Dutchman Robert Gesink claimed a prestigious win on the sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Thursday to take command of the race.
The Rabobank climbing specialist attacked late on the third and final climb, crested the summit alone and raced the remaining 10km downhill to finish well ahead of an eight-man group of chasers.
Rigoberto Uran led the pursuit group, which included Lance Armstrong, over the finish line 42 second in arrears.
PHOTO: EPA
Gesink now holds a 29-second lead on Uran, of Caisse d’Epargne, with Swiss rider Steve Morabito at 36 seconds and Franck Schleck at 38 seconds.
“I followed Andy Schleck, who was going very fast,” Gesink said. “I’m going to fight for the overall title, but also for the jersey for the best young rider. It’s my last chance this year.”
“Uran isn’t my leading rival, notably for the final time-trial. The real specialists will make the difference, Armstrong maybe,” he said.
Armstrong, who is sitting seventh overall, 55 seconds behind the winner, said he was satisfied with his performance in the mountains.
“It was a tough day. To be honest, I suffered at the beginning of the Albula climb. It was hard to find my rhythm,” the seven-time Tour de France winner said. “But overall I’m quite happy. It was a long day that was also a good test. Team RadioShack are ready for the Tour de France.”
The sixth stage was a 213km ride from Meiringen and La Punt and with two unclassified climbs — the Sustenpass and Albulapass — and one category one climb, the Oberalppass, a change of race leader was a distinct possibility.
Germany’s Tony Martin began the day with a 01sec lead on defending champion Fabian Cancellara of Saxo Bank, but the Swiss was never in contention on the long, sapping climbs of the Swiss Alps.
Martin’s HTC-Columbia team tried to provide as much support as possible on the long climb over the Albulapass, however a series of attacks and counter-attacks upset the German’s plans and he eventually trailed in more than two minutes behind.
A convincing attack by Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck appeared to set him up to take command of the race, but the Luxemburger inexplicably ran out of steam.
Gesink had closed the gap to Schleck and, sniffing an opportunity, he raced away from Schleck to go on and forge a win that could well prove key to him winning the race overall.
Yesterday’s seventh stage was to be another hilly affair, but the 204.1km ride from Savognin to Wetzikon will be far easier than the sixth stage.
The race ends tomorrow.
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