Tour de Suisse: Matthews wins stage 3
Sunweb rider takes race lead in Bern
Sunweb's Michael Matthews claimed stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse on Monday, out-sprinting Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) in Bern.
After a hectic uphill run-in to the line, Sunweb hit the front for the finishing straight to put Matthews into prime position for the final kick. The 26-year-old Australian launched with 150 metres to go and none of those behind came particularly close to pulling even with him, despite a bit of argy-bargy in his wake.
"I struggled a little bit on the climb. I wasn't climbing so well today but it was good enough," Matthews said. "I saw that I had a teammate there with Nikias Arndt and that gave me massive motivation because I knew he could do a really big pull and that made it perfect for me to do my sprint at the right time, not like last year when I got boxed in during the Tour. It’s nice to get the win that I really wanted last year."
Having finished fourth in the opening prologue and adding bonus seconds with his stage 3 win, Matthews now leads the Tour de Suisse by 10 seconds over teammate Tom Dumoulin. After taking bonus seconds in both intermediate sprints, overnight leader Stefan Küng (BMC) was distanced in the run-in to the finish, and came across the line in a group 19 seconds down, slipping to 12th overall.
"It will be nice having the leader's jersey tomorrow. The team won the Giro d'Italia so I guess they know how to ride on the front now," Matthews said.
After a slow start to the afternoon that saw the pack allow two breakaway riders - Elmar Reinders (Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij) and Lasse Norman Hansen (Aqua Blue Sport) - to get a nine-minute advantage, the tempo rose steadily in the latter half of the stage, setting up a frantic finale after the escapees were reeled in with 13 kilometres to go.
BMC and Trek-Segafredo set up at the front of the pack and drove a torrid pace through several tricky corners to lead into a final uncategorised ascent that began near the flamme rouge and ran up toward the finishing straight. Once the peloton hit the climb, however, any organisation at the head of affairs fell to pieces.
None of the marquee fast finishers wanted to lead into the sprint, with Sagan and Degenkolb swinging off and allowing others to pull the pack into the finale, but Arndt linked up with Matthews on the finishing straight and then hit the front at full speed. He didn't let up until his sprinter was in perfect position to strike, and Matthews delivered to take the win and wrest the yellow jersey from overnight leader Stefan Küng.
How it unfolded
The day's main breakaway formed almost immediately after the peloton rolled off the start line in Menziken for a long lap around the town before heading south and west to Bern. Elmar Reinders (Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij) and mountains classification leader Lasse Norman Hansen (Aqua Blue Sport) jumped clear of the pack within the first few minutes of racing and the bunch decided to allow the escapees to grow their advantage.
The duo were four minutes up the road 11 kilometres into the 159.3km stage. By the time they crested the first of the day's three categorised climbs – with Hansen leading the way – the gap was all the way up to seven minutes.
The gap yawned all the way to nine minutes before the peloton finally showed enough interest to tighten the leash. The pack brought things down to a more manageable six minutes, and the gap hovered there for a while, with Hansen again adding to his mountains points on the next climb of the day.
Trek-Segafredo pitched in to help BMC at the front inside the final 70 kilometres, and the combined efforts began gradually wearing away at the break's advantage. Defending champion Miguel Ángel López (Astana) crashed with around 60 kilometres to go but appeared unhurt.
With 40 kilometres to go, the gap was at 4:35, and it still stood at 3:50 with 30 left, opening the door for the breakaway to feel some optimism about their chances. The danger was not lost on the pack, however, with Trek-Segafredo upping the pace and Bahrain-Merida lending a hand as well. A lined-out peloton then started to rapidly cut into the gap.
Made aware of the growing threat behind, Hansen increased his own tempo at the head of the race. That spelled the end of Reinders' time out front. Unable to keep the peace, the Dutchman drifted back and was swallowed up by the hard-charging peloton in short order.
Hansen's gap was down to a minute with around 15 kilometres left to race. He made it up and over the final categorised climb to take maximum points again, but that's all he would be able to take away from the stage, as the pack closed him down just two kilometres later.
Trek and BMC traded off turns at the front, stringing the peloton out as they pulled into Bern. The organisation fell to pieces on the uncategorised uphill drag toward to finishing straight as several riders from different teams swarmed the front but none seemed interested in committing to an attack.
As the road flattened out, however, Arndt found his sprinter and went to work, providing a textbook lead-out that Matthews turned into his second WorldTour victory of 2017.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | 3:49:48 |
2 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
3 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo | |
4 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
5 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-Scott | |
6 | Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac | |
7 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ | |
8 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | |
9 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | |
10 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
11 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data | |
12 | Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates | |
13 | Jon Izaguirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | |
14 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
15 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
16 | Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
17 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin | |
18 | Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
19 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie | |
20 | Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky | |
21 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
22 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
23 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
24 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
25 | Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin | |
26 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Dimension Data | |
27 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | |
28 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
29 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky | |
30 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Sunweb | |
31 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
32 | Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ | |
33 | Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Bahrain-Merida | |
34 | Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | |
35 | Mark Christian (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | |
36 | Mekseb Debesay (Eri) Dimension Data | |
37 | Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
38 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:19 |
39 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
40 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie | |
41 | Victor De La Parte (Spa) Movistar Team | |
42 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac | |
43 | Carlos Verona (Spa) Orica-Scott | |
44 | Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data | |
45 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | |
46 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | 0:00:26 |
47 | Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
48 | Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport | |
49 | Daniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | |
50 | Hugh Carthy (GBr) Cannondale-Drapac | |
51 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team | |
52 | Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team | |
53 | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | |
54 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
55 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
56 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
57 | Larry Warbasse (USA) Aqua Blue Sport | |
58 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
59 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors | |
60 | Jakub Kaczmarek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | 0:00:38 |
61 | Jan Hirt (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
62 | Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ | 0:00:43 |
63 | Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | |
64 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | |
65 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo | |
66 | Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
67 | Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:49 |
68 | Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 0:00:53 |
69 | Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida | |
70 | Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
71 | Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac | |
72 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | |
73 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
74 | Lars Boom (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:01:03 |
75 | Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:14 |
76 | Matvey Mamykin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | |
77 | Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
78 | Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie | |
79 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
80 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
81 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
82 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team | |
83 | Kevin Reza (Fra) FDJ | |
84 | Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data | |
85 | Jan Bárta (Cze) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
86 | Simone Petilli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
87 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | |
88 | Ryan Mullen (Irl) Cannondale-Drapac | |
89 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
90 | Taylor Phinney (USA) Cannondale-Drapac | |
91 | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | |
92 | Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin | |
93 | Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
94 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
95 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
96 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
97 | Michal Kolár (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
98 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky | 0:01:44 |
99 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:01:48 |
100 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
101 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
102 | Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin | |
103 | Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJ | 0:01:57 |
104 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Quick-Step Floors | |
105 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
106 | Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
107 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:02:17 |
108 | Ben King (USA) Dimension Data | |
109 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | |
110 | Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | |
111 | Alberto Losada (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin | |
112 | Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
113 | Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:02:23 |
114 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:02:50 |
115 | Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
116 | Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
117 | Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data | |
118 | Jeroen Meijers (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
119 | Michel Kreder (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport | |
120 | Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | |
121 | Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team | |
122 | Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
123 | Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
124 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin | |
125 | Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:03:14 |
126 | Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky | 0:03:42 |
127 | Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team | |
128 | Ryan Anderson (Can) Direct Energie | |
129 | Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
130 | Darwin Atapuma (Col) UAE Team Emirates | |
131 | Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-Scott | |
132 | Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky | |
133 | Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-Scott | |
134 | Felix Großschartner (Aut) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
135 | Rob Power (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
136 | Javier Moreno (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | |
137 | David De La Cruz (Spa) Quick-Step Floors | |
138 | Branislau Samoilau (Blr) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
139 | Leszek Plucinski (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | |
140 | Ruben Plaza (Spa) Orica-Scott | |
141 | Cedric Pineau (Fra) FDJ | |
142 | Marko Kump (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | |
143 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Dimension Data | |
144 | Rein Taaramäe (Est) Katusha-Alpecin | |
145 | Martijn Budding (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
146 | Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | |
147 | Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo | |
148 | Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky | |
149 | Joe Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Drapac | |
150 | Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team | |
151 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott | 0:04:40 |
152 | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie | |
153 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | |
154 | Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:04:51 |
155 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:04:58 |
156 | Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | |
157 | Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale | |
158 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:05:37 |
159 | Taco Van Der Hoorn (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 0:06:58 |
160 | Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport | |
161 | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo | |
162 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Direct Energie | |
163 | Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Aqua Blue Sport | |
164 | Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 0:08:29 |
165 | Martijn Keizer (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
166 | Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky | |
167 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
168 | Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale-Drapac | |
169 | Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky | |
170 | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) FDJ | |
171 | Matthias Brändle (Aut) Trek-Segafredo | |
172 | Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
173 | Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
174 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Movistar Team |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 6 | pts |
2 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | 3 | |
3 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 6 | pts |
2 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | 3 | |
3 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | 10 | pts |
2 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | 8 | |
3 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo | 6 | |
4 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 4 | |
5 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-Scott | 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | 3 | pts |
2 | Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 2 | |
3 | Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | 3 | pts |
2 | Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 2 | |
3 | Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Aqua Blue Sport | 3 | pts |
2 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 2 | |
3 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Team Sunweb | 11:29:24 |
2 | Bora-Hansgrohe | |
3 | AG2R La Mondiale | |
4 | Dimension Data | |
5 | BMC Racing Team | 0:00:19 |
6 | FDJ | |
7 | Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:26 |
8 | Bahrain-Merida | |
9 | Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:43 |
10 | Cannondale-Drapac | 0:00:45 |
11 | Movistar Team | |
12 | UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:49 |
13 | Aqua Blue Sport | 0:00:52 |
14 | Orica-Scott | 0:01:12 |
15 | Katusha-Alpecin | 0:01:14 |
16 | Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:01:19 |
17 | Direct Energie | 0:01:33 |
18 | Lotto Soudal | 0:01:40 |
19 | CCC Sprandi Polkowice | 0:01:42 |
20 | Team Sky | 0:01:44 |
21 | Astana Pro Team | 0:02:06 |
22 | Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 0:03:43 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | 8:18:47 |
2 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:00:10 |
3 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:11 |
4 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:19 |
5 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-Scott | 0:00:20 |
6 | Patrick Bevin (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:00:22 |
7 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:23 |
8 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:24 |
9 | Jon Izaguirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:25 |
10 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | |
11 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
12 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:26 |
13 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:27 |
14 | Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij | 0:00:28 |
15 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | |
16 | Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:29 |
17 | Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ | |
18 | Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates | |
19 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Sunweb | 0:00:30 |
20 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky | |
21 | Mark Christian (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:00:31 |
22 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
23 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ | |
24 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
25 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:00:32 |
26 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:33 |
27 | Jhonatan Restrepo (Col) Katusha-Alpecin | |
28 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:36 |
29 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:00:37 |
30 | Mekseb Debesay (Eri) Dimension Data | 0:00:38 |
31 | Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:39 |
32 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:00:41 |
33 | Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky | 0:00:42 |
34 | Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:43 |
35 | Victor De La Parte (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:45 |
36 | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:47 |
37 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:48 |
38 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Dimension Data | 0:00:49 |
39 | Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team | 0:00:55 |
40 | Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:00:56 |
41 | Carlos Verona (Spa) Orica-Scott | 0:00:57 |
42 | Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
43 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors | 0:01:01 |
44 | Lachlan Morton (Aus) Dimension Data | 0:01:03 |
45 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:11 |
46 | Lars Boom (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:01:16 |
47 | Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ | 0:01:17 |
48 | Daniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:01:26 |
49 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | 0:01:29 |
50 | Jan Hirt (Cze) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | 0:01:33 |
51 | Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | 0:01:36 |
52 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:43 |
53 | Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac | 0:01:50 |
54 | Jan Bárta (Cze) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:01:54 |
55 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | 0:02:01 |
56 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:02:08 |
57 | Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb | 0:03:54 |
58 | Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:04:04 |