The penultimate stage of the Tour de Suisse, around Villars-sur-Ollon, didn’t see Lenny Martinez confirm the form he showed the day before with his fifth place in Blatten. Rudy Molard and Stefan Küng accompanied the climbers to the final climb, before the favourites battled it out for victory. The Swiss competition closes on Sunday with an uphill time trial.
The 2024 edition of the Tour de Suisse has set its climax in Villars-sur-Ollon, with a penultimate stage around the Vaudois village, before a final time trial on Sunday also scheduled in this town. Shortly after the 2:23pm start, on a section of the first ascent of the Col de la Croix, Harold Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan), Finlay Pickering (Bahrain-Victorious), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), Einer Rubio (Movistar), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Visma-Lease a Bike), Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates), Sylvain Moniquet and Maxim van Gils (Lotto-Dstny) attacked to create the day’s breakaway.
This group never managed to build up a significant lead. On the second ascent of the Col de la Croix, this time entirely covered, the breakaway riders attacked each other. In the peloton, led by the Ineos-Grenadiers team, Lenny Martinez unfortunately found himself outpaced. « Lenny was ambitious after the stage he did on Friday, but it turned out he didn’t have such good legs. He was out of the mix with the favourites », Thierry Bricaud summed up.
« It’s not often that this happens to him », Thierry Bricaud
At the top of the second category climb, Rudy Molard and Stefan Küng had managed to keep their place in the first group, but the high-speed descent led to a number of splits in the peloton. Stefan Küng succeeded in reintegrating the Yellow Jersey group, before Rudy Molard did the same. Lenny Martinez never achieved to do so. « As soon as you’re under pressure, things get complicated, Thierry Bricaud admitted. It’s not often that this happens to him. It’s one of the bad days a racing cyclist can have. He fought hard anyway, because it’s not in his mind to give up. It’s just a bad moment to get through, his season is still long. »
7.7 kilometres before the finish, Rudy Molard and Stefan Küng finally got dropped from the main group, before climbing at their own pace. There is one stage left and for the Swiss rider, it will be contested in an exercise he loves, but on a terrain that doesn’t suit him: an uphill time trial. Starting in Aigle, home of the headquarters of the International Cycling Union (UCI), the stage will be 15.7 kilometres long. « He’ll do his best to prepare for the next races », Thierry Bricaud concluded.
