Tour de Suisse 2019 – Stage 4 [FULL STAGE]

June 18, 2019

Tour de Suisse 2019 – Stage 4 – Murten – Arlesheim : 163,9 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.

Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) claimed his first victory since March on stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse, beating Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) in a bunch sprint in Arlesheim.

All the major sprinters survived the late third-category climb to contest the sprint, though Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) crashed out of the race with 30km to go and was taken to hospital.

After a messy run down into Arlesheim, in which Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) and Mathias Frank (AG2R La Mondiale) launched speculative attacks, Viviani’s team took control in the final two kilometres and executed a near-perfect lead out.

Kasper Asgreen led them to the flamme rouge, making way for Yves Lampaert, before Viviani’s trusted lead-out man Michael Morkov took him to 200 metres. Viviani and Sagan opened their sprints at the same time, but the Italian champion pulled away in the final 50 metres, turning the tables after finishing second to the Slovakian on the previous day’s uphill finish.

Despite initially matching Viviani, Sagan faded and launched a slightly desperate long-range bike throw but was pipped for second place by Matthews, who came up fast on the right-hand side. Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) finished a more distant fourth, his legs sapped by having to charge up the side of the pack in the wind before the others had thought about sprinting.

“Yesterday we planned it really well but on a finish like that Sagan is hard to beat. Today, we knew the hard point would be the climb, not the sprint, so when I got over the climb I had tired legs but thought if I see 200m to go I’ll just do the best sprint I can. The guys did an amazing job, it was a perfect lead-out and I’m pretty proud of my team,” Viviani said.

Viviani also noted that “it’s a long time since I won”, with no success at a frustrating Giro d’Italia last month. “This means a lot because we’re a few weeks away from the Tour de France,” he added. “It’s my first win at the Tour de Suisse, and I can be happy with that, as it shows I’m on the way up to the main goal of the season.”

In the overall standings, Sagan retained the yellow jersey and still leads the race by 10 seconds, though the bonus seconds awarded to the top three mean that it’s now Matthews in second place. Asgreen sits third at 15 seconds, with Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merida) fourth at 16 seconds.

How it unfolded

The 163.9km stage from Murten to Arlesheim ran flat until the steep Passwang climb just past the halfway mark, before undulating terrain led to the third-category Eichenberg climb that topped out with 15km to go.

A four-man breakaway – Robin Carpenter (Rally UHC), Simon Geschke (CCC Team), Gian Friesecke (Switzerland), Taco van der Hoorn (Jumbo-Visma) – went clear after 15 kilometres but were kept on a relatively short leash all day.

Sagan’s Bora-Hansgrohe did the lion’s share of the work in the peloton as the gap never went out much beyond the three-minute mark. Van der Hoorn was first over the top of the Passwang, at which point the gap stood at 2:30.

After a fast descent, the road flattened out and Thomas’ race came to an end. He crashed at speed along with Andrey Zeits (Astana) and both received roadside treatment before being taken to hospital for medical checks. The Tour de France champion sat upright on the tarmac and was able to move his upper body but suffered abrasions to his shoulders and a cut above his right eye.

The race went on, and ignited on the Eichenberg – 3km at 7.5 per cent. Friesecke and Geschke went on the attack from the break, before Friesecke dropped the German and went it alone. He reached the summit with a lead of 50 seconds over the peloton, though the road continued to rise past the KOM point and to the second intermediate sprint. There his lead plummeted, and he was caught just before the start of the descent.

Matthews’ Sunweb team had taken control, and led through Marc Hirschi. Mohoric launched an attack on a downhill section with 6km to go, sparking a brief flurry in which Frank and then Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) tried to accelerate away. With 3km to go, Bora regained control but soon Trek-Segafredo came through with plenty of numbers.

QuickStep, however, came through at the right time with a text-book lead-out train. Sagan was on Viviani’s wheel, followed by Matthews, and it was those three who battled it out in the sprint. Viviani went to the left of Morkov, Sagan to the right, but the Italian made no mistake, while Matthews had the speed to come around the three-time world champion.

Trentin made an impressive charge but found himself too far back without teammates in the final kilometre, while Trek-Segafredo were unable to use their numbers and saw Jasper Stuyven sprinting – to fifth place – ahead of John Degenkolb in 12th.

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

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