Tour de Suisse 2019 – Stage 3 [FULL STAGE]

June 17, 2019

Tour de Suisse 2019 – Stage 3 – Flamatt – Murten : 162,3 km

The Tour de Suisse, together with the Criterium du Dauphine, is the last critical test before the Tour de France – on one hand, a tune-up for the general classification contenders – on the other, a fight for selection to a rider’s squad for the Grand Tour. For Team Ineos, the Tour de Suisse will be an important form check for defending Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas, who has not raced since coming third in the Tour de Romandie, and for his teammate Egan Bernal, who fractured his collarbone after the Volta a Catalunya. It will also be a critical juncture for Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) who is coming back after iliac artery surgery.

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed his 17th career victory at the Tour de Suisse with a dominant sprint on the cobbled uphill finish in Murten on stage 3 on Monday, taking the overall lead in the process.

The three-time world champion kicked hard with just over 100 metres to go on the cobbled incline and comfortably got the better of Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo).

Having started the day second overall, tied on time with leader Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Sagan moves into the yellow jersey thanks to the 10 bonus seconds he collected for the stage win.

After finishing second on stage 2, leading home the bunch behind solo winner Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana), Sagan seemed determined to add to his impressive tally at the Swiss WorldTour race. While it was Viviani’s and Degenkolb’s teams who control of the peloton in the closing kilometres, it was he who asserted himself most forcefully and effectively. First of all he fought for the wheel of Viviani, who had Max Richeze and Michael Morkov leading in front of him in the last 2km, then he bullied Degenkolb off the wheel of his lead-out man Jasper Stuyven, who’d hit the front in the final kilometre.

With positioning vital ahead of the left-hand corner that led into the final incline with 200 metres to go, that was the key moment. Sagan went through the bend and onto the cobbles in second wheel and, with a small gap having opened between he and Degenkolb, wasted no time in opening the taps. Using a smooth strip of road that ran through the cobbles, he surged clear, the incline suiting him perfectly, and won convincingly.

“I’m happy with this stage win, my 17th at the Tour de Suisse, and the leader’s yellow jersey,” Sagan said. “I’d like to thank the whole team for their brilliant work, they controlled the race and placed me in a perfect spot for the victory. It was a very fast finale and quite hectic because everybody wanted to be in the front. When we crossed the finish line for the first time, it was clear to me that in order to have a chance at winning, I had to be in the first positions of the group before the last left turn. That’s what we did and I was able to attack in the final stretch to get the victory.”

Sagan now leads the overall classification by 10 seconds over Asgreen, with stage 1 winner Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merida) third at 11 seconds.

How it unfolded

The peloton faced an undulating 163km from Flamatt to Murten, with just two short categorised climbs. They would cross the finish line – and preview the run-in – for the first time with 26km to go, ahead of a finishing circuit around Lake Murten.

The day’s breakaway established itself early on without much fuss and contained Willie Smit (Katusha-Alpecin), Bert-Jan Lindeman (Jumbo-Visma), Ryan Anderson (Rally UHC), and Simon Pellaud (Switzerland). They opened up a lead of 4:15 by the top of the first climb at Berg after 30km, where Pellaud was first to the top. They remained on a relatively short leash and had three minutes in hand when they crested the Chemin de Lorette in Fribourg with just over 5km to go, Pellaud once again taking maximum mountains points.

Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck-QuickStep then set about steadily bringing the gap down, and when they crossed the line for the first time, it was down to 1:30. The pace then kicked up another notch in the peloton and they were upon the escapees just inside 10km to go. Pellaud refused to roll over and launched an attack but he too was brought back after 3km and the peloton was all together heading into the final 6km.

The pace was high as teams sought to organise themselves and position their leaders. QuickStep seemed to take control in the closing kilometres, with Richeze leading the way ahead of Morkov and Viviani. However, Stuyven punched his way to the front with just over 500 metres to go. He must have assumed Degenkolb was still on his wheel but, after some argy-bargy, it was Sagan who had stolen the armchair ride. Stuyven led through the crucial left-hander with 200m to go, and he and Sagan carried more speed through it than Degenkolb, with a gap opening to him and the rest. Sagan looked around and, sensing his opportunity, pounced. Viviani came back to outgun Degenkolb, but with Sagan adding a powerful acceleration to his perfect handling of the run-in, it was for a distant second place.

The victory is Sagan’s 17th at the Tour de Suisse, but only his third of the 2019 season. He now carries the yellow jersey into stage 3, a hillier stage that could suit a breakaway or end in a reduced group sprint.

Results :
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:39:25
2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
4 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
5 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos
6 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
7 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
8 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Switzerland
9 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie
10 Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) Groupama-FDJ
11 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
12 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
13 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First
14 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal
15 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
16 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
17 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
18 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos
19 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
20 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
21 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
22 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
23 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
24 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos
25 Robin Carpenter (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
26 Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin
27 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Dimension Data
28 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
29 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
30 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
31 Carlos Cuesta Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team
32 Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team
33 Gian Friesecke (Swi) Switzerland
34 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb
35 Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team
36 Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team
37 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
38 Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin
39 Roland Thalmann (Swi) Switzerland
40 Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
41 Ben King (USA) Dimension Data
42 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
43 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team
44 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
45 Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie
46 Enric Mas (Spa) Deceuninck-QuickStep
47 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
48 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
49 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
50 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
51 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
52 Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First
53 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
54 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
55 Sergio Henao (Col) UAE Team Emirates
56 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First
57 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale
58 Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
59 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
60 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
61 Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin
62 Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First
63 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin
64 Patrick Schelling (Swi) Switzerland
65 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale
66 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
67 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
68 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
69 Kilian Frankiny (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
70 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
71 Rodrigo Contreras (Col) Astana Pro Team
72 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
73 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Ineos
74 Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data
75 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First
76 Paul Ourselin (Fra) Direct Energie
77 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
78 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
79 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
80 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott
81 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie
82 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
83 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
84 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
85 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
86 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
87 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
88 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
89 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
90 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal
91 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
92 Claudio Imhoff (Swi) Switzerland
93 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Switzerland
94 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Switzerland
95 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
96 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
97 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
98 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
99 Pierre-Roger LaTour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
100 Lennard Kämna (Ger) Team Sunweb
101 enny Elissonde (Fra) Team Ineos
102 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Ineos
103 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
104 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
105 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Direct Energie
106 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First
107 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Team
108 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
109 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
110 Alexander Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
111 Simon Geschke (Ger) CCC Team
112 Sam Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
113 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
114 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
115 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
116 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
117 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:51
118 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data
119 Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
120 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott
121 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
122 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
123 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team 0:00:56
124 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
125 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
126 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:58
127 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
128 Rob Britton (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
129 Brandon McNulty (USA) Rally UHC Cycling
130 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Ineos
131 Svein Tuft (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
132 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb 0:01:03
133 Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team 0:01:26
134 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:47
135 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:57
136 Floris De Tier (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:08
137 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:14
138 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie
139 Jérôme Cousin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
140 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:17
141 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
142 Ryan Anderson (Can) Rally UHC Cycling
143 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:02:20
144 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
Daniel McLay (GBr) EF Education First

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 7:51:31
2 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:10
3 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:11
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
5 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First 0:00:16
6 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:20
7 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:27
8 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos 0:00:28
9 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Ineos 0:00:29
10 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
11 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
12 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:30
13 Nathan Haas (Aus) Katusha-Alpecin
14 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
15 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos 0:00:34
16 Omar Fraile (Spa) Astana Pro Team
17 Kevin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:36
18 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
19 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb 0:00:37
20 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:38
21 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:40
22 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:41
23 Steve Morabito (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:42
24 Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:44
25 Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie 0:00:45
26 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
27 Sergio Henao (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:47
28 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team 0:00:48
29 Simon Geschke (Ger) CCC Team 0:00:49
30 Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin
31 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:50
32 Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team 0:00:51
33 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
34 Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First
35 Enric Mas (Spa) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:54
36 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:56
37 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:57
38 Nathan Brown (USA) EF Education First 0:00:59
39 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Dimension Data 0:01:00
40 Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:03
41 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:04
42 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Ineos
43 Roland Thalmann (Swi) Switzerland 0:01:06
44 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:08
45 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:09
46 Patrick Schelling (Swi) Switzerland 0:01:11
47 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:12
48 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:15
49 Kilian Frankiny (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
50 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:16
51 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team 0:01:19
52 Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:22
53 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:23
54 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:26
55 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb 0:01:27
56 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team 0:01:30
57 enny Elissonde (Fra) Team Ineos 0:01:35
58 Lennard Kämna (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:01:36
59 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:01:39
60 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Switzerland 0:01:57
61 Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:05
62 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott 0:02:12
63 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:02:46
64 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:03:40
65 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 0:04:03
66 Gino Mäder (Swi) Dimension Data 0:04:11
67 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:04:29
68 Carlos Cuesta Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:34
69 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb 0:05:18
70 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:05:55
71 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:06:19
72 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:06:33
73 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin 0:06:36
74 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:06:40
75 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:06:45
76 Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:06:49
77 Brandon McNulty (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:06:58
78 Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team 0:07:00
79 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:07:16
80 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:07:28
81 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First 0:08:40
82 Rodrigo Contreras (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:08:50
83 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:08:52
84 Pierre-Roger LaTour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:55
85 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:09:04
86 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale 0:09:07
87 Paul Ourselin (Fra) Direct Energie 0:09:12
88 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Switzerland 0:09:17
89 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:09:21
90 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:09:27
91 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:09:29
92 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data 0:09:52
93 Rob Britton (Can) Rally UHC Cycling 0:10:01
94 Manuele Mori (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:10:40
95 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First 0:11:52
96 Claudio Imhoff (Swi) Switzerland 0:11:54
97 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates 0:11:56
98 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Ineos 0:12:00
99 Alexander Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:12:02
100 Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First 0:12:06
101 Gian Friesecke (Swi) Switzerland 0:12:09
102 Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:12:13
103 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:12:15
104 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
105 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin 0:12:19
106 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:12:23
107 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
108 Sam Bewley (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:12:25
109 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data 0:12:28
110 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:12:30
111 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Team 0:12:36
112 Ben King (USA) Dimension Data
113 Robin Carpenter (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:12:38
114 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
115 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
116 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:12:39
117 Thomas Boudat (Fra) Direct Energie
118 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Switzerland 0:12:41
119 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:12:42
120 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:12:43
121 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:12:44
122 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:12:48
123 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Direct Energie 0:12:56
124 Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie 0:12:57
125 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
126 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team 0:12:58
127 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:13:00
128 Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) Groupama-FDJ 0:13:12
129 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Deceuninck-QuickStep
130 Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally UHC Cycling 0:13:20
131 Enzo Wouters (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:13:28
132 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:13:41
133 Svein Tuft (Can) Rally UHC Cycling 0:13:43
134 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:13:53
135 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:14:00
136 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo 0:14:05
137 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Ineos 0:14:14
138 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:14:15
139 Jérôme Cousin (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:14:47
140 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:15:04
141 Ryan Anderson (Can) Rally UHC Cycling 0:15:05
142 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:15:07
143 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:15:08
144 Floris De Tier (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:15:13