Mathias Frank proved that he is a serious contender for the overall victory in the Tour de Suisse when he finished an exceptional fifth in today's time trial. With good legs, the local hero is ready to attack in the upcoming mountain stages.

The time trial heralded the final crucial weekend of the Tour of Switzerland.  As expected, it yielded a victory for the world time trial champion and current overall leader Tony Martin (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step).  The German was able to extend his lead in the overall classification before the final two mountain top finishes in the Valais region of Switzerland.
 
New father and team captain, Mathias Frank, put in a very strong performance for the day, securing fifth place in the stage.  He did lose 45 seconds to Tony Martin, but has risen to 4th place overall with two stages to go, and is ready to attack. 

“Today was certainly one of the most important stages of the Tour of Switzerland.  It was a very difficult course, very hard to get your rhythm, and technically challenging.  I am glad that I had had the chance to visit the course previously together with my teammate Marcel Wyss.  So I knew basically what to expect. 

"At the beginning I had some trouble finding my rhythm, and was afraid to risk too much by starting too fast.  I succeeded in doing that so that I could get better and better in the technical sections. 

"I am very happy with my performance and am now ready to go fully on the attack in the next two stages because the legs are still good!”
 
Marcel Wyss unfortunately suffered some misfortune.  The time trial passed directly in front of his home, and the rider from Bern had big plans. 

“It was a great atmosphere and a beautiful day.  Unfortunately I cracked the binding on my shoe as I rolled off the start platform.  I couldn’t do anything about it and had to ride the whole time trial like that.  It was certainly a handicap since I could not properly move with the shoe. 

"However, I must also say that I didn’t really have the best legs in any case.  Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the atmosphere at home.  It was a great experience.”