lost a bit of time yesterday so I was able to get a gap and hold on to it.

 

“You’re never sure of a stage victory until you cross the line so I just put my head down and went as hard as I did. It’s tempting to look back and I think I did look back a few times but I just tried keeping my head forward.

 

“It’s definitely up there with the hardest climbs I have ever done. I can’t really think of a harder one right now.

 

“Looking at the GC as it stands after today I definitely think I can move up a couple of places and maybe get into the top five or the podium. If I have a really good day and some of my rivals suffer a bit then the podium could be possible. But it is still very regrettable having lost that time yesterday, because then I think I would be in with a good chance.

 

Sports director Fabio Baldato added:

 

“Today couldn’t have gone any better for Tejay, especially as he bounced back so strong after Stage 6. We knew he had good legs from the beginning of the race and yesterday’s loss of time was definitely motivation to come back firing today on the Queen Stage.

 

“For Tejay this is an important win for his confidence heading into the Tour de France, and of course it is an important win for BMC Racing Team, especially in Switzerland, the home of our title sponsor BMC Switzerland. We still have the time trial tomorrow and then the final mountain stage and I think we can get more good results.”

 

Mission accomplished for fantastic Miguel Angel Lopez in Swiss queen stage

“Mission accomplished,” said Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno. “I gained two positions in the overall standings and tomorrow there is a time trial that I like.”

 

"We controlled the race,” he continued. “Then at the beginning of the last climb Michele Scarponi made the first selection and then I thought about the rest of the job!"

 

On the Sölden glacier the stage was won by the American Tejay Van Garderen who beat Lopez by only 16 seconds. The young Colombian talent is now second in the overall standings 21 "behind Warren Barguil.

 

"I'm pleased,” commented sport director Dmitri Sedoun. “Great work of the team and then Lopez proved to be among the protagonists at this Tour de Suisse.”

 

Warren Barguil: Andrew Talansky is my biggest rival

After an incredibly strong stage, Warren Barguil crossed the line in 3rd place and is now the new leader in the general classification, 24” ahead of Miguel Ángel Lopez (Astana Pro Team) before the time trial tomorrow.

 

Warren Barguil said: “I am happy with today’s result, it went very well. The team did a great job in controlling the race and in protecting me today.”

 

“At the start of the final climb, I still had strong support from the team and we managed to set a good tempo in order to decimate the bunch as much as possible. In the finale, I just followed the main group and when Van Garderen attacked I was expecting Team Sky to accelerate, but they didn’t. Therefore, I decided to go by myself to try and close the gap. Unfortunately, I couldn’t and then I just gave everything I had to reach the finish line.

 

"My teammates rode all day. With such a team behind me, I had to do it and I did. I was stuck at one point. With Jarlinson Pantano, I thought we could have come back but we never made it.

 

“I am really proud that the team believed in me in achieving a good result. I will try to keep the jersey as long as possible and will not give it up without a fight. There are still two more hard stages to come with the time trial tomorrow, so we will see.

 

"It's a pity I did not take the wheel of van Garderen. He got far ahead, I got closer but then I was stuck there. But my friends had worked hard so I couldn’t give up and I succeeded. It was a good climb, but very hard with the altitude. It was even more difficult. This is my first leader's jersey since the amateurs, and even in a WorldTour race. I'm very happy. I will do my best to keep it in the time trial. I have really worked on my TT bike and we will see what will happen. I think Andrew Talansky is my most dangerous opponent. He is a good time triallist. Twenty-four seconds is not much, but it's not bad. And then there is the final stage which is very difficult. It's not over until Sunday night.

 

"It’s not bad. I'm pleased with my feelings and the work done so far. Last year, it was a lost year, many did not believe in me. This year I am back on track. "

 

Coach Morten Bennekou added: “

 

”Today’s breakaway of three riders enjoyed a maximum advantage of 13 minutes. We decided to take the initiative in the chase as other teams were more focused on saving energy for the remaining stages.

 

“Throughout the whole stage it was very good teamwork and we managed to control the gap with the break. On the final climb, Warren was incredibly strong and he finished with a third place. On top of that, he took the leader’s jersey to show for his efforts.

 

“It is a great result for the whole team. Warren did a very strong individual performance, but the team as a whole were excellent today as they executed the plan very well. Tomorrow is a time trial and we know Warren has improved his time trial skills over the winter. We will go for it and aim for a good result.”

 

Jarlinson Pantano shines in Frank’s absence

Jarlinson Pantano, who took a great fourth place on this queen stage and now sits in fifth place overall and also Matthias Brändle, who was awarded the prize as most combative for the stage having spent nearly the entire day off the front of the race before being pulled back with less than six kilometers to go to the finish line, made it a good day for IAM. To top it all off, Martin Elmiger succeeded in defending his position as the best placed Swiss rider, and will again wear the distinctive jersey awarded by the Tour de Suisse tomorrow.

 

Matthias Brändle was the escape. Riding through what is practically his back garden in Vorarlberg, the Austrian on IAM Cycling managed to power a breakaway with two other riders. Very generous with his efforts, the former world hour record holder found the strength to stay off the front for more than 210 kilometers until he was reeled in by the remaining group of lead riders, and celebrated his exploit with a wheelie of defiance just before he was finally caught.

 

Jarlinson Pantano attacked with around three kilometers to go to the finish, and caught up with Warren Barguil, though ultimately Barguil and Miguel-Angel Lopez were able to gap him in order to fight for 2nd place behind a resurgent Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), who won the stage.

 

“I attacked to win the stage, but I had no idea just how hard those last kilometers were,” commented Jarlinson Pantano, just after taking an excellent 4th place on the difficult stage. “We lost our leader, Mathias Frank, to illness, but for the team it is important to show ourselves well at every possible opportunity. Being able to attack on a day like this is good for my confidence, but it was insufficient to win the stage. I hope to have another chance on Sunday.”

 

Mathias Brändle said:

 

“I was riding over home roads, and I had the motivation and heart to do well. We rode well together in order to create the maximum time gap before the final climb. But it was not enough to reach the finish in the lead. I am not disappointed because I really gave everything up to five kilometers to go.”

 

Manager Rik Verbrugghe added:

 

“We always want to win the stage. And today, Mathias Brändle certainly lit a fuse.  It is necessary to have 2-3 minutes at the foot of the final climb. We also protected Jarlinson Pantano all day. He was super-motivated, and had good legs again. He has proved that he is on a seam of good form, and really deserves to score a victory. His fifth place in the overall is nevertheless a reward already. He is really a luxury rider if we consider that we lost our designated leader, Mathias Frank, due to illness middle of the week.”

 

Dries Devenyns became ill and was forced to leave the Tour de Suisse, in order to preserve his health for upcoming goals, before the start of the queen stage in Arbon which lead to the Rettenbach Glacier above Sölden.

 

In less than one week, the Swiss time trial championships will take place in Martigny, and the sports management for the IAM Cycling team has announced the three riders who will compete at this first appointment in the week of national races. Reto Hollenstein, who took a silver medal in the 2015 event, will be joined by Jonathan Fumeaux and Simon Pellaud.

 

Cannondale: Andrew Talansky is in a good position for the TT

With a look of pain and determination pinned on his face, Andrew Talansky crossed the finish line in Sölden in fifth on stage seven of the Tour de Suisse after he made a hard charge in the final kilometers to distance several of the main GC contenders. American Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) took the stage honors 33 seconds ahead of Talansky. Ahead of the stage eight time trial, Talansky remains in third place, just 24 seconds behind the yellow jersey.

 

DS Juanma Garate said:

 

"Everyone did a really good job and Andrew did super on the last climb. It was really steep, more than 10% average on the climb. He was doing the high tempo with the best riders of the overall and even tried to move in the last 3km. He’s in a good position looking to the TT tomorrow. We’re optimistic about the weekend.

 

Simon Spilak: I don’t have the form I had last year

Defending champion Špilak worked hard to stay in the thick of the action and managed to move into sixth place overall with two stages to come. In addition, Team KATUSHA leads in the Teams competition by more than two-minutes to BMC.

 

“What a hard day... I felt good, but not super, not like I was here last year. I did all I could today. I tried to stay among the leaders and to follow my main rivals. Van Garderen did his attack a bit early so I preferred to wait until 2 km to go. I followed Lopez and Talansky as it was a good moment for a counterattack, but in the final I missed just a little. But I did a good race, I think, and there are still two stages ahead including tomorrow’s time trial,” said Simon Špilak.

 

Špilak moved from seventh to 6th place for the general classification.

 

Rui Costa: I am on the right track for my big goals

It was a good performance by Rui Costa. Lampre-Merida’s captain obtained 7th place and he’s now 10th in the overall classification.

 

The general classification contenders group contained Rui Costa and Jan Polanc until late in the stage. Rui Costa stayed there until end while Polanc had been dropped some kilometers before the attack by van Garderen.

 

The Portuguese champion crossed the finish line in 7th place, at 49″ and is now 10th in the general classification at 1’55”.

 

“Today the day went better. I'm exhausted, but excited,” he wrote in his diary. “I had a better feeling and I notice that my legs are better, day by day. It was not an easy stage, on the contrary. More than 4000 meters of climbing and the finish on an HC climb speak for themselves. I was on my limit at the finish. 

”During the stage I saved as much as I could, with the help of some teammates whose support I appreciate. I tried to be well placed and save the maximum energy possible to be there at the end which was confirmed to be monstrously hard.

”I did the last climb cautiously and did not respond to the attacks. That was the trick to go on and not lose too much time to the winner, van Garderen. I send congratulations for the good stage that he did.

“I make a positive assessment of today. It is a sign that I did some good homework and I'm on the right track for the next goals.

 

“Tomorrow will be a worse day for me. It is TT course that is too easy and doesn’t suit my skills. Anyway, I will start with the maximum motivation and I will give it everything.”

 

Ion Izagirre continues upwards trend in Switzerland

The extravagant route of the Tour of Switzerland, with three terrible mountain stages and uphill finishes, threw up another change in the race on the Rettenbachferner where Tejay van Garderen (BMC ) bounced back from yesterday while Barguil (TGA) became the new leader.

 

Ion Izaguirre resisted and suffered to continue the upward trend of the past few days to cross the finish line in 8th place, 49 " behind the winner, after a day where Gorka paid for the efforts of yesterday and finished more than four minutes behind the leaders. In GC, Ion, now 55" behind Barguil and 31" from the podium, is still 4th overall before the TT, very demanding, tomorrow in Davos (16.8 km). Gorka is twelfth, five minutes behind.

 

Impressive performance by CCC climbers in Swiss queen stage

Two CCC Sprandi Polkowice riders – Victor de la Parte and Jan Hirt – finished the queen stage of Tour de Suisse in the top 10.

 

The strong pace in the GC group sparked the natural selection, whittling down the main pack to just 10 riders. Among them there were two CCC Sprandi Polkowice representatives – Jan Hirt and highest ranked rider in orange in GC, Victor de la Parte. The former put on a spectacular performance in Solden last year, when he finished 7th.

 

Both, De la Parte and Hirt managed to claim top 10 places, taking 9th and 10th respectively, crossing the line with the same time, 59 seconds back. The Spaniard moved up one spot in the overall standings to 13th and is 5:32 behind the new leader, Barguil.

 

Geraint Thomas: I still think I can be in good condition for the Tour

Geraint Thomas battled to 11th place on the queen stage at the Tour de Suisse to maintain eighth place overall.

 

The small group behind fractured as van Garderen attacked and Thomas was unable to follow the subsequent moves, digging in to finish outside the top 10, one minute and eight seconds down on the American. The Welshman remains eighth on GC, but is now one minute and 36 seconds behind Barguil.

 

Vasil Kiryienka had produced a typically strong effort for the first half of the climb, setting a ferocious tempo that saw the peloton slimmed down dramatically, with race leader Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo) cracking, while Thomas looked comfortable on Kiryienka's wheel.

 

But as soon as the Belarusian finished his effort van Garderen attacked and it became every man for himself in Switzerland, with Thomas unable to react.

 

He remains in the hunt though, with the stage eight 17km individual time trial set to shake up the general classification.

"It was a tough final climb,” he told Cyclismactu. “I did not have the legs to follow the guys in the end, with the altitude and everything. I just didn’t have the legs. Now the GC is over for me. I have to improve my condition to get in shape for the Tour de France. I would have preferred it to have gone better for me but I think I am still able to arrive at the Tour in good condition.”

 

Frank Schleck: I kept fighting “Mollema style”

A lengthy 224.3 kilometers faced the peloton in stage seven, the queen stage of the race that culminated on the feared Rettenbachferner, a climb that many consider the hardest in all of Europe. Fränk Schleck finished in 12th place at the summit finish, an indication he is returning to top form after fracturing his collarbone at La Flèche Wallonne in April.

 

"This is my first race back, a good test, and today I had good sensations," said Schleck. "We shouldn’t get too excited, it's still not where I want to be, but considering it's my first race back from the collarbone, it's not so bad.

 

"I knew I was missing race rhythm coming here, and so I did my own pace. I don’t have the acceleration yet, so I had to let the group go and then I kept fighting "Mollema style".  I hung in there and eventually caught up to Kelderman."

 

The queen stage was eerily like a death march. Only three men dared to break away ahead of the 12-kilometer ascent, while the peloton bided its time behind, expending as little energy as possible and saving everything for the onslaught to come. It was a slow progression to an inevitable painful ending.

 

The gap to the escapees grew to 12 minutes, but to no avail. The peloton marked each man back, the final two on the steep slopes of the Rettenbachferner - a climb that quickly determined the strongest climbers and sorted out victims shamelessly.

 

As the peloton raced into the bottom of the tough ascent, Trek-Segafredo came to the fore, bringing Schleck, Riccardo Zoidl and Peter Stetina to the front key positions.

 

The climb pitched ridiculously upward from the start, and the attrition was instantaneous. Schleck was the last of the team's trio of climbers to succumb to the steep grades and pace, backing off with just under 8 kilometers left of the 12-kilometer ascent.

 

On his own, Schleck calculated his painful slog to the top, belligerent through the final kilometers he crossed the line in 12th place, just over two minutes behind stage winner Tejay Van Garderen (BMC).

 

"It's a killer climb. For 2700 meters it's just brutal, super hard," continued Schleck. "I knew the climb from last year, and I started the climb with the same plan as last year. I wanted to go for the stage, go for a nice result, and I bonked last year, so I wanted to avoid that this year."

 

"It was a really long day, only three guys out there, and it all came to the climb. The whole team led us into the climb; the non-climbers brought in Pete, Ricci, and myself, that was the plan. Fabian (Cancellara) took the lead; the others followed as soon as we hit the bottom and then it was up to us."

 

Wilco Kelderman: This sucks

Wilco Kelderman lost the leader’s jersey when the Tour de Suisse climbed up to 2700 metres to finish in Sölden today. LottoNL-Jumbo’s captain could not follow the favourites group to the summit finish, arrived two minutes behind winner Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) and fell to ninth place at 1-39 minutes behind new leader Warren Barguil (Giant Alpecin).

 

 "It was a really bad day, I was just not good enough," Kelderman said of stage seven. "I was immediately at my limit and my legs weren’t going. At that point, you have to go at your own pace.

 

”This sucks. I was very close to a nice win and now it is gone. I just had a bad day. “I was not good enough. Especially in the beginning it was very steep and I could not pedal properly. And then I just got stuck. In the wind I lost more time.

 

"Until the final climb, there were no problems,” Sports Director Jan Boven added. “A breakaway drove off without dangerous men in it. We controlled the race relatively easily. We quietly let the gap grow to save our men, and at some point in the chase, Astana and Giant-Alpecin came to help us."

 

"Kelderman received great team support on the climb, but soon he was in difficulty. He lost ground and began to ride his own uphill time trial to limit losses."

 

Kelderman found it hard on his own. "Especially in the moments when the wind blew hard,” he said.

“

The time trial of tomorrow suits me well. And for a time trial, I'm always motivated. I am looking forward to tomorrow,” Kelderman added. “The overall win or a podium place is difficult now, but I'm definitely going for a top five spot.

 

“The victory is now too far away. Maybe I can still have a shot at the podium with a super time trial. Although that gap is also quite large.”

 

Boven explained.

 

“The time trial on Saturday covers 16 kilometres and features a small climb in the middle. The speed can be kept high, so it suits Wilco.”

 

VERVA ActiveJet comfirms his potential in Swiss queen stage

Pawel Cieslik moved up to 15th in the general classification of the Tour de Suisse. The VERVA ActiveJet climber was 17th on the stage.

 

Pawel Cieslik was dropped early but he knew what he was doing. 

 

“Today I did not feel good. Already on the climb in the middle of the stage I knew it was not my day. On the final climb I decided not to go with the best at all costs but steadily minimize the losses. Finally it paid off, because I passed a lot of riders in the final kilometers and arrived with quite a small loss. I enjoy to move up even though it was just one spot,”said Cieslik.

 

Bronchitis takes Pierre Latour out of the Tour de Suisse

Pierre Latour withdrew from Tour de Suisse at km 90 of the 7th stage. Latour, 22, yellow jersey yesterday, suffers from bronchitis and didn’t recover from the efforts of the last days. He prefers to save energy to prepare for the National Championships on June 26.

 

Latour will participate in the Vuelta a Espana.

 

Disastrous puncture for in-form Berhane in Swiss queen stage

Billed the queen stage of this years Tour de Suisse at 224km in length, with 2 big mountains to be climbed, the stage would not be kind to Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka. It was all but obvious that the race would be decided on the difficult 12km out of category climb to Solden. The African Team were riding in support Natnael Berhane all day, in order to get him to the final climb in as best shape as possible.

 

Adrien Niyonshuti, Tyler Farrar and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg looked after the Eritrean all stage, keeping him out of the wind. In the kilometers leading up to the start of the final climb, Janse van Rensburg and Farrar brought Berhane up to the wheel of Team Sky at the head of the peloton. For the first 2km of the climb, Janse van Rensburg was able to climb alongside Berhane and the rest of the favourites.

 

Disaster then struck just as soon as a big push came from the main GC teams with 10km to go, Berhane punctured. Janse van Rensburg was on hand to give his wheel and a push to Berhane but the stop had cost the Eritrean dearly. As the race began unfolding up the road, Berhane had to ride the climb at his own pace, catching rider by rider. Van Garderen would arrive at the finish first and Berhane, after catching more than half the field again, finished in 23rd position.

 

Natnael Berhane said:

 

“It was a difficult stage and a long stage. The team was looking after me very well all day, all the guys did such a good job and I am very thankful. Tyler and Reinie brought me in a good position for the last climb and my legs were feeling pretty good. I was hoping for a good result today but I had a flat wheel just before the race really got going. Reinie was there to give me his wheel and then I tried to get back but it was a very hard climb. I caught many guys but not enough for a top result. It is disappointing because the team worked so hard for me and I felt some good sensations today, that is how racing goes I guess.”

 

Impressive Antwan Tolhoek wins mountains jersey at the Tour de Suisse

Antwan Tolhoek has secured the mountains jersey. The 22-year-old rider from Team Roompot has scored 104 points. Teammate Pieter Weening is even in second place with 50 points. On Sunday there is another mountain stage around Davos, but only 40 points are on offer. Since the second stage Tolhoek has been on the attack every day.

 

Orica-GreenEDGE hope for TT success for Durbridge and Juul in Switzerland

It was a fairly uneventful day for Orica-GreenEDGE on another mountenous stage of the Tour de Suisse, all finishing the day safetly in the main bunch.

 

Stage seven provided the final summit finish of the tour with a challenging 12.3kilometre climb up to the line, averaging at 10.4percent. An early breakaway of two riders animated the 224kilometre stage, eventually being caught with just five kilometres remaining.

 

Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing Team) attacked in the final kilometres and went on to win the stage solo, with Orica-GreenEDGE riders finishing further back in the main peloton after another solid day in the saddle.

 

"The team were focused around Luke Durbridge and Chris Juul-Jensen today," Sport director Neil Stephens. "The guys were keeping them out of the wind and keeping their food supplies up.

 

”Over the last couple of days, as we predicted before the race started, we haven't had too much to focus on with these climber stages.

 

"Durbridge had a great prologue, he was on fire then so he is going to give the time trial a crack tomorrow and so we've been trying to help him through these last stages.

 

“For Chris, It will be his last hit out on his time trial bike before his national championships so they are both looking to have a handy ride."

 

Iljo Keisse on the attack in unusual terrain in Switzerland

On Friday, the peloton left Switzerland for a visit to Sölden, in Austria, where stage 7 was due to come to a conclusion on Rettenbachferner, probably the toughest climb in Europe, a 12.3-km long monster, averaging 10.4%. After covering 7 neutralised kilometers, Iljo Keisse attacked from the bunch, making it into the escape for the second day in a row. The Belgian was soon followed by Matthias Brandle (IAM Cycling) and the KOM classification leader Antwan Tolhoek (Roompot Oranje), and they built a margin of 12 minutes before hitting the challenging Hochtannbergpass, the first categorized climb of the stage, which was making its debut in the Tour de Suisse.

 

For Keisse – a track specialist with countless wins in the Six Days of Ghent, but also a rider who in the past years proved his talent also on the road – it was the second day in a row that he booked a place in the escape. On Thursday, he was of great help for teammate Maximiliano Richeze, who finished second in Amden and as a result took the points jersey, which he continues to hold going into the final week-end of the race.

 

"It was a very long stage and in the final I was really tired and paid for my effort, especially as it came after two days which I spent in the break, for a total of more than 300 kilometers. On the other hand, I'm doing well and feeling good, which is great for me, considering it was a very hard week so far, with bad weather since the start. I'm also happy for bringing my contribution in the flat stages and being a protagonist in the mountains, although I'm not a climber", said Iljo Keisse, who's racing the Tour de Suisse for the first time in his career.

 

Tinkoff target TT success with Maciej Bodnar in Switzerland

The day to that point had been fairly gentle on riders, but the Hochtannbergpass quickly enabled them to find out how they were feeling after yesterday’s punishing stage. As the peloton worked their way up the climb, it was here that Tinkoff’s Oscar Gatto abandoned the race after pushing hard the past few days.

 

Sport Director, Patxi Vila, saw that the Italian rider was on the limit.

 

“Oscar was suffering today and we decided that he should stop, so we're down to four now, but tomorrow is another day and then we can focus on Sunday.”

 

On a particularly tough stage, Vila was pleased to see the remainder of the team come into the finish.

 

“At least the weather was better than yesterday with just some rain on the final climb. So this made things a bit easier on the guys after some suffering over the past days but the profile was hard for them today as we don't have climbers here.”

 

Tomorrow’s individual time trial will feel to some like a rest day, but Maciej Bodnar would be looking forward to the chance to test his time trial legs, said Vila.

 

“Today was a hard, long stage, and we just went through the motions, make sure that we got to the finish as there wasn't much we could do on this stage. Tomorrow though we can see what Bodnar can do.”

 

The 16.8km out and back course does feature a climb in the second half of the route, however compared to the mountainous profiles of recent days, this is barely a hump.