Tour de Suisse: BMC Racing win opening team time trial in Frauenfeld
Küng takes first leader's jersey
BMC Racing won the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse, dominating the 18km team time trial with a time of 20:18 and putting local boy Stefan Küng in the yellow leader’s jersey of the race.
Team Sunweb took second on the day, with a time of 20:36, while Quick Step Floors were third at 20:45, just fractions of a second ahead of Bora-Hansgrohe.
The American-registered WorldTour squad were among the pre-race favourites for the stage having brought their ‘A’ team to their sponsor’s home race. GC contender Richie Porte and his super domestique Tejay Van Garderen led the way, while Simon Gerrans, Greg Van Avermaet and Alessandro De Marchi completed the strong line-up along with Küng and fellow Swiss rider Michael Schar.
They duly delivered, flying along the 18km course at over 54km/h and smashing the intermediate checkpoint along the way. Küng, who hails from the town of Wil, just 20km away from Frauenfeld, was first over the line in his home region. The 24-year-old time trialist also takes the young rider’s jersey and the unique ‘best local rider’ prize.
After just one day and 18km of racing, the result sees Porte installed as the overall favourite. Only two summit finishes feature on a route that looks softer than in previous instalments, while a final day 35km time trial will be very much to his liking.
As for the riders who will be looking to beat the Australian, Wilco Kelderman and Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb) lie 19 seconds back with Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa (Movistar) 33 seconds down. Gorka and Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) are 36 seconds down, while defending champion Simon Spilak (Katusha-Alpecin) has his work cut out, lying 46 seconds back.
How it happened
The 2018 Tour de Suisse opened with a team time trial around the northeastern town of Frauenfeld. At 18km and with rolling roads in the first half of the stage, the test was the first sort-out of a race heavier on time trials and lighter on mountains than in recent years.
UAE-Team Emirates were the early pacemakers, putting in a time of 21:08 as the fourth team home. Team Sky came next, failing to best the UAE squad. It was something of a surprise given their pedigree in the discipline but less so given that much of their Tour de France squad is currently competing at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
LottoNL-Jumbo, EF-Drapac and Dimension Data also failed to beat UAE Team Emirates but then came Quick Step Floors with the fastest time at the intermediate checkpoint despite dropping riders along the way. The Belgian team eventually crossed the line at 20:45 - putting them at the top of the leader board.
Movistar - a traditionally strong outfit in this discipline despite their relative lack of solo time trial stars, set the second fastest time soon after. The Spanish team, featuring both Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa but not a recently ill Alejandro Valverde, clocked in at 20:51.
Peter Sagan’s Bora-Hansgrohe team flew through the intermediate only five seconds down and came the closest to Quick Step Floors at the line, ending up just fractions of a second away from the hot seat. As stage favourites Mitchelton-Scott and BMC Racing set off, Bahrain-Merida were the next team to break the 21-minute barrier, serving up an impressive time of 20:54.
World team time trial champions Team Sunweb went out fast, and were down to four riders before the halfway point. They were fastest at the checkpoint but struggled to keep their quartet together on the latter half of the stage but still held on to set a new fastest time at 20:37.
It was then Mitchelton-Scott’s turn to finish, coming in at 20:47. Out on course, BMC Racing was going even faster, taking eight seconds off Sunweb’s checkpoint time.
At the finish they decimated the time of the German squad, leaving Katusha-Alpecin to finish last and round off the proceedings with a time of 21:04.
Küng was happy to take the yellow jersey and will no doubt wear it with pride during Sunday’s 155km stage around Frauenfeld.
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Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | BMC Racing Team | 0:20:18 |
2 | Team Sunweb | 0:00:20 |
3 | Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:27 |
4 | Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Mitchelton-Scott | 0:00:29 |
6 | Movistar Team | 0:00:33 |
7 | Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:36 |
8 | Groupama-FDJ | 0:00:45 |
9 | Katusha-Alpecin | 0:00:46 |
10 | UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:50 |
11 | LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:00:53 |
12 | Lotto Soudal | 0:00:58 |
13 | Trek-Segafredo | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Team Sky | 0:01:02 |
15 | EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 0:01:05 |
16 | AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:07 |
17 | Dimension Data | 0:01:10 |
18 | Direct Energie | 0:01:16 |
19 | Aqua Blue Sport | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Astana Pro Team | 0:01:18 |
21 | Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | 0:02:01 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:20:18 |
2 | Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:00:20 |
6 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:25 |
10 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:27 |
11 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:00:29 |
20 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team | 0:00:33 |
25 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Victor De La Parte (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:36 |
30 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain-Merida | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain-Merida | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:00:45 |
35 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Groupama-FDJ | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:00:46 |
39 | Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Steff Cras (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:49 |
45 | José Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:50 |
47 | Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:00:53 |
51 | Thomas Leezer (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Koen Bouwmam (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:58 |
55 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:59 |
63 | Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky | 0:01:02 |
64 | Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Sky | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 0:01:05 |
69 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Taylor Phinney (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Joe Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | William Clarke (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:07 |
74 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:01:08 |
81 | Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:01:10 |
82 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Scott Davies (GBr) Dimension Data | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Dimension Data | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Igor Anton (Spa) Dimension Data | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:12 |
90 | Nicolas Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data | 0:01:15 |
91 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:01:16 |
92 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Paul Ourselin (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
94 | Rein Taaramäe (Est) Direct Energie | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Lawrence Warbasse (USA) Aqua Blue Sport | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Mark Christian (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) Aqua Blue Sport | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
99 | Edward Dunbar (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
100 | Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:01:18 |
101 | Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
102 | Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
103 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:20 |
106 | Daniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:01:22 |
107 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team | 0:01:23 |
108 | Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:01:43 |
109 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:44 |
110 | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:55 |
111 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:02:00 |
112 | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | 0:02:01 |
113 | Masakazu Ito (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
114 | Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Filippo Zaccanti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo | 0:02:06 |
117 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:02:18 |
118 | Iljo Keisse (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | 0:02:21 |
119 | Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
120 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:02:25 |
121 | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:02:27 |
122 | Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | 0:02:31 |
123 | Sho Hatsuyama (Jpn) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | 0:02:40 |
124 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:02:41 |
125 | Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
126 | Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates | 0:02:42 |
127 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | 0:02:52 |
128 | Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
129 | Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | 0:02:53 |
130 | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:03:04 |
131 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
132 | Edward Theuns (Bel) Team Sunweb | 0:03:05 |
133 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
134 | Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
135 | Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:03:17 |
136 | Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 0:03:20 |
137 | Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
138 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal | 0:03:23 |
139 | Bram Tankink (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:03:27 |
140 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:03:29 |
141 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
142 | Jesper Hansen (Den) Astana Pro Team | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
143 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal | 0:03:43 |
144 | Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo | 0:03:49 |
145 | Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:03:53 |
146 | Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:04:33 |
147 | Sam Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:05:06 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:20:18 |
2 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:00:20 |
3 | Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:27 |
5 | Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:00:29 |
7 | Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:36 |
8 | Steff Cras (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:00:46 |
9 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:50 |
10 | Koen Bouwmam (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:00:53 |
11 | Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:58 |
12 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky | 0:01:02 |
14 | Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Sky | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Sky | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale | 0:01:05 |
18 | Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:07 |
19 | Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:01:08 |
20 | Scott Davies (GBr) Dimension Data | 0:01:10 |
21 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Dimension Data | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:01:16 |
23 | Paul Ourselin (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Edward Dunbar (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:18 |
26 | Daniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:01:22 |
27 | Filippo Zaccanti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini | 0:02:01 |
28 | Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo | 0:02:06 |
29 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:02:18 |
30 | Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors | 0:02:21 |
31 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:03:04 |
32 | Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport | 0:04:33 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Bmc Racing Team | 0:20:18 |
2 | Team Sunweb | 0:00:20 |
3 | Quick Step Floors | 0:00:27 |
4 | Bora - Hansgrohe | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Mitchelton - Scott | 0:00:29 |
6 | Movistar Team | 0:00:33 |
7 | Bahrain - Merida | 0:00:36 |
8 | Groupama - Fdj | 0:00:45 |
9 | Team Katusha Alpecin | 0:00:46 |
10 | Uae Team Emirates | 0:00:50 |
11 | Team Lotto Nl - Jumbo | 0:00:53 |
12 | Trek - Segafredo | 0:00:58 |
13 | Lotto - Soudal | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Team Sky | 0:01:02 |
15 | Team EF Education First - Drapac P/B Cannondale | 0:01:05 |
16 | Ag2r La Mondiale | 0:01:07 |
17 | Team Dimension Data | 0:01:10 |
18 | Direct Energie | 0:01:16 |
19 | Aqua Blue Sport | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Astana Pro Team | 0:01:18 |
21 | Nippo - Vini Fantini - Europa Ovini | 0:02:01 |
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.
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