Ion Izagirre (Movistar) confirmed that he is one of the best time triallists in the world when it comes to a medium-length, lumpy course as he crushed the opposition in stage 8 of the Tour de Suisse. Stopping the click in 21.31, he was 18 seconds faster than Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), with pre-race favourite Fabian Cancellara (Trek) one second further adrift in third. Lopez did the TT of his life to take the yellow jersey with an 8-second advantage over Andrew Talansky (Cannondale).

 

We have gathered several reactions.

 

Victorious Ion Izagirre: Why not try to win the Tour de Suisse?

It might have seemed like the 49-second loss he suffered in the altitude of the Rettenbach glacier on Friday made the chase of GC glory in the Tour de Suisse unsurmountable for him. It even looked grimmer as Ion Izagirre clocked only the 62nd quickest time at the first intermediate check of the ITT in Davos, 16.8km, with two demanding slopes and headwind for the late starters in the early part of the route, looking like a drop in his form would take him out of overall contention.

 

However, the brave allrounder from the Basque Country was just keeping his key for success hidden to everyone, or maybe some of them: a 2016 Canyon Speedmax CF SLX TT bike which is not stopping offering glory to the Blues after Nairo Quintana's win yesterday at the Route du Sud; aplomb, will to suffer in those sections less suited to him; and splendid legs in the hillier parts of the route to beat TT legend Fabian Cancellara (TFS) on the last climb (-11") and reach the finish with an even bigger gap (-19"), claiming his third success of the 2016 season and the 25th for the Eusebio Unzué-managed squad, led by José Luis Jaimerena and José Luis Laguía on Swiss soil.

 

Overcoming Barguil (TGA), who rolled off the start ramp today as GC leader, by almost one minute, Ion Izagirre jumped into third in a very tight overall classification: López (AST) is the new leader, with Talansky (CPT) 2nd at 8"; Izagirre in 3rd, 16" down; and Barguil, now fourth, just 18" behind. Izairre - 3rd in Romandie, runner-up in Algarve, 4th in Valencia, 5th in Paris-Nice - will try to keep dreaming big tomorrow in a tremendous final Alpine circuit around Davos, 118km which include the HC climbs of Albula and Flüela.

 

Ion Izagirre said:

 

"It was a really difficult day, with a demanding route where you had to keep full focus on so as to know where you had to give your full energy. I had some problems with my chain, since it was a route that demanded many pace changes and the exigence for my gearing was maybe too much, but fortunately, it wasn't too serious and didn't compromise the final result. Already since we inspected the TT route in the morning I knew that those little climbs and difficult sections made it one where I could excel. The difference was to be made in the uphill sections - that's where I tried to make up my deficit from the first part.

 

"I gave everything I had and that win makes me tremendously happy, even more so considering how well things are going for me so far this season. For the time being, we're on the GC podium, yet the gap to Barguil in fourth place is really small, plus López and Talansky are still within reach. Sunday's closer will be short, yet surely super intense and tough. It will be huge war, and we hope to come out of it victorious.

 

"It was a difficult stage. Now we will need to see what weather we get for the last stage, whether it rains or even snows in the mountains. We'll see how it goes This last stage is short but rather difficult. I have a good team with me so we will target the podium and if we have good legs, why not try to win the Tour of Switzerland?”

 

Careful preparation pays off for overall leader Miguel Angel Lopez in Switzerland

"I was very motivated,” said Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno at the finish line in Davos. “I knew it was a very demanding time trial, I knew the route and I gave everything I had.

 

"I wanted to do well for me and the whole team who helped me a lot. Tomorrow? It will be a war, but I'm ready!

 

"I had a good feeling and a good physical condition to get a good result. We came here with the motivation to do a good race knowing I took seventh last year. The goal this year was to improve the result, getting a good place in the GC. There is one day left and we will fight to the end.”

 

The young Colombian talent was the author of a great race, finishing second just 18“ behind the stage winner.. Thanks to the excellent performance, Lopez is the new GC leader. 

 

"I'm not really surprised,” commented sport director Dmitriy Sedoun.” I expected he could do well. Along with Miguel Angel we started to think  about this race already this winter and before the start of the Tour we tried all the stages.

 

"He's only 22 years old and he started to ride a bike 5 years ago and therefore still has much to learn. To have the leader's jersey is the signal that he is doing a good job.”

 

Fabian Cancellara targets national title after Tour de Suisse disappointment

On paper, the 16.8-kilometer stage eight time-trial suited the specialists, but after a week of hard racing - and three straight days in the mountains - it's difficult to pinpoint who will have the legs for the tough test against the clock that included a stiff three-kilometer climb.

 

Fabian Cancellara, an early starter, set the bar in all three intermediate split times and flew across the finish with the quickest provisional time in 21 minutes and 50 seconds.  It stood the test of time as rider after rider failed to top his benchmark with Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo) coming the closest by less than two seconds.

 

That is, until Jon Izaguirre (Movistar) scorched the three-kilometer climb, clawed back a deficit of 24 seconds to Cancellara at the first intermediate and 16 seconds at the second and set the fastest time at the 3rd by 10 seconds.

 

It was a long wait in the hotseat until Izaguirre finally topped Cancellara's time. Izaguirre then flew down the descent and final few kilometers to win in a time of 21 minutes and 31 seconds, 19 seconds quicker than Cancellara.

 

"It was not bad, but I was wishing to have a bit more power," explained Cancellara. "But that is normal after so many days of climbing, the rain, cold weather, and after, of course, yesterday's long stage that the power is not the same as usual. I did everything that I could, and I am happy about the performance."

 

Moments later, Miguel Lopez (Astana) also squeezed ahead of Cancellara by one second, an unexpected result that launched Lopez into the leader's jersey by eight seconds with one hilly stage to go.

 

In the press conference after the race, Fabian Cancellara announced he would not be taking the start of the final stage nine Sunday, a climbing stage that will see a fierce battle in the overall classification still separated by seconds.

 

"The Swiss title is a goal; I wish there was another way but this year the Tour de Suisse was very hard, and two days of recovery is not enough," explained Cancellara.  "The Tour de Suisse has shaped my career, from very early on already, but I have more goals this season, so I'll look ahead now."

 

Wilco Kelderman: This proves that yesterday was just a bad day

Wilco Kelderman finished fourth in the penultimate stage of the Tour de Suisse today in Davos. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s leader moved up to the sixth place in the general classification because of his effort. Team-mate Koen Bouwman finished 12th behind stage winner Jon Izaguirre (Movistar) won the time trial.

 

“Wilco Kelderman delivered a strong time trial,” Sports Director Jan Boven said. “The difference of 21 seconds with Izaguirre was surprisingly big when you ask me, but behind him, Wilco did a good job. With this result, he came close to the overall top five, so he now has a nice challenge during the last stage of the race.”

 

Behind Kelderman, the young Bouwman delivered a great time trial, as well. Bouwman finished 12th in the 16.8-kilometre time trial and only lost 42 seconds on stage winner Izaguirre.

 

“We already felt that it was worth preparing seriously with Koen for this time trial,” Boven added. “That’s why he and Wilco did a serious recon early this morning. He delivered a very strong time trial and it’s great to see him developing. He did a lot of work for Wilco this week and now, he has a beautiful result for himself, as well.”

 

“I just rode on a decent pace today,” Kelderman said. “This fourth place tells me that I don’t have to worry about my shape. It’s not strange that I had a bad day yesterday. That happens often when you return from a training camp at altitude. The riders around me had a bad day this week, as well. I’ve shown this week that I’m in a good shape.”

 

Kelderman will have another change to push for a spot in the top five overall during the final stage of the Tour de Suisse tomorrow.

 

“It’s going to be a short, but spectacular stage,” Boven explained. “There are two challenging climbs in it and Wilco will approach it positively.”

 

IAM not surprised by Jarlinson Pantano’s excellent time trial

“I have worked hard at home in Columbia for this major objective,” Jarlinson Pantano exclaimed after his stunning seventh place at the end of the individual time trial in Davos, where he finished just 25 seconds behind the winner, Jon Izaguirre (Movistar ).


 

 “I did not go very fast because I still had sore legs after such a demanding stage yesterday,” Pantano said after he had dismounted his turbo trainer after his cool-down following his day’s efforts. “Then I found my rhythm and I even managed to get into the 58 chain ring.  We all have a week of racing in our legs. And tomorrow there is still a very hard stage to face, and the expected weather conditions will make it even more difficult. But I am ready to give everything to keep my fifth place overall.”

 

Manager Rik Verbrugghe said:

 

“I full appreciate the measure of our leader’s performance. However, I am not surprised. Jarlinson Pantano has many talents and qualities. He can sprint very well, climb and even be a rouleur. I have already seen evidence of that in the team time trials. For tomorrow, I will not change my mind. We will go for the win even if Jarlinson may risk losing his fifth place. A rider like Jarlinson truly deserves a winner’s bouquet.”

 

Martin Elmiger preserved his lead in the best Swiss rider with his 23rd place in the time trial with a deficit of 1’04” to the day’s winner.

 

“It felt like I was scotch-taped to the climb and had trouble generating more than 320 watts.”

 

Michael Matthews proves his form with great time trial at the Tour de Suisse

Multiple Paris-Nice stage winner Michael Matthews had a strong performance in the time time trial today to finish in a respectable eighth place on the penultimate stage of the WorldTour race.

 

Ion Izagirre (Movistar) was the rider to stop the clock with the fastest time of 21minutes and 31seconds, with Matthews just 25seconds down.

 

Sport director Neil Stephens was pleased with the top ten results from Matthews after a solid week of racing.

 

"It was a great ride by Michael, in his preparation for the race he's been doing a lot of work on the time trial bike and that helped him today.

 

“In the mountains he hasn't been able to shine much or really work that hard, it's a different effort, it's been long and hard not that intense so he wanted to give it a good go, push himself as much as he could and that's what he did and it gave him this good result.”

 

The 16.6kilometre course started and finished above 1500metres altitude making it a challenging race against the clock following on from three long mountainous days. Matthews coming straight off an altitude training block before the race seemed to excel in the conditions.

 

"There were a couple of riders who said they felt a slight effect from the altitude," continued Stephens. "Luke Durbridge felt a bit down on power, he did a good ride but just didn't quite have it today.

 

”It was a taxing time trial, you can see the type of guys that were up there today, time trial riders but also the climbers."

 

Geraint Thomas: I have learnt a few things from this race

Geraint Thomas finished ninth on stage eight at the Tour de Suisse after a strong time trial effort.

 

The Welshman set a time of 22 minutes and four seconds, 33 seconds down on stage winner Ion Izaguirre (Movistar), to stay eighth overall, one minute and 30 seconds back on new race leader Angel Lopez (Astana).

 

Vasil Kiryienka was the next Team Sky man home in 22 minutes and 14 seconds, finishing 13th, while Leopold Konig impressed, coming home just seven seconds behind the Belarusian to secure 16th as he works his way back to full fitness after a long spell off the bike.

 

Michael Golas, Christian Knees, David Lopez and Ian Boswell all got round the course safely ahead of the final day in Switzerland.

 

Speaking to TeamSky.com while receiving his post-stage massage, Thomas said his TT performance reflected his performance in the race - solid if unspectacular.

 

He said: "It sums up my week really. I was there or thereabouts, but just lacking that last 10%, which I needed. But it wasn't too bad today.

 

"In general this wasn't what I wanted coming into the race but I've learnt a few things. I probably pushed it a bit too much beforehand in training and I've paid the price for that a bit. But hopefully I can fuel up now,  and freshen up now and I'll be ready for the Tour.

 

"It's been a tough week weather-wise and thankfully today was the first day we didn't have any real proper rain. That's added to the gruelling nature of the week, but it's definitely been a good work out - that's for sure."

 

Thomas also had a word for his team-mate Kiryienka, who excelled in support of the Welshman on the final climb of stage seven, before setting his strong time today.

 

Thomas added: "He was awesome yesterday, riding a good tempo up the climb, but unfortunately I didn't quite have the legs at the top to go with the guys when they attacked so I couldn't finish his work off. Kiry is certainly in some good form right now though."

 

Tejay van Garderen: The legs felt a little sluggish

Tejay van Garderen crossed the line on the Tour de Suisse stage 8 individual time trial to clock the tenth-best time of the day, remaining in seventh place on the General Classification.

 

He said:

 

“The legs felt a little sluggish. I was definitely feeling the effects of the past three hard days in the mountains. Normally a course like this would have really suited me well but I felt like I had to muscle it a bit more than really just finesse. It’s still not a bad day, I’d just say average.

 

“On a course like today I’m not really surprised that Izagirre did a good ride as he’s proven to be a good time trial specialist, especially on a course like this. Some of the other guys I was a little surprised at. All in all, I think the guys that were expected to be up there were up there.

 

“We go over two monster passes tomorrow and it’s only 117km so there could be a really big explosion in the GC. The conditions could be bad which can definitely play a factor.”

 

Sports director Fabio Baldato said:

 

“Tejay put in a solid ride. He was hoping to pull back some time on the GC riders who were in front of him, but in the end he has remained in seventh place on GC so it was still a good day.

 

“We still have one short but really tough stage ahead. All of the GC guys will be giving it everything they’ve got and so will we. The weather forecast isn’t looking good which will add another dimension to the two climbs and run into Davos.”

 

Austrian neo-pro beats the world champion in Swiss time trial

After yesterday’s top 10 performance by a CCC Sprandi Polkowice duo, two riders in orange finished among the fastest. This time it was Felix Grossschartner and Victor de la Parte, who both took top 15 places.

 

The first CCC Sprandi Polkowice rider to roll off the starting ramp was Jarosław Marycz, and the last one to go was Victor de la Parte who was 13th overall.

 

Felix Grosschartner showed his time trial skills by taking spectacular 11th place. He was only 34 seconds down on the winner, Ion Izagirre (Movistar), and beat some of the great time trialist. One of them was world champion, Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky).

 

“I didn’t feel well yesterday so I decided to go easily and save energy for today. As it turned out it worked out perfectly for me, since my legs were much stronger. I knew I was setting good times at time checks and I knew I recorded a solid result, but I didn’t know which place I was going to take at the end. When I learnt it was 11th I was quite surprised, since I don’t consider myself a TT specialist,” Felix Grossschartner said afterwards.

 

“The route worked in my favor and suited me well. I used to do skiing, so I’m comfortable with going downhill and taking corners at high speed. Also big part of the course was slightly uphill. so with my weight, it was good for me too.”

 

Victor de la Parte was only 4 spots below his teammate, as he claimed 15th. Thanks to his performance he moved up to 12th overall and is 5:42 behind the leader, Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).

 

Maciej Bodnar works his way back to form in Swiss time trial

 

The first out, Maciej Bodnar, was the rider who would have been most looking forward to today. As one of the Tour de Suisse team’s strongest time trial riders, the stage would gave the Polish rider a chance to stretch his legs in conditions that were ideal for fast times. Taking the hot seat after his ride, Bodna was pleased to have put in a strong time, holding a top ten position until late in the day, finishing in 14th.

 

"After seven excruciatingly tough and challenging stages under wet and cold conditions, I am satisfied with the result in today's time-trial. It comes after nearly two months out of competition due to the bad crash I had prior to the Tour of Flanders. My focus will now shift to the Polish Nationals. I will take a couple of days of rest and then race at the time trial on Wednesday."

 

Sport Director Patxi Vila was pleased with Bodnar’s performance – especially in light of his crash earlier in the season.

 

“It's in line with what we can expect from Bodi – he did a good race. Bearing in mind that he's still coming back from injury and is still building, we can be happy with his performance. There's still room for improvement, but the numbers were looking good and he's getting back to his level now.”

 

Taking 30th spot today, the UCI World Champion Peter Saganalso put in a good time, finishing just over a minute behind the stage winner. The slightly undulating profile meant today wasn’t a day for the outright specialists, but gave most riders an opportunity to push hard, as Vila explained.

 

“The course was quite mixed, a bit of everything - some technical parts but also some big powerful parts where you had to push hard. It was quite a good one for Bodi, and Peter also did a good time trial, so it's a good day all round.”

 

The race’s final day follows a short course, both departing from and finishing in Davos after a 117.7km route. There’s a fairly flat run in to the finish but this comes after two Hors Catégorie climbs – the Albulapass and the Flüelapass. The former features a maximum gradient of 12% over its 13.8km length, while the latter averages 7.4% over its 13km length. It’s difficult to know how riders will choose to contest the stage, with nearly 20km of downhill riding to the finish meaning attacks on the final climb may be difficult to make stick, while the remaining sprinters may find it difficult to come over the climbs and remain in contention at the finish. Vila was waiting to see what happened on the day – fully aware that on this Tour de Suisse, the weather will likely play a huge part.

 

“Tomorrow I'm not sure what will happen with the weather as it’s meant to snow, so we will make a plan tonight and see what we can do.”

 

Petr Vakoc continues to show good form in Switzerland

First rider of Etixx – Quick-Step to crack the provisional top 10 on stage 8 was Yves Lampaert, who at one point had the second best time. With many of the favourites starting late, Lampaert lost some places, but the team continued to be represented in the upper part of the standings thanks to Petr Vakoč. Last Etixx – Quick-Step rider to roll down the ramp, the Czech road race champion rode hard and gave it all, stopping the clock in 22:23, less than one minute behind Ion Izagirre (Movistar), who cruised to the win ahead of Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), the new leader of the overall standings.

 

Last stage of the Tour de Suisse will take place in and out of Davos over 117 kilometers, and will give the climbers one last chance to shine, Albulapass (17.4 km, 6.9%) and Flüelapass (12.9 km, 7.4%) being the two ascents which should make the difference. Holder of the black jersey since coming second on stage 5, Maximiliano Richeze has to complete this final grueling day in order to become the first Argentinian winner of the points classification.

 

Rui Costa: It was neither good nor bad

Rui Costa completed the time trial in 22'24", 53" more than the time of Ion Izagirre. In the stage classification, Rui Costa was 19th and in the general classification he retained the 10th place at 2'09".

 

The Portuguese rider was careful in the early part of the course and his performance became better and better in the second sector and especially in the final one.

 

It was also a fairly good performance by Polanc, who was 44th at 1'32".

 

”Neither bad nor good,” Costa wrote in his diary. “That's how I classify my Time Trial. It was regular and I gave my best on a course that didn’t suit me.

”As a curiosity, I hit 110km/h on the descent. I was 19th and kept the 10th place overall.

 

”There is little more to say about today. Tomorrow is the last day. This is a stage of high mountains. Depending on the pace and attacks, it may be a hard day and can still change the General Classification.”

 

Warren Barguil: This shows how much I have progressed in the TTs

After yesterday’s huge ride, Warren Barguil put in a brave effort to finish with a time of 22’28”, leaving him in 21st position. In the general classification, he is now fourth, 18″ behind the new race leader Miguel Ángel Lopez with all to play for on the last stage with two categorized climbs on the course to overcome.

 

Warren Barguil said: “It was not an easy time trial but I was very focused on doing a good performance. I think my legs were not too bad but the problem was that I didn’t have the same power as yesterday.

 

“However, I am proud of myself and I have happy with my progress in the time trials because before I would be lower in the classification but today I am almost in the Top 20. It is a good sign of my progress and I will keep working as I have still got a lot of margin of progression. Tomorrow is another hard stage and I will fight until in the end.

 

"I'm still disappointed, I did not feel too much in the race. At first it was good but on the climb where I had to gain time, I lost a lot. I do not know if this is because of the altitude but it must be said that for three days I am one of the few who has made ​​a lot of effort and perhaps I paid for them. But I was not 80th in the TT. I think it is a correct result. I'm on my TT bike one to two times a week and it starts to pay off. The time gaps are nothing if you look at what remains. I will do everything to try to attack. The podium is still very possible.”

 

Coach Morten Bennekou added:

 

“In my opinion Warren did a good result today. Unfortunately, it was not enough which means that he is now 2″ from the podium and 18”  from the overall victory ahead of the final stage.

 

“Directly after the finish Warren was quite disappointed but he is obviously progressing in this discipline which is a very important step. Anything can happen tomorrow and we will do what we can to move up in the GC.”

 

Simon Spilak: I had expected more from myself

Team Katusha’s Simon Špilak put up his best effort for the day, but it wasn’t enough to move higher on the classification and the Slovenian rider currently holds ninth on the GC. Katusha remains in the lead for the Team competition with +1.54 lead on BMC.

“It was hard. I can’t say I felt bad today, but honestly I expected more from myself on this stage. I did my best on the distance, but I missed some power in my legs and I don’t know why. Anyway, it was just one stage. Tomorrow will be a super hard day and bad weather is also expected, so we will see. I hope to have good legs tomorrow so I can try to do something. Everything can still happen,” said team leader Simon Špilak. Simon was 22nd at +1.03 for the stage.

 

Verva-ActiveJet captain limits his losses in Swiss time trial

VERVA ActiveJet Team’s Pawel Cieslik was 30th and is still 15th in the overall standings. 

 

“I rode very solidly. The guys gave me valuable advice, after they had done the route. In addition, I got technical information from the car to overcome the various corners. This made me avoid losing valuable seconds and I can be pleased with himself,” said Cieslik.

 

Adam Stachowiak was less pleased. 

 

“After the start I knew I could achieve a good result. I felt good, and my legs were turning even better. Unfortunately, in one of the corners I failed to slow down and flew into the grass. The accident was not painful, but I lost quite a few seconds and my morale took a beating. If it were not for this, I could have achieved a pretty cool result,” said Stachowiak.  

 

Natnael Berhane achieves his goal in Swiss time trial

After a tough week, our Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka team only had 4 riders start today’s time trial stage. Tyler Farrar, Adrien Niyonshuti and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg were all early starters while Natnael Berhane went off later in the afternoon due to the Eritrean Champion climbing into 19th place overall after yesterday’s tough mountain stage.

 

For Farrar and Niyonshuti the time trial was never going to be their stage to shine, both rider just got through the stage comfortably. While by no means a specialist either, Janse van Rensburg has been known to ride strongly on occasion against the clock. Today the South African did a decent ride, but the wet conditions didn’t do any of the early starters much justice.

 

Natnael Berhane looked to do as best a ride as possible, with keeping a top 20 overall position as a target to aim for today. By crossing the line in a time just 1’37” off of Izaguirre, Berhane would lose a position on the general classification as the World Time Trial Champion Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) moved ahead of our Eritrean, but 20th he would remain going into tomorrow’s final stage.

 

Natnael Berhane said:

 

“It was good to do a good hard effort on the time trial bike today. It was a fast course in certain sections and holding a good position was important. I had a small goal to stay in the top 20 overall, I am happy I could do so today.”