Fabian Cancellara (Trek) finally achieved one of his pre-season goals when he won a dramatic prologue in his home race, the Tour de Suisse. After light rain had started to fall just as he started his ride, he seemed to be out of contention at the time check but a fantastic finish allowed him to beat Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Soudal) by less than a second to take both the stage win and the leader’s jersey. Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEDGE) was less than two seconds behind in third.

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Fabian Cancellara: This victory stands out

Rain began to fall as Fabian Cancellara readied on the start ramp for the 6.4-kilometer prologue that opened the Tour de Suisse Saturday, adding an extra difficulty to the technical course but not preventing him from winning in a time of seven minutes and thirty-eight seconds, a mere six-hundredths of a second faster than Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Soudal).  

 

It was a sweet victory for Cancellara taking the start in his last Tour de Suisse, and had targeted the opening race against the clock. 

 

"It was not fun to be standing on the start ramp and seeing the rain," said Cancellara. "You know that it will be wet roads, and I knew then it would be like a poker game. Honestly, I was really nervous for today, and for me, it was really important to win. For many reasons: it's a home race, my last time here, the history…"

 

Rain fell on and off during the race, and an ominous sky ahead of Cancellara's start – the second last rider to tackle the tricky course – had the team's mechanics ready with wheels for dry and wet roads. 

 

Cancellara said: "I had wheels ready at the start for wet and dry and in the end I took the tires for the dry because super slick goes better. But then I had wet roads on some of the corners, and it was hard to maintain the rhythm, the speed.  I had rain from the climb to the chicane – around two kilometers, and the downhill was wet."

 

The wet roads did hinder Cancellara, who was eight seconds behind the fastest time at the intermediate checkpoint at 3.2 kilometers, but he slowly gained ground back in the latter part of the course. In the final meters, knowing it would be close, he sprinted out of the saddle, and with a bike throw at the line eked out the victory by the narrowest of margins.

 

Cancellara added: "In the end, I did what I could, and it worked out. Having a win in my last Tour de Suisse means a lot, this stands out. I will enjoy the night and the day tomorrow in the yellow. I will do what I can to try and defend, but it's going to be a hard week, but we go on in yellow tomorrow, and that is what is nice." 

 

Jasper Stuyven also put in a good performance, finishing in 17th place (+14 seconds), and also provided valuable checkpoints for Cancellara. At the intermediate split, Stuyven was one second behind Cancellara, until Spartacus hit the dry roads and powered for home.

 

Disappointed Jurgen Roelandts: This could have been my first TT victory ever

Jürgen Roelandts was almost the surprise of the day. After a 6,4 kilometres long time trial, he finished second at a mere 0,69 seconds behind Fabian Cancellara. After his time trial, Roelandts took place in the “hot seat” for a long time.

 

He said: “Of course, it’s a pity that I just could not win this time trial. It’s no shame to lose from a time trial specialist as Fabian Cancellara but I am really disappointed.

 

”After I had finished, some thirty riders still had to cross the finish line but by the minute I became more nervous and my hope for a successful outcome grew. I knew Cancellara still had to finish, at the intermediate time check we had the same time.

 

”It is really painful that I become second with a time difference of 0,69 seconds. It would have been my first time trial victory ever…

 

”Of course, this is an indication that I’m in good shape. After the Giro, I took good care of myself, in terms of training as wells as in terms of nutrition. I hope this prologue can be a prelude to a good Tour de Suisse.

 

Luke Durbridge regains TT confidence with excellent prologue in Switzerland

Former Australian time trial champion Luke Durbridge had an impressive ride today in the Tour de Suisse prologue to finish in a respectable third place.

 

Durbridge stopped the clock in a blistering time of seven minutes and 40seconds, just two seconds behind the race winner Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo).

 

"It was a very pleasing ride for me today," explained Durbridge after his ride. "I've done some work after the classics on my time trial position and also my time trial training, so I was very happy it's all heading in the right direction now and getting back up there in a big prologue like the Tour de Suisse.

 

"It's a big confidence booster, so I am really pleased with how it went and to start the tour of this way. I was talking to Sam Bewley before I started and he said you can't really make up a lot of time in the back end, so I went full gas at the start and just tried to hold on as much as I could, it was really helpful advice."

 

At the half-way check point Durbridge posted the fastest time, seven seconds clear of the current race leader. With only a handful of riders left to go it was an important start to the short 6.4kilometre race against the clock that in the end secured him a podium spot.

 

"It was really nice today to have here Luke in great shape," said sport director Neil Stephens after the race. "We were lucky to have Chris Juul-Jensen and Michael Albasini produce good times, that gave us some good time references for Luke who started later on.

 

"Right from the get go I saw he was on fire, he rode a really aggressive time and really he didn't make any mistakes. Hat's off to the two guys that beat him as Luke was a fair way up at the half way split time.

 

”So overall a great day today, it's great to see Luke up there and we are really looking forward now to the next stages."

 

Martin Elmiger close to fantastic home win in Swiss prologue

Martin Elmiger took fourth place just 6 seconds behind the winner Fabian Cancellara in a prologue that took place just a stone’s throw from his home in Zug. 

 

“I am happy with this fourth place finish in front of my family and friends. I had the heart to do well, though the sensations were not great during these 6 kilometers. I lacked a little power, a little something extra that in the end can mean victory. But I have no regrets. I am convinced that I will sleep well tonight.”

 

While Fabian Cancellara will wear the yellow jersey as leader of the Tour de Suisse for the first stage that will also take place around Baar, Martin Elmiger will be the proxy wearer of the jersey reserved for the best place Swiss rider on the strength of his fourth place.

 

The sky played with the nerves of the riders. The rain joined the riders who set off in the early part of the stage, making for treacherous roads and delicate braking. In such conditions, Reto Hollenstein and Matthias Brändle lost all chances of posting top times. A ray of sunshine broke through to dry the roads for those riders starting in the second half of the line-up, though late-started Fabian Cancellara did suffer a few rain drops along his route.

 

“In life, luck and bad luck fight for the leading role,” Reto Hollenstein jokingly commented after taking a strong 16th place in the technical and demanding prologue. “Today was not my day because I had to deal with and was handicapped by the poor weather and road conditions that we had at the beginning of the prologue.”

 

"I am satisfied with my prologue," exclaimed Mathias Frank when asked to analyze his performance. “I lost 36 seconds, but I managed to get to the finish without too many problems. Now I have to think about saving my strength and recover in time for our first appointment with the mountains on Wednesday.”

 

Ion Izagirre wins first GC battle at the Tour de Suisse

Ion Izagirre continues to impress and certify his quality of big world talent in this 2016 season. The Basque allrounder, just like older brother Gorka and the whole Movistar Team, enjoyed a significant performance improvement on their new Canyon Speedmax CF SLX bikes to fight for sucess in the opening, 6.4km time trial in and around Baar, with rain involuntarily favouring the hopes of José Luis Jaimerena's squad.

 

It was the younger from the Ormaiztegi saga's task to clock the best time from the Blues for the day, 5th at 6” from Fabian Cancellara (TFS). Gorka, in turn, led the race for some minutes to finish in 9th spot, 10" back. Both were able to beat many of the pre-race GC candidates, like Kelderman (+10”), Thomas (+12”), Gesink (+22”), López (+23”), Van Garderen (+28”), Spilak (+31”) and  Costa (+38”), and leave an excellent impression before the big mountains come on Wednesday.

 

The day's other happy news came as Jonathan Castroviejo got back into competition, 101 days after his crash in Portugal. On the other hand, though, Alex Dowsett was unlucky as a minor technical error cost him a crash with just 2km remaining on the course, following a great intermediate check. Hills will be on the menu for Sunday, with 188km and four laps over a Cat-2 ascent.

 

Johan Le Bon confirms time trial potential with great prologue in Switzerland

Johan Le Bon know that he is at the Tour of Switzerland mainly to show himself in the two time trials. He took seventh place at 9 seconds and fulfilled the goal of his team.

 

"This morning I said that a Top 15 for Johan would be fine and he did much better. He ends at 9 seconds from Cancellara after having lost by 13 seconds in the time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico. It is a similar performance and that's fine. I am happy,” said sports director Franck Pineau.

 

"He had the chance to make his effort on a dry road. The four team riders who took the start early in the race did it on a wet road and everything changes.”

 

On Sunday, the FDJ team will play the Kevin Reza card as he should be in his element on a circuit with a few climbs.

 

"Here the level is high and I think they will be hundred to contest a sprint. I think Kevin has what it takes to get a good result,” Pineau said.

 

Silvan Dillier shines in national champion’s jersey at the Tour de Suisse

 

A short and sharp 6.4 kilometer prologue kicked things off at the Tour de Suisse, with Silvan Dillier putting in a solid ride to clock the eighth-fastest time, nine seconds behind winner Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo). Rain plagued the time trial for most of the day, with only the last riders benefiting from a dry course. It was Dillier’s first chance to wear his Swiss National Time Trial Champion’s jersey on home soil.

 

Silvan Dillier said:

 

“I was really lucky with the weather. It stopped raining early enough for the roads to dry up before I went out. It was only my second race after fracturing my finger at the Giro d’Italia, so I already I showed good shape at GP Gippingen, and now my prologue is also a good result. I couldn’t finish on the podium but it’s still hard to come back and be with the best specialists. I’m not a time trialist, I’m not a sprint specialist, so as an all-rounder I’m pretty happy to finish in the top ten.

 

“It was only the second time I wore my Swiss National Time Trial jersey, and the first time in Switzerland, so I have to make the most of it before we line up again at the National Championships next week.”

 

Tejay van Garderen: Turns out we made the wrong call

Tejay van Garderen said:

 

“We tried to be smart by going in the first wave of riders in the hope of getting better weather. Turns out we made the wrong call. I had good sensations but bad luck. It’s a long week of racing and plenty ok kilometers to make up the time.”

 

Great start for Wilco Kelderman and Robert Gesink in Switzrland

LottoNL Jumbo rider Wilco Kelderman placed 10th in the opening time trial of the Tour de Suisse. Fabian Cancellara won over 6.4 kilometres in 7'38", Kelderman finished in 7'48".

 

"We looked at the weather forecast and then decided to let Wilco Kelderman start around half past four and Robert Gesink later in the race,” said Sport Director Jan Boven. Although they both raced in dry conditions, the road was still wet. The team leaders did not take risks.

 

Gesink approached a collapsing advertising banner, but did not pay for that.

 

"No, the collapsing banner was not an influence,” added Boven. “Gesink had to stop but it has made no difference. Gesink is not a specialist in these short time trials and he set good time for his level.”

 

“Kelderman is in good shape so that's good for the next few days. Overall, I’m very pleased with the team, we had four men in the top 20: Bram  [Tankink] (20th) has good shape from the Giro, Bert-Jan [Lindeman] (18th) shows that his TT training pay off and Paul [Martens] (12th). "

 

Kelderman finishes 10th. Kelderman finished 10 seconds behind Cancellara.

 

"My legs are fine, so I'm very happy, but unfortunately, the road was so wet that I took less risks.“

 

In the Tour de Romandie time trial, Kelderman crashed in a wet corner.

 

"During the ride, you don’t think about that think that, but beforehand, I saw that the road was wet and thought that I do not want to fall like in Romandie. Tomorrow, we should see a small peloton sprint, but later in the week we hit the hills, and I can not wait to start them."

 

Gesink was 21 seconds behind Cancellara.

 

"Such a short prologue has never been my thing,” he said. “I usually feel the altitude training pay off after a couple of racing days, so I hope to be good towards the end of the Tour de Suisse."

 

Last month, Gesink decided to focus Tour de France classification.

 

"Just like in the Tour, I also want to ride a good classification here so that I can have more confidence for the Tour."

 

"The weather forecast is very bad for tomorrow, and when it rains here, it comes down hard,” Boven added. The course covers a circuit of around 47 kilometres, which must be completed four times. "There is a climb in each circuit and that will probably ensure that we will not sprint with a full squad for the stage victory. It remains to be seen which teams will make the hard currency."

 

Strong Yves Lampaert disappointed to have raced under the rain in Swtizerland

Despite riding in hard conditions, the Belgian posted a good time in the Baar prologue. The weather made the first stage of the 80th Tour de Suisse more difficult than the course itself, the rain playing an important role in the final outcome. Many riders had the misfortune of setting off on wet roads, which forced them to slow down in the corners, and eventually led to a different result than the one they were expecting at the start of the day. Among those was also Etixx – Quick-Step's Yves Lampaert, who concluded the 6.4-km long race in 7:48 and at one point even stayed in the hot seat, before eventually finishing 11th, just 10 seconds off winner Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo).

 

The result left the 25-year-old with a sorrow taste, but Lampaert – who made his debut at the Tour de Suisse – was keen on looking at the bright side of things:

 

"Unfortunately, the weather didn't play in my favour and I rode on wet roads, so because of this I lost many important seconds and some places in the standings. It wasn't easy and I had to be focused in every moment on my race and on not making any mistake. I'm not happy with my result, but considering all the factors, I am satisfied with my condition, so I look forward to the next days."

 

Geraint Thomas: I think it was a decent effort

Geraint Thomas got his Tour de Suisse challenge off to a strong start with a competitive time in the opening time trial. The Welshman clocked a time of seven minutes and 50 seconds around the 6.4-kilometre prologue course in Baar.

 

Thomas was among the final runners to tackle the stage and did so as showers began to turn the roads into a tricky challenge. That didn't stop home favourite Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) from taking the victory, clocking a time 12 seconds quicker than Thomas.

 

But more significantly for the Team Sky rider his time stacked up favourably with a number of the GC rivals he will be taking on across the next eight stages.

 

"It just started raining as I went down the ramp," said Thomas, who admitted he didn't feel he'd quite got the pacing of his effort right.

 

"It's hard - some guys get completely wet roads, some guys get completely dry and then some get in the middle which is what I had. It's hard to judge where you are exactly but I think it was a decent effort."

 

World champion Vasil Kiryienka was the next Team Sky rider home in 29th, 18 seconds back on Cancellara, while Leopold Konig was just over 30 seconds back on his racing return from injury.

 

Simon Geschke surprises in Tour de Suisse prologue

Simon Geschke was the fastest rider for Team Giant-Alpecin in 15th place. Geschke completed the course in a time of 07’51”.

 

Simon Geschke said:

 

“I am really satisfied with my 15th place. I am not a specialist in this discipline, and this result shows that I am in good shape at the moment. I wish to continue like this for the upcoming week and for the mountain stages.”

 

Coach Morten Bennekou added: “It was a tricky prologue because the weather changed many times over the course of the afternoon. Tobias [Ludvigsson] had to do his race in the complete rain which was to his disadvantage and he finished outside the top 20. Simon did a pretty good prologue and he surprisingly finished in 15th place. It is good to see that he is on such a high level ahead of the next stages where he will have the possibility to go for a result.”

 

Sagan, Bodnar and Boaro make wrong choice in Swiss prologue

Taking a time of 7’52”, Manuele Boaro was the fastest Tinkoff rider, with Peter Sagan close behind in a time of 7’57”.

 

As one of the earlier riders out, Peter Sagan set a fast time, sitting in virtual third before gradually moving down the leaderboard as the day went on, in spite of having to do his run in some wet weather conditions. Over such a short distance, the time gaps were always going to be small, with riders setting times of under ten minutes around the route, and Sagan came in with a time of 7’57”, the second fastest Tinkoff rider, after Manuele Boaro, who came in with a time of 7’52”.

 

While the team had kept a watch on the weather conditions, Sagan, Boaro and Maciej Bodnar were unlucky to be caught in the rain, as Sport Director, Patxi Vila explained from the finish.

 

“Looking at the weather forecast for the start times, we were just hoping the weather would stay off while the guys were out, with Maciej, Peter and Manuele out first, but it rained more at the beginning. Maybe we were just unlucky being caught out in the bad conditions. The guys did a good job in spite of this, but it was just wrong timing in the end.”

 

As the bigger name time trial specialists hit the course, the shape of the top ten, of which Boaro had been a strong part, began to shift massively. In spite of rain falling as the day neared its end, the best times dropped gradually. With all the riders in, Boaro was the highest-placed Tinkoff rider in 19th position, with Sagan coming in 30th position. With eight days’ racing still to come, the team was relaxed and looking forward to seeing how the race progressed.

 

From the finish, Sagan was happy with his time and was ready to see how his race would unfold.

 

“Today it was a very nice day. Not every day is sunny and I started in the rain. I don’t mind – that’s ok. I finished with a time I’m happy with, and I think we’re ready for a good race. We’ll see day by day how it’s going and we’ll use the race to prepare for a good Tour de France.”

 

The race stays in Baar for the second day – a 187.6km route raced on a circuit covered four times over the course of the day. While the route will give riders a chance to assess their performance and recce the finish in race conditions, there’s a lot of climbing on the day, which may prove tough for riders hoping for a sprint finish. Vila was hoping for a good result for team leader, Peter Sagan.

 

“Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for us. There are four laps of the circuit with around 2,000m of climbing, so it’ll be a tough stage, but we’ll work to get a good result for Peter. The guys’ performance today has been good, with some riders – Manuele, Jay, Ivan and Evgeny – coming straight off the Giro. We’re all focused on getting a good result for Peter. There are some other fast guys here, so it’ll be a good opportunity to see how we’re performing. Hopefully we’ll get a good result.”

 

Solid start for CCC Sprandi Polkowice at Tour de Suisse

First CCC rider to take off was Sylwester Szmyd, while Jarosław Marycz was the last one to roll off the starting ramp. The latter turned out to be the fastest CCC Sprandi Polkowice rider of the day, setting 22nd time. He was only 16 seconds down on the winner, Fabian Cancellara (Trek Segafredo).

 

Two other members of the orange squad finished in the top 50. Victor de la Parte who eyes the GC was 33rd (21 seconds behind) and Maciej Paterski took 46th (26 seconds back).

 

Lars Boom left frustrated by wet roads in Swiss prologue

“The sensations are good,” said Lars Boom at the end of the prologue that opened the 80th edition of the Tour de Suisse. “It was a shame with the wet road that made me lose a bit of power and speed.

 

“Tomorrow's stage is well designed for those who want to attack. I will give my best to try.”

 

"It was a quick time trial,” said sport director Dmitri Sedoun, “and with the final climb which ended up being decisive. The performance of the boys was discreet; it was a pity that some raced on a wet course.

 

"Our two climbers, Michele Scarponi and Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno, went as planned and we are satisfied with their race. Both arrived with the favorites for the final victory."

 

Katusha not worried by Spilak’s time loss in Tour de Suisse prologue

The best Team Katusha performer was Sven Erik Bystrøm, who finished 24 seconds behind the winner. Defending champion Simon Špilak was a bit unlucky, starting under the rain and posting only 64th time (+0.31). However, all the main things in this race are still ahead.

 

“Yeah, we did not do a big race today, but we knew it before and did not expect too much from this prologue. For the general classification everything is in order. Fabian Cancellara is the winner today, but he is not a contender in GC as well as some other guys in front. Of course, some favorites were faster than us, but it is a question of seconds. The gaps are not big, so all the fight is still ahead,” said sports director Torsten Schmidt.

 

Kanstantsin Siutsou limits his losses in Tour de Suisse prologue

The 6.4km course around Baar was not one for the Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka riders with no short time trial specialists part of the African Team. At just 6.4km though, the time gaps were all but insignificant in the end as only 1 minute 43 seconds separated all 176 riders at the end of the stage.

 

Kanstantsin Siutsou was the best placed rider on the day, ending +27″ down on Cancellara while Reinardt Janse van Rensburg was only a further 5″ back. All the African Team riders were in fact, only separated by 38″.

 

The main focus for the team is firmly fixed on the next 8 days of racing were stage opportunities are certainly up for grabs. Tomorrow is the first such opportunity where the undulating circuit race will suit the likes of Janse van Rensburg and Natnael Berhane.

 

Sports director Jens Zemke said:

 

“The Tour de Suisse got off to the expected start. We have no specialist for this type of race so for us the goal was to not lose any big time or make any mistakes on the course. Kanstantsin and Reinardt both did good rides but the favourites like Cancellara were always going to be at the top today. We look forward to taking our chances over the next 8 stages of racing.”

 

Wrong choice for Verva TT specialt in Swiss prologue

The best VERVA ActiveJet Team rider was Pawel Cieslik, who lost 33 seconds. 

 

“Looking at the conditions in which I rode, I was quite good. In virtually every turn I had to brake almost to zero and re-launch the bike. I didn’t lose much to Maciej Bodnar who was riding in similar conditions. Riders who rode in the second part, had significantly better results,” said Kamil Gadek.

 

Gradek lost 34 seconds. 

 

Rui Costa not worried by time loss in Tour de Suisse prologue

Rui Costa, who had decided in agreement with his sports directors to race early in the afternoon, could not avoid the rain: he pushed properly in the sectors which were suitable for his skills but he had to be careful in the winding part of the course and so he lost 38".

 

The Portuguese rider was 98th in the stage standings. He completed the time trial in 8'16".

 

"With the roads being wet, I preferred to push in the sectors which were suitable to my skills and to control in the sector with the series of bends,” Rui Costa explained. “It was important to find the proper mix of speed and safety, even if I was a little bit unlucky because I raced in the rain while for other riders the road was not so wet.

 

“Todayøs performance did not give me a place in the first part of the stage standings.However the gaps to the riders who'll contend for the general classification are not big, especially if we think about the bunch of climbs we'll cover during the next week.”