photo credits @ WTFK
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) soloed to victory in stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse in Weinfelden today, after the Belgian rider rode clear along the descent of the Ottenberg, quickly building up a 30-second lead along the descent.
Meanwhile, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was the fastest man in the chase group, leading home Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Lorrenzo Manzin (TotalEnergies).
Race Highlights
Still mourning the death of Gino Mäder (Bahrain-Victorious), who died from injuries he sustained in a crash on stage 5, the peloton rode in solidarity for the first 90 kilometers.
However, the speed was gradually increased and with 50 kilometers remaining, with Ineos-Grenadiers, Jumbo-Visma, Trek-Segafredo and Soudal-QuickStep moving to the front.
In remembrance of Mäder, race officials relegated the last 25 kilometers of the route for “racing”, allowing riders to choose whether or not not they wished to compete, while nullifying the affect it would have on the general classification.
As the peloton approached the 25-kilometer mark, Trek-Segafredo had moved to the front in defense of its race leader Mattias Skjelmose, while EF Education-EasyPost simultaneously attacked, launching Neilson Powless.
But, Van Aert was quick to shutdown his aggressions, while Michal Kwiatkowski moved to the front for Ineos-Grenadiers.
With 18 kilometers to go, Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM), Evenepoel and Jhonathan Narvaez (Ineos-Grenadiers) were first riders to crest the Ottenberg, with Powless attacking again, a move that was quickly countered by Evenepoel.
After the summit, Evenepoel went clear along the decent, later extending his lead to 24-seconds with 13 kilometers left.
Despite a determined chase effort lead by Ineos-Grenadiers, Evenepoel had increased his advantage to 48-seconds during the final 2 kilometers, a gap that proved insurmountable for the peloton to close down.
In other news, Bahrain Victorious withdrew from the Tour de Suisse following the death of Mäder.
The team made the announcement on social media this morningy, after it was confirmed that the race would continue with the final two stages this weekend despite Mäder’s death. Friday’s stage had been neutralized, with riders completing the final 20 kilometers together as a mark of respect for the 26-year-old.
“Following the tragic loss of Gino, Team Bahrain Victorious has taken the decision to withdraw from [the] Tour de Suisse,” the team said in a statement on Twitter. There had been questions over whether the Tour would be completed, and also whether or not the women’s edition would begin as planned on Saturday.
The race director, Olivier Senn, said, “after consultation with all the people involved, we as the management stand united behind this decision and are trying to hold the last two stages of the men’s race in an appropriate setting.“
“Under these difficult circumstances, we feel it is the human way to respect the feelings of our riders and pay respect to Gino,” wrote Tudor in a statement.
Additionally, Tudor and Intermarché-Wanty, also pulled out of the final two stages, while the Swiss Q36.5 team decided to continue riding in honor of Mäder.
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