Tinkoff-Saxo’s Daniele Bennati took part in the big breakaway of the penultimate stage of Tour de Suisse, where he finished fifth behind stage winner Alexey Lutsenko, who broke free within the finale. “Better if the group had been together, but I’m satisfied, also with the progression of my shape”, says Bennati after the stage. Sagan, Majka and Valgren finished with the decimated bunch.
 
Following the stage finish, Daniele Bennati says that he takes the stage as a good sign.
 
“Today was only 150km but it was the penultimate stage and everybody is getting a bit more tired. If we analyze the finale, I think I can be happy because we were 19 riders in the breakaway in the beginning and we went at a very high pace on the last two-three climbs. I felt good especially in the finale, but I couldn’t follow the two guys out front because they were faster than me on the climbs. I think today is a good sign, especially for the coming races and I now have some days of rest before the Tour, which I hope to do. I expect that my level will increase further after a period of recovery following this Tour de Suisse”, comments Daniele Bennati and adds:
 
“Of course it would have been better for me if the group had been together in the finale but it was difficult to control as we had many attacks in the group. We had Peter behind in the peloton and me in the front group, which meant that other teams had to work as well. Today was the last opportunity to win a stage so we wanted to make sure that we increased our chances. It didn't go our way but I think we can be satisfied”

Team captain Peter Sagan stayed put in the decimating main group during the tough local laps around Bern in case the breakaway was caught.
 
“The race profile of today’s stage was quite difficult, we rode around in laps. From the beginning several riders tried to break away. I also tried to escape, but eventually my teammate Bennati managed to do that. We let the race open up and eventually there was a group of riders that reached the finish ahead of us. Later, I could’ve been the first in the peloton but that probably isn’t worth much. Never mind, we had one guy in the front, so it turned out quite well”.
 
Further elaborating on the course of events on stage 8, Sean Yates, Tinkoff-Saxo sports director, adds that the many attacks made the day difficult to control.
 
“Today started out fast with constant attacks off the front of the peloton in an effort to establish the breakaway. It was the last stage before the TT so, naturally, a lot of riders were looking to get a result. We were hoping that a small breakaway would go but it didn’t happen and it isn’t easy for four or five of our guys to control a 19-man group so Bennati jumped across and went with the group. This, in turn, meant that some of the other teams had to take responsibility at the front”, says Sean Yates before finishing:
 
“Bennati did well in the break. Of course, it’s a bit disappointing not to fight for the stage win on the final kilometer. He tried to cover the attacks in the group, but you can’t follow every move and sometimes it’s down to chance, who gets away and if they make it or not”.