The 3rd stage of the Tour de Suisse was raced on a short course, 117,3 km from Qunto to Olivone, with the climb of the Gotthardpass in the early kilometers and to hills in the final part.
It was the hilly final kilometers that made a selection and reduced the peloton to 30 riders. In this group Lampre-Merida riders Kristijan Durasek, who confirmed his good condition after the victory in the 2nd stage, and Italian young gun Valerio Conti were present The Croatian rider finished 17th, Conti was 19th.
In the overall classification, Durasek is 8th 18″ behind Dumoulin. Conti improved his ranking by climbing 19 positions to 27th.
“Durasek was competitive again today and it is a very good feedback from him because the final part of the stage was very intense and many riders tried to attack," sports director Simone Pedrazzini said. "We were aware that Kristijan could have not be competitive in the final sprint, so we counted on Conti, who is quite fast and managed to be in the front group. Unfortunately Valerio could not perform a good sprint, because he could not find space.
"We’re also happy for Xu Gang, who crashed in yesterday's stage suffering bruises and a contusion to a leg. Today he succeded in finishing the stage and the condition of the injuried leg is getting better."
Christophe PREMONT 35 years | today |
Kevyn ISTA 40 years | today |
Jorge CASTEL 36 years | today |
Ryoma WATANABE 23 years | today |
Rolando AMARGO 28 years | today |
© CyclingQuotes.com