Difficult day for Uijtdebroeks and Kelderman in Tour de Suisse
Cian Uijtdebroeks and Wilco Kelderman had a tough day at the Tour de Suisse. The two were unable to keep up with the best riders on the final climb, but maintained their place in the top fifteen of the general classification. Johannes Staune-Mittet was part of a breakaway group along the way.
Staune-Mittet bridged towards a breakaway group of four after the first two climbs of the day. The Norwegian managed to close the gap. The five then built up a lead of about two minutes. However, on the flanks of the final climb towards Carì, the leading group was caught.
Soon after, the pace in the group of favorites increased. Uijtdebroeks and Kelderman were having a hard time when the team of general classification leader and later stage winner Adam Yates took the lead. The pair then rode to the top at their own pace. Uijtdebroeks completed the top ten, Kelderman eventually finished fifteenth. The Belgian dropped to ninth place in the general classification. Kelderman is now number twelve.
"Of course I will keep fighting"
"This was a very tough day," Uijtdebroeks indicated. "On the final climb, the pace was high. Just like yesterday, I noticed that I still lack some explosiveness. When the competition accelerated, I quickly found my own pace. Then I tried to limit the loss. Unfortunately, it wasn't my very best day. The differences towards the top five are still manageable. I notice that the basis is there, but I'm still a little short. Of course I will keep fighting. The next three days are not easy. It's definitely not done yet."
The Tour de Suisse continues tomorrow with a short stage. The organization already decided some time ago to shorten the queen stage considerably due to the weather conditions. The peloton will cover a distance of only 42 kilometers tomorrow.