Bernal powers into Suisse lead

20 Jun 2019

Bernal powers into Suisse lead

Related riders

Tour de Suisse – Stage six: Einsiedeln – Flumserberg, 120.2km

Egan Bernal unleashed a powerful attack to ride into the overall race lead at the Tour de Suisse.

The Colombian jumped clear of his general classification rivals on the steep Flumserberg summit, setting off in pursuit of lone leader Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma).

Crossing the line just 17 seconds behind the Dutchman after eating into his advantage, Bernal elevated himself into a 12-second lead at the top of the standings.

Jumping up 11 places on GC, Bernal also now holds the young rider's jersey heading into the final three days of the race.

Team INEOS put in a great performance on the day, with Bernal well protected before Ben Swift and Jonathan Castroviejo upped the tempo on the final climb, providing a perfect launchpad for Bernal.
Egan Bernal

Egan Bernal

I think we did really well and now we need to control the race tomorrow. We will play our cards.
null

Reaction

- Egan Bernal

"I went full gas in the final and I think that’s a really good result for us. The plan this morning was to try to take yellow. We did it. The final was really, really good for me.

"I have a really good team around me and they were going really fast. So for me it was better to wait and just do one really strong attack. I'm happy with this. We knew that with this big breakaway it would be really hard to win the stage but the most important thing was to take the yellow jersey. It means a lot to me. My last race was back in March, at Catalunya. To come back and race somewhere like this, a WorldTour race, is really important. It gives me a lot of confidence for the future.

"I think we did really well and now we need to control the race tomorrow. We will play our cards.

"I’m really looking forward to the rest of the race. Rohan Dennis, second on GC, is a really strong rider. I will lose time to him in the time trial and he is climbing really well. We will try our best.

"It’s really good training for the Tour and all I’m doing now is working towards that. We are enjoying the race."
Ben Swift and Jonathan Castroviejo set a great tempo on the climb

Ben Swift and Jonathan Castroviejo set a great tempo on the climb

What's Next?

The climbing continues on Friday with a second tough summit finish. The Gotthardpass measures 12.5km at 7.2% and features a cobbled stretch to the finish. The climb should see further gaps and movement in the general classification battle.
Stage six result:

1. Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma) 2:43:34
2. Egan Bernal (Team INEOS) +17"
3. Francois Bidard (Ag2r-La Mondiale) +24"
4. Jan Hirt (Astana) +29"
5. Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain Merida) +31"

Overall Standings:

1. Egan Bernal (Team INEOS) 18:40:18
2. Rohan Dennis (Bahrain Merida) +12"
3. Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) +29"
4. Jan Hirt (Astana) +35"
5. Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) s.t.