Tour de Suisse: Bernal victorious on San Gottardo
Colombian extends overall lead
Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) extended his lead in the Tour de Suisse with a commanding victory on stage 7. The Colombian dropped all of his GC rivals on the final climb of the Passo San Gottardo with just under two kilometres remaining and soloed to another impressive win in the young 22-year-old’s career.
There was little resistance when Bernal decided to stretch his legs on the cobbled sector of the long 12.4km climb with only Bahrain-Merida’s Domenico Pozzovivo and Rohan Dennis mounting a late but eventually futile chase.
The rest of the field simply had no response after Team Ineos and in particular Ben Swift set a frantic pace from the base of the final climb.
Bernal finished 23 seconds clear of the Bahrain-Merida chasing duo, with Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe), Jan Hirt (Astana), and Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) finishing a further 11 seconds down.
Enric Mas (Deceuninck-QuickStep) had attacked with 4.5km to go but he was distanced by Bernal when the Colombian attacked and trailed in 40 seconds down. Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) continued his fine comeback from injury with 10th on the mountain stage.
As for the overall classification, Bernal now leads Dennis by 41 seconds ahead of Saturday’s key individual time trial. Konrad is third at 1:13.
"I think so [that this victory is the most important in my career]. I’m happy for this, I won the TT last year at the Tour de Romandie, so it’s nice to win again in Suisse,” Bernal said at the finish.
"It was difficult to know [when to attack] because you never know how you’re going to feel at the end. I was feeling really good and I said to the guys, as always they did a fantastic job and in the end, I won the stage for them so it’s really nice. It wasn’t easy, they were full gas and even in the wheels, it’s really hard to stay with them in the wheels but I tried to stay calm and the final it was the best decision. We did a really good pace and everyone was full gas for the final.
"I’m not sure [if it is enough time on Rohan Dennis], he’s the world champion in the time trial and for sure, tomorrow I will lose time to him. I hope to not lose too much time but we also have another mountain stage. We will do our best and we will control what we can control.
How it unfolded
After Thursday's foray in the mountains, the Tour de Suisse continued with a similar stage on stage 7 with an early break once again establishing a lead over the main field.
Winner Anacona (Movistar), Steve Morabito (Groupama-FDJ), Mathias Frank (AG2R La Mondiale), Michael Albasini (Mitchelton-Scott), Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma), Gino Mader (Dimension Data), and Tsgabu Grmay (Mitchelton-Scott) broke clear and the group established a lead over the first major climb of the day.
However, as the Passo San Gottardo loomed, the peloton began to increase the pressure on the leaders and by the base of the climb only Fränk, Grmay, Morabito, Anacona and Mäder, Bouwman remained at the front.
Their lead sat at just over 2:30 with 25km to go but even before the official climb started Bouwan attacked. Clearly inspired by his teammate Antwan Tolhoek's win on stage 6, the Dutch rider confidently rode clear but within five kilometers he was back in the clutches of the main break. Frank took the opportunity to attack next as Movistar and Ineos combined to reduce the bunch to fewer than 40 riders.
Frank was the last man standing when Ben Swift soared passed him with 5km to go, with Bernal and Dennis on his wheel, and when the Ineos domestique swung over he was replaced by teammate Kenny Ellisonde. The Frenchman could only muster a kilometer on the front and spent most of that chasing an attack from Enric Mas as a number of GC riders, including Marc Soler, began to drop backwards.
With 2.8km to go Bernal attacked and within a couple of hairpins, he was alongside Mas. The next acceleration distanced the Spaniard as Pozzovio and Dennis scrambled to limit their losses ahead of Saturday’s all-important time trial.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos | 5:37:40 |
2 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:23 |
3 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida | |
4 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:34 |
5 | Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team | |
6 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
7 | Enric Mas (Spa) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:00:40 |
8 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:00:50 |
9 | Lennard Kämna (Ger) Team Sunweb | 0:01:03 |
10 | Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
11 | Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team | |
12 | Sergio Henao (Col) UAE Team Emirates | |
13 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb | 0:01:06 |
14 | Kilian Frankiny (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:19 |
15 | Patrick Schelling (Sui) Switzerland | 0:01:20 |
16 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:49 |
17 | Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:02:15 |
18 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:02:18 |
19 | François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
20 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:02:43 |
21 | Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:03:16 |
22 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:03:23 |
23 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:03:32 |
24 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Dimension Data | 0:03:59 |
25 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Ineos | |
26 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos | 0:04:22 |
27 | Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Israel Cycling Academy | 0:04:38 |
28 | Ben King (USA) Dimension Data | 0:04:47 |
29 | Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:05:15 |
30 | Simon Geschke (Ger) CCC Team | 0:05:24 |
31 | Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | |
32 | Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:05:36 |
33 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | 0:05:45 |
34 | Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:05:50 |
35 | Simon Pellaud (Sui) Switzerland | 0:05:58 |
36 | Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data | 0:06:24 |
37 | Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:06:29 |
38 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:06:53 |
39 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Ineos | 0:06:56 |
40 | Roland Thalmann (Sui) Switzerland | 0:07:00 |
41 | Paul Ourselin (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:07:29 |
42 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 0:07:40 |
43 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:07:47 |
44 | Rodrigo Contreras (Col) Astana Pro Team | 0:07:50 |
45 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:08:12 |
46 | Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data | 0:08:28 |
47 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:09:33 |
48 | Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First | 0:09:54 |
49 | Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | |
50 | Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First | |
51 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:09:59 |
52 | Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | |
53 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | 0:11:19 |
54 | Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:11:21 |
55 | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:11:23 |
56 | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:12:02 |
57 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal | |
58 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin | |
59 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:12:41 |
60 | Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | |
61 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team | 0:12:52 |
62 | Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team | |
63 | Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:13:16 |
64 | Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team | 0:13:20 |
65 | Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:15:25 |
66 | Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb | |
67 | Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale | |
68 | Gian Friesecke (Sui) Switzerland | |
69 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin | |
70 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Direct Energie | |
71 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | 0:15:44 |
72 | Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data | 0:15:52 |
73 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:16:03 |
74 | Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
75 | Ryan Anderson (Can) Rally UHC Cycling | |
76 | Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:16:34 |
77 | Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:16:38 |
78 | Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team | 0:16:56 |
79 | Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:17:23 |
80 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | 0:17:46 |
81 | Colin Joyce (USA) Rally UHC Cycling | 0:17:50 |
82 | Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First | 0:17:56 |
83 | Jérôme Cousin (Fra) Total Direct Energie | |
84 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates | 0:17:58 |
85 | Sam Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott | |
86 | Robin Carpenter (USA) Rally UHC Cycling | 0:19:12 |
87 | Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally UHC Cycling | 0:19:14 |
88 | Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 0:19:15 |
89 | Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | 0:19:19 |
90 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott | |
91 | Rob Britton (Can) Rally UHC Cycling | |
92 | Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ | |
93 | Fabian Lienhard (Sui) Switzerland | 0:19:32 |
94 | Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First | |
95 | Owain Doull (GBr) Team Ineos | 0:19:48 |
96 | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:19:52 |
97 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:19:54 |
98 | Pierre-Roger LaTour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:19:56 |
99 | Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:19:57 |
100 | Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
101 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team | 0:20:03 |
102 | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First | |
103 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First | |
104 | Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb | |
105 | Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:20:36 |
106 | Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:20:47 |
107 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:20:55 |
108 | Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin | |
109 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo | |
110 | Claudio Imhoff (Sui) Switzerland | |
111 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
112 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
113 | Svein Tuft (Can) Rally UHC Cycling | |
114 | Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:21:14 |
115 | Carlos Cuesta Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:22:13 |
116 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | |
117 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | |
118 | Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:22:21 |
119 | Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo | 0:22:35 |
120 | Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) Groupama-FDJ | 0:23:42 |
121 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:24:07 |
122 | Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
123 | Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Ineos | 0:24:15 |
124 | Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:24:24 |
125 | Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data | 0:25:08 |
126 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data | |
127 | Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb | 0:26:11 |
128 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team | 0:27:03 |
129 | Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:28:35 |
130 | Alexander Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:28:41 |
131 | Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates | |
132 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | |
133 | Brandon McNulty (USA) Rally UHC Cycling | |
134 | Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Team | 0:28:42 |
135 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:28:44 |
136 | Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team | |
137 | Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:28:47 |
138 | Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:32:06 |
DNF | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNS | Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 4 | pts |
2 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 2 | |
3 | Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 4 | pts |
2 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 2 | |
3 | Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos | 12 | pts |
2 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 8 | |
3 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida | 6 | |
4 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 4 | |
5 | Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team | 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 6 | pts |
2 | Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team | 4 | |
3 | Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | 3 | |
4 | Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team | 2 | |
5 | Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 12 | pts |
2 | Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott | 8 | |
3 | Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 6 | |
4 | Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data | 4 | |
5 | Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team | 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos | 20 | pts |
2 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 15 | |
3 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida | 10 | |
4 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 6 | |
5 | Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team | 4 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos | 5:37:40 |
2 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:34 |
3 | Enric Mas (Spa) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:00:40 |
4 | Lennard Kämna (Ger) Team Sunweb | 0:01:03 |
5 | Kilian Frankiny (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:19 |
6 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:49 |
7 | Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:02:15 |
8 | Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:03:16 |
9 | Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:05:15 |
10 | Paul Ourselin (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:07:29 |
11 | Rodrigo Contreras (Col) Astana Pro Team | 0:07:50 |
12 | Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data | 0:08:28 |
13 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | 0:11:19 |
14 | Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:11:21 |
15 | Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 0:12:41 |
16 | Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:13:16 |
17 | Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb | 0:15:25 |
18 | Gian Friesecke (Sui) Switzerland | |
19 | Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:16:03 |
20 | Colin Joyce (USA) Rally UHC Cycling | 0:17:50 |
21 | Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | 0:19:19 |
22 | Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ | |
23 | Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First | 0:19:32 |
24 | Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb | 0:20:03 |
25 | Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:20:47 |
26 | Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:21:14 |
27 | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:22:13 |
28 | Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie | |
29 | Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:22:21 |
30 | Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates | 0:28:41 |
31 | Brandon McNulty (USA) Rally UHC Cycling | |
32 | Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Team | 0:28:42 |
33 | Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:32:06 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Team Ineos | 17:01:21 |
2 | Astana Pro Team | 17:02:16 |
3 | Ag2r La Mondiale | 17:02:57 |
4 | Movistar Team | 17:03:02 |
5 | Trek - Segafredo | 17:04:44 |
6 | SWISS CYCLING | 17:04:56 |
7 | Uae Team Emirates | 17:05:00 |
8 | Bahrain - Merida | 17:05:05 |
9 | Team Sunweb | 17:06:32 |
10 | Team Dimension Data | 17:08:10 |
11 | Lotto - Soudal | 17:09:08 |
12 | Team Katusha Alpecin | 17:11:07 |
13 | Groupama - Fdj | 17:16:13 |
14 | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 17:17:30 |
15 | Total Direct Energie | 17:18:12 |
16 | Bora - Hansgrohe | 17:18:24 |
17 | Team Jumbo - Visma | 17:23:20 |
18 | Ccc Team | 17:24:08 |
19 | Ef Education First | 17:30:44 |
20 | Mitchelton - Scott | 17:40:16 |
21 | Rally Uhc Cycling | 17:46:05 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos | 24:17:48 |
2 | Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida | 0:00:41 |
3 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:01:13 |
4 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:01:17 |
5 | Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:19 |
6 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
7 | Enric Mas (Spa) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:02:07 |
8 | Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | 0:02:20 |
9 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb | 0:02:23 |
10 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:02:26 |
11 | Sergio Henao (Col) UAE Team Emirates | 0:02:35 |
12 | Patrick Schelling (Sui) Switzerland | 0:02:42 |
13 | Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team | 0:02:57 |
14 | François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:03:26 |
15 | Lennard Kämna (Ger) Team Sunweb | 0:03:33 |
16 | Kilian Frankiny (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:03:51 |
17 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:04:14 |
18 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:04:17 |
19 | Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:04:21 |
20 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:04:23 |
21 | Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team | |
22 | Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:05:31 |
23 | Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Ineos | 0:05:52 |
24 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Dimension Data | 0:06:19 |
25 | Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:07:28 |
26 | Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:07:42 |
27 | Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:08:46 |
28 | Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:09:04 |
29 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:09:56 |
30 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma | 0:10:37 |
31 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos | 0:10:56 |
32 | Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First | 0:11:46 |
33 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:12:14 |
34 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Ineos | 0:12:49 |
35 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | 0:13:44 |
36 | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:15:36 |
37 | Simon Geschke (Ger) CCC Team | 0:15:57 |
38 | Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data | 0:16:17 |
39 | Roland Thalmann (Sui) Switzerland | 0:17:13 |
40 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:18:25 |
41 | Simon Pellaud (Sui) Switzerland | 0:18:53 |
42 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:19:09 |
43 | Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Israel Cycling Academy |