Kessiakoff wins time trial in Gossau

Fredrik Kessiakoff of Astana was the surprise winner of the Tour de Suisse stage seven time trial in Gossau. The 32-year-old Swede beat local favourite Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) by less than two seconds on the 34.3km course. Maxime Monfort, also of RadioShack-Nissan, was third at 20 seconds.

Rui Costa of Movistar Team defended his overall lead, finishing eighth at 41 seconds down. Roman Kreuziger (Astana) moved up second place, 0:50 down, with Robert Gesink (Rabobank) now in third at 55 seconds. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is fourth, and Fränk Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) fell from second to fifth.

Just over 30 minutes after the start Cancellara set sail in bright sunshine across a course that was not without its undulations, tight turns and challenges. The Swiss fans had turned out in force to cheer on their hero, who has suffered an up and down year that was interrupted by the broken collarbone he suffered at the Tour of Flanders on April 1.

The Swiss star posted a searingly fast time of 46:38 and the home fans must have thought that it was untouchable. But half an hour later the home crowd was silenced when Kessiakoff shaved two seconds off Cancellara’s time with an astonishing performance.

The four-time Swedish champion flew home over the race’s final sector to bridge the gap and put himself at the top of the leaderboard. It was a position that he didn’t surrender for the remainder of day. With just two seconds between them, Cancellara and Kessiakoff were head and shoulders above the rest. Their nearest pursuer, Monfort, was a further 18 seconds behind in third.

When the crowd’s shock had subsided they turned their attentions to the battle for the yellow jersey. Less than 30 seconds separated the top ten at the start of the day and the chances of big swings in the standings were high. With no obvious time trial trailblazers among them, but plenty of solid pace, the final half hour of racing provided plenty of talking points.

In the end the big winners were Gesink, Kreuziger and Costa. Gesink’s fifth placed finish on the day saw him jump from 19th position to third, while Kreuziger was able to leapfrog a disappointing Frank Schleck into 2nd.

But it was Costa, who many thought could be under threat from the challenge of teammate Valverde, let alone the rest of the top ten, who produced the third headline effort of the day after Kessiakoff and Cancellara by finishing in eighth place and extending his lead at the top of the GC to 50 seconds.

The Portuguese rider is now well placed for the challenges of Saturday and Sunday and will be quietly hopeful of holding on to the yellow jersey and securing victory. Though with the race heading into the Alps for a brutal final pair of stages, both Costa and his team will have to work cleverly and economically to preserve his lead.