Tour de Suisse stage 2 - Live coverage

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Stevie Williams defends overall lead on road to Aesch

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Stevie Williams (Bahrain Victorious) carries the yellow jersey into stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse, which brings the race 198km from Küsnacht to Aesch. The terrain is rolling for the most part, but the succession of classified climbs in the final 70km should whittle down the bunch and the last ascent, the category 2 Challpass, looks a likely springboard for attackers.

The neutralised start is at 12:10 local time, with the peloton scheduled to reach kilometre zero at 12:17.

The overall standings ahead of stage 2 are available here:

Stevie Williams

Stevie Williams reports for the start of stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse in the yellow jersey. (Image credit: Getty)

Yesterday's victory was the biggest of Stevie Williams' career to date. The Welshman showed his quality as an under-23 rider with victory at the prestigious Ronde de l'Isard in 2018, and he was billed as 'the next Dan Martin' when he turned professional the following year. A knee injury ruined his debut campaign, however, and there was little scope to make up for lost time when the 2020 season was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. In some ways, 2021 was almost like a neo-pro campaign for Williams, and he finished the year with overall victory at the Cro Race. 

The peloton is on the start line and ready for the roll out. Yesterday's breathless stage opened some gaps and that might allow some breathing room for the early break - but teams like BikeExchange-Jayco will sense an opportunity to tee up a reduced bunch sprint at the finish, with Michael Matthews eager to add to the two Tour de Suisse stages he has won in the past. 

The peloton is navigating the 5.5km-long neutralised zone ahead of the official start. There are 2775m of climbing on the agenda this afternoon, including three categorised ascents - the category 2 Gempen (5.4km at 4.6%), the category 3 Eichenberg (3km at 7.4%) and the category 2 Challpass (6.3km at 6.3%). The summit of the Challpass comes just under 14km from the finish in Aesch.

-198km

There's a rapid start to proceedings, with the peloton strung into a long line, but in the opening kilometres, no breakaway attempt has been able to gain any traction.

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-181km

Alex Aranburu (Movistar) was the victim of an early mechanical incident but the Basque has safely made his way back up to the peloton.

While the Tour de Suisse is cranking into action, the other great warm-up event for the Tour de France concluded yesterday with a striking display of dominance from Jumbo-Visma. Jonas Vingegaard won the final stage atop Plateau de Salaison after coming home alongside teammate and overall winner Primoz Roglic. “I do think I have a good chance,” Vingegaard said when asked about his chances of winning the Tour. “What really started the belief was that I was able to drop [Tadej] Pogačar on Mont Ventoux last year." 

Tadej Pogacar, meanwhile, has echewed both the Dauphine and the Tour de Suisse, preferring to prepare for July on home roads at the Tour of Slovenia, which gets underway on Wednesday.

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The break quickly amasses a lead of two minutes over the bunch, leaving Holmes as the virtual yellow jersey. Meanwhile,  Simon Vitzthum and Claudio Imhof of the Swiss national team are trying to bridge up to the move.

-161km

Correction: the TotalEnergies rider out in front is Mathieu Burguadeau. The French squad has Peter Sagan in action in Switzerland, incidentally. After illness ruined the first half of his season, the three-time world champion is looking to build up some form here and perhaps even add to his running tally of 17 Tour de Suisse stage victories.

Imhof and Vitzthum continue to battle grimly as they try to bridge up to the break, though they still have 90 seconds or so to recoup.

-154km

Simon Vitzthum and Claudio Imhof have closed to within a minute of the break, but this pursuit is anything but straightforward. The eight leaders, meanwhile, have covered some 49.7km in the first hour of racing.

-142km

Another correction from race radio: Andreas Leknessund (DSM) is in the front group and not Simon Pellaud (Trek-Segafredo). An understandable error, perhaps, given Pellaud's boundless appetite for breaking away.

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Situation

-124km

A lot of riders at the Tour de Suisse are still competing for selection for the Tour de France, but one rider elsewhere who has already confirmed his participation is Romain Bardet (DSM). The Frenchman was forced to abandon the Giro d'Italia on stage 13 due to illness, and while he was lying 4th overall. He hasn't raced since, but he announced on Monday morning that he would be in the DSM line-up for the Tour. Read the full story here.

-110km

The terrain becomes ever more rugged as the day progresses and the average speed has dropped accordingly. After two hours of racing, the break had averaged 44.5kph.

-100km

Bahrain Victorious continue to set the tempo in the peloton and the break's hopes of going the distance are tempered by the proximity of three of their number to Stevie Williams' yellow jersey. Burgaudeau, Leknussund and Holmes all began the day within 1:01 of the Welshman.

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Rutsch and Suter are approaching the base of the day's first classified climb of Gempen with a buffer of 39 seconds over the rest of the break and 4:30 on the peloton. The category 2 ascent is 5.4km at an average gradient of 4.6%.

Claudio Imhof has been caught by the peloton on the lower slopes of Gempen. Rutsch and Suter remain at the head of the race, 32 seconds clear of the rest of the break and now some 5:34 ahead of the peloton. 

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Break:

-63km

Simon Vitzhthum has also lost contact with the break, leaving seven riders at the head of the race. Meanwhile, Dario Cataldo (Trek-Segafredo), 'fresh' from the Giro d'Italia, has abandoned the race.

-57km

-56km

Bora-Hansgrohe have joined Bahrain Victorious in setting the tempo in the peloton. Max Schachmann lies second overall, while the German squad also have Aleksandr Vlasov and Sergio Higuita well placed in the GC standings.

Ineos have also joined the pace-setting effort at the head of the bunch. Daniel Martinez surprisingly lost 51 seconds yesterday, but Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates were both safely in the front group.

-50km

The seven leaders have rolled through the finish line in Aesch for the first time with a lead of 5:22 over the peloton. They will begin climbing again shortly on the category 3 Eichenberg (3km at 7.4%), and the road drags up afterwards for another 6km towards the second intermediate sprint at Bretzwil.

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Out front, the break begins to splinter on the Eichenberg under the forcing of Leknussund. The Norwegian's pressure proves too much for Suter, Badilatti and Schar. 

Schar has foght his way back up to Leknussund, Burgaudeau, Holmes and Rutsch, and this quintet will lead over the Eichenberg.

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-40km

The pace abated in the bunch on the upper slopes of that climb, and the break's lead extended accordingly. 4:15 the gap.

-36km

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-34km

Leonardo Basso (Astana-Qazaqstan), who was part of the day's early break, has abandoned the Tour de Suisse.

Dylan van Baarle (Ineos) has taken up the reins in the peloton after the climb of Eichenberg, and his efforts are helping to pare down the break's lead. A sizeable delegation from Bora-Hansgrohe is lined up towards the head of the bunch.

-31km

There is considerably more urgency in the peloton's pursuit as the race enters the final 30km, with QuickStep, Ineos and Bora-Hansgrohe all swapping turns as they chase the surviving escapees.

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The category 2 Challpass begins with a shade under 19km to go. The ascent is 6.3km at 6.3% and likely to be the site of some fireworks.

On downhill run towards the base of the climb, Tim Declercq is prominent in leading the bunch on behalf of his QuickStep leader Remco Evenepoel.

Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost), Matt Holmes (Lotto Soudal), Michael Schär (AG2R Citroën), Matteo Badilatti (Groupama-FDJ), Andreas Leknessund (DSM) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) are still collaborating well, but their advantage is tumbling now as the intensity continues to ratchet upwards in the peloton.

-20km

Tim Declercq swings off, his job done, as the climb of the Challpass rears into view. The break is 1:47 clear of the bunch as the gradient begins to bite.

-19.5km

Badilatti is immediately in difficulty as the Challpass begins and the Groupama-FDJ man is again dropped by the break, perhaps this time irretrievably.

-19km

Leknessund stretches out the break, but that doesn't discourage Burgaudeau, who launches an acceleration. Rutsch immediately follows, with the rest of the break joining them shortly afterwards.

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-17.5km

Leknessund's acceleration is a powerful one and he has completely distanced his erstwhile companions. They won't see him again, but the Norwegian will do well to hold off the bunch, which is at 1:36.

It's a hugely impressive effort from Leknessund, who has put 20 seconds into the rest of the break and stretched his lead over the bunch out to 1:49.

Alpecin-Fenix have taken up the reins in the peloton, 1:53 behind Leknessund. Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies), meanwhile, is among the fast men burnt off by the peloton on the Challpass. The three-time world champion won't be adding to his tally of 17 Tour de Suisse stage wins.

-16km

Andreas Leknessund (DSM) isn't conceding an inch to the peloton on this climb The Norwegian's initial acceleration was striking and he has scarcely relented since. He still has a couple of kilometres of climbing to go, however, and the stiffest part of the ascent is coming up.

-15km

Leknessund has put 1:05 into the rest of the break and he still has 1:39 in hand on the bunch as he approaches the top of the Challpass. The Norwegian is on the cusp of claiming both stage honours and the overall lead...

-14km

UAE Team Emirates move to head of the peloton as its crests the top of the Challpass, but the gap is still 1:29 and Leknessund is still on course for stage victory.

Leknessund began the day 1:01 down on Stevie Williams' overall lead, and he has already picked up 6 seconds in bonuses this afternoon. There are another 10 seconds on offer for the stage winner, which means Williams' lead is very much under threat.

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DSM are doing their best to disrupt the chase effort in the peloton, though Leknessund might not need this kind of help. He continues to pile on the pressure at the front, 1:20 clear of the bunch.

Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert are leading the pursuit in this final kilometres, but they won't bring back Leknessund barring accident.

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It's notable that Bahrain Victorious are not contributing to the pursuit in these final kilometres. It's touch and go for Williams' yellow jersey...

-1km

Andreas Leknessund (DSM) wins stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse. He takes one last look over his shoulder before he celebrates his victory.

Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) wins the sprint for second place, 33 seconds down on Leknessund. The Italian raises his arms in celebration, not realising Leknessund is already home, hosed and heading for the podium.

Bettiol realises his error, but his friend Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) can't resist poking a little fun at his expense, lifting his arm in 'celebration' in front of a television camera. Bettiol, to his credit, takes the joke in the spirit in which it's intended. 

The day belongs to Andreas Leknessund (DSM), who wins the stage but does not, it seems, take the yellow jersey, though we await confirmation of the final time gap to the peloton.

Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) was third on the stage, ahead of Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) and Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert).

The gap was 38 seconds, which means that Stevie Williams (Bahrain Victorious) remains the overall leader of the Tour de Suisse.

Result

General classification after stage 2

AESCH SWITZERLAND JUNE 13 Andreas Leknessund of Norway and Team DSM celebrates winning during the 85th Tour de Suisse 2022 Stage 2 a 198km stage from Kusnacht to Aesch ourdesuisse2022 WorldTour on June 13 2022 in Aesch Switzerland Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images

(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

Andreas Leknessund (DSM) on his stage victory: "There's not much to say. It was full gas but the hardest part was maybe the climb, I thought if I can just get the gap, I should be able to go to the finish. I was suffering in the final kilometres of the stage bu also enjoying it. My objective here was stages, and also for the team. I'll try to be aggressive and go in the breaks again."

Alberto Bettiol being Alberto Bettiol, he can smile about his second place and mistaken celebration. "I beat my Italian friend so I was still happy. I don’t know what happened – as you can see, my radio is off – and now my friends will all be joking with me today and tomorrow," Bettiol said. 

AESCH SWITZERLAND JUNE 13 Alberto Bettiol of Italy and Team EF Education Easypost Michael Matthews of Australia and Team BikeExchange Jayco Andrea Pasqualon of Italy and Team Intermarch Wanty Gobert Matriaux Matteo Trentin of Italy and UAE Team Emirates sprint to cross the finishing line during the 85th Tour de Suisse 2022 Stage 2 a 198km stage from Kusnacht to Aesch ourdesuisse2022 WorldTour on June 13 2022 in Aesch Switzerland Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images

(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

AESCH SWITZERLAND JUNE 13 Andreas Leknessund of Norway and Team DSM celebrates winning the stage on the podium ceremony after the 85th Tour de Suisse 2022 Stage 2 a 198km stage from Kusnacht to Aesch ourdesuisse2022 WorldTour on June 13 2022 in Aesch Switzerland Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images

(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

A full report, results and pictures from today's stage are available here.

AESCH SWITZERLAND JUNE 13 Stephen Williams of United Kingdom and Team Bahrain Victorious celebrates winning the yellow leader jersey on the podium ceremony after the 85th Tour de Suisse 2022 Stage 2 a 198km stage from Kusnacht to Aesch ourdesuisse2022 WorldTour on June 13 2022 in Aesch Switzerland Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images

(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

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