Tour de Suisse 2024 – Analysing the contenders
2024 Tour de Suisse: Yves Lampaert wins stage 1 time trial
Race notes
- Break of Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling) builds early lead over peloton
- The peloton closes to within a minute of the break before the late final climb of Regensberg. The bunch begins to fragment on the lower slopes of the climb.
- Alpecin-Deceuninck accelerate on the final climb to whittle down bunch
- Alberto Bettiol's late attack is caught beneath the flamme rouge
- Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) wins reduced bunch sprint after Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) slips chain in finishing straight.
Welcome to live coverage of stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse, 177.3km from Vaduz to Regensdorf. This is notionally one of two feasible opportunities for the sprinters on this year's route, even if, as ever on the Tour de Suisse, they will have to endure some rugged terrain before the finish line in Regensdorf. The late category 3 climb of Regensberg will be the key obstacle between the fast men and stage victory.
Yves Lampaert (Soudal-QuickStep) powered to victory in the short opening time trial in Vaduz yesterday, putting the Belgian in the first yellow jersey of the race. He beat Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) and Ethan Hayter (Ineos) by three seconds, with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) the best of the GC men in fourth.
Stage 1 result
The roll-out today is at 12.45 CET, with the peloton due to hit kilometre zero at 12.51. After setting out from Vaduz, the race leaves Liechtenstein and crosses into Switzerland ahead of the first climb of the day, the category 2 Kerenzerberg (5.8km at 4.6%), which comes after 42km. The category 2 Ricken (6.1km at 5.8%) follows after 74km, while the sting in the tail is provided by the category 3 Regensberg (3.5km at 5.7%), whose summit comes just over 10km from the finish.
Beyond those classified difficulties, the road dips and rises for much of the day, leading to a total altitude gain of 2,400m. Nothing comes easy for the sprinters at the Tour de Suisse, in other words. Most of them are here, mind, to put the finishing touches to their Tour de France preparation, and a stage win would be an added bonus.
Remarkably, this is Mark Cavendish's first Tour de Suisse appearance in almost a decade, with his last outing coming in 2015. Early in his career, this race was an essentially waystation en route to the Tour de France, but the game has changed considerably in the intervening period. The Manxman knows that adding to his haul of three wins here would be a tall order, but he also knows that's not entirely why he's here. "It's been a long time," Cavendish said this weekend, according to L'Equipe. "Cycling has changed, there aren't so many mass finishes any more, and there won't be many this week, but it's great preparation for the Tour. It worked well back then."
The peloton has gathered on the start line in Vaduz for the opening road stage of this Tour de Suisse. After navigating the neutralised zone, they will hit kilometre zero at 12.51 local time.
-177km
The flag drops and stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse is formally under way.
-174km
The day's first break is formed by Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling), who open a slender gap over the peloton.
Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini) and Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) bridge across to form a five-man group on the front. One imagines the sprinters' teams wouldn't be dissatisfied with the composition of this move, but it all depends on whether anybody else tries to jump across.
-170km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 0:25
On paper, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) and Michael Matthews (Jayco-Alula) look like the fast men best equipped to withstand the late climb and contest the finish, while Ethan Hayter (Ineos) is another obvious contender. It may prove a tougher order for sprinters like Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan), Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-Samsic) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), but much will depend on how that climb is raced. Indeed, riders like Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos) might eye it as a springboard for a late attack.
-166km
In the meantime, the early break has had its day pass checked and stamped by the sprinters' teams. The peloton has slowed and the break's advantage yawns out quickly to 2:50.
-165km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 3:00
Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) began the day 24 seconds down, and he is, of course, the virtual race leader as the break stretches its advantage beyond the three-minute mark.
Yves Lampaert’s victory yesterday was his first since he won the opening stage of the 2022 Tour de France in the time trial in Copenhagen. “Yes, I have doubted myself at times. The level of cycling is so high these days. But I never lost faith. I kept training and found the good feeling,” he said afterwards. “The fact that I can also wear the jersey is a nice bonus. It will be difficult to defend that on Monday, but it’s possible that a large group will come to the finish. Hopefully someone will win who is not too close in the GC, or maybe I can do something myself.”
-147km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 3:35
-141km
The escapees are approaching the day's first classified climb, the category 2 Kerenzerberg (5.8km at 4.6%), with a lead of 4:00 over a peloton that is being led Soudal-QuickStep.
The five escapees continue to stretch out their advantage on the first climb of the day. Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling) now have 4:20 in hand on the peloton.
-132km
Gerben Kuypers leads the break over the summit of the Kerenzerberg with a lead of 4:20 over the peloton, where Ineos have taken up the reins of pursuit.
-125km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 4:05
The break is barrelling towards the day's second ascent, the category 2 haul of Ricken, and the gap to the peloton remains steady at a shade over the four-minute mark. Ineos have a controlling interest in the bunch for the time being.
Away from the Tour de Suisse, ASO announced this morning that the 2025 Tour de France Femmes will be nine stages in length, with the Grand Depart set to take place in Vannes and the first three stages entirely in Brittany. James Moultrie has more details here.
-109km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 4:25
-104km
The break is on the climb of Ricken with a lead of 4:35 over the peloton, where Alpecin-Deceuninck have now taken up the pace-setting. Axel Laurance is a definite contender for the win in Regensdorf this afternoon.
-99km
Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) leads the break over the second climb of the day, the category 2 Ricken. Kuypers is second over the top to maintain his virtual lead in the mountains classification. Roberto Carlos González was distanced on the climb, but he might be able to fight his way back on over the other side. The peloton, meanwhile, rolls across the top exactly five minutes down on the escapees.
-97km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Chaser at 0:15:
Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini)
Peloton at 5:00
Roberto Gonzalez is struggling to make his way back up to the break. The Panamanian is now 40 seconds down on the quartet out in front.
-90km
There is only one classified climb left on the agenda today, but the roads are rugged and hilly throughout the afternoon. And the difficulty of the afternoon might be exacerbated still further by the dark clouds looming overhead.
-80km
Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini) is still giving lone chase behind the break, and it looks as though he might be able to fight his way back up to the leaders. The peloton, meanwhile, is 4:32 behind.
Soudal-QuickStep and Alpecin-Deceuninck are the pace-makers in the peloton, where the rugged terrain has understandably seen many of the sprinters' teams take a cautious approach to policing the race.
-78km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Chaser at 2:20
Roberto Carlos González (Corratec-Vini Fantini)
Peloton at 4:31
Roberto González's lone pursuit of the break has ground to a halt. The Panamanian is now three minutes down on the leading quartet and he is dropping back to the bunch.
There are bonus sprints with 26km and 25km to go, respectively, in the Tour de Suisse's nod to the magical Golden Kilometre of the Benelux Tour. The second sprint is uphill and that might well trigger the attacking in the finale even before that stiff final climb.
Michael Matthews is braced for an attacking end to the day, as he told Eurosport. “The final climb is going to be pretty decisive with the bonus seconds," he said. "The final is going to be pretty explosive. The race is going to be super hard. If nobody makes it hard, we might have to do it, but a lot of teams have two cards to play. They'll play the attacking card first and then play their sprinter."
-66km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 4:38
Roberto González (Corratec-Vini Fantini) has been swept up by the bunch, where Alpecin-Deceuninck and Soudal-QuickStep continue to set the tempo.
-56km
After holding steady above the four-minute mark for much of the afternoon, the break's lead is beginning to contract. 3:42 is the gap.
Silvan Dillier is currently performing the bulk of the pace-making duties in the main peloton for Alpecin-Deceuninck. The break's lead dips a little further to 3:35.
-50km
Into the final 50km for the escapees, who have l lead of just over 3 minutes on the bunch. Back in the peloton, Simone Petilli (Intermarche-Wanty) and Welay Hagos Berhe (Jayco-Alula) have come down in a crash.
-49km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Break at 2:55
Tom Pidcock is back on the road for the first time since Liege-Bastogne-Liege as he continues his build-up to a busy summer. He is targeting the mountain bike event at the Paris 2024 Olympics and he is also hoping to make the Ineos selection for the Tour de France. This week in Switzerland is an important step and Pidcock could make an early impact here. “We want to be aggressive. There’s a headwind on the climb but I expect someone to light it up," Pidcock told Eurosport. "We’re one of the teams who will try to do that. If we come off the climb in a group, we’ll ride for Ethan [Hayter] in a sprint, but we could also look to move and gain time. It’s a bit of an unknown today.”
-46km
The efforts of Alpecin-Deceuninck have helped to bring the break firmly under control ahead of the potentially explosive finale. The gap is down to 2:52.
-45km
The status quo holds for the time being, with the bunch happy to keep the break at 2:45. A number of teams are starting to move up ahead of the intermediate sprint with 37km to go, which is followed by the 'Tissot Kilometre' of twin bonus sprints with 26km remaining.
-40km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 2:51
The break will sweep up all the points at the day's first intermediate sprint - and, at this rate, the escapees will hoover up the bonus seconds on offer in the Tissot Kilometre in 10km or so too.
-36km
In the peloton, delegations from various teams are muscling their way towards the front, but nobody is eager to take up the pace-making just yet. The break's lead holds firm at 2:35 for now.
-36km
Jenni leads the break through the intermediate sprint with a lead of 2:30 over the bunch.
-35km
Delegations from EF Eduation-EasyPost, Tudor, DSM and Visma-Lease a Bike are all moving up as the race approaches its finale. EF have two obvious cards to play here - the attacking threat of Alberto Bettiol and the sprint of Marijn van den Berg.
The leading quartet are still clutching to an advantage of 2:11 per the on-screen graphic, even if the chalkboard held out on the moto before them reads 2:30.
EF and DSM are both prominent at the head of the peloton, where there has been a discernible rise in intensity over the last couple of kilometres.
-33km
Jayco-Alula join the pace-setting at the head of the peloton, which has closed to within two minutes of the break.
-32km
Break:
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling)
Peloton at 1:52
-29km
After something of a lull, the intensity is rising steadily in the bunch and the break's lead is dropping accordingly. The gap is down to 1:36, with Tudor now pressing on the pace.
-27km
The break begins the climb towards the first Tissot Sprint, and Switzerland's Felix Stehli accelerates almost immediately. He looks set to take the watch today, and the break is destined to hoover up the bonus seconds ahead of the bunch.
Stehli led through the first Tissot sprint but even though he begins to fade slightly on the upper reaches of the climb, he looks set to hang on and take the second sprint to boot.
-25km
Felix Stehli takes the second Tissot Sprint while the rest of the break follows shortly behind to sweep up the bonus seconds. The bunch, however, is closing in rapidly, and the gap is down to 1:07.
Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) has been distanced by the bunch on this unclassified climb. He has teammate Simone Velasco for company but even if he makes it back on over the other side, he will surely struggle to survive in the bunch on the final ascent of Regensberg.
-22km
Mark Cavendish has managed to latch back on in the company of Simone Velasco. The bunch is lined out on the flatter road that leads towards the base of the climb of Regensberg. 1:10 the gap to the break.
-20km
Into the final 20km for the escapees, who still have 1:05 in hand on the bunch. That led will surely evaporate once the race hits the climb to Regensberg with 13km remaining. The category 3 ascent is 3.5km long at an average gradient of 5.7%.
-18km
A crash in the peloton sees a number of riders come down. Mercifully, the incident takes place in open countryside and it looks as though most of the fallers had a relatively soft landing in a field at the roadside.
-16km
Gerben Kuypers (Intermarché – Wanty), Antoine Debons (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini), Luca Jenni (Swiss Cycling) and Felix Stehli (Swiss Cycling) maintain a lead of 1:15 over the bunch as they hurtle towards the base of the final climb, where we can expect the race to ignite behind them.
-14km
The peloton is lined out as it hurtles towards the base of the climb of Regensberg, still 1:10 down on the escapees.
-13km
The break hits the base of the climb of Regensberg, and immediately Luca Jenni (Switzerland) presses on alone at the head of the race. The rest of the break look resgined to being caught by the bunch on the climb. Jenni will battle alone in a bid to hold the chasers off until the summit.
Riders are being jettisoned out the back of the peloton on the lower slopes of the climb, where James Shaw sets the pace for EF. He swings off expecting a turn from Brandon Rivera (Ineos), but the Colombian is reluctant to come through and so Shaw goes again.
-11.7km
Jenni's lead is down to 26 seconds as the bunch continues to pick off the remnants of the break on this climb.
-11.5km
David de la Cruz (Q36.5) attacks alone from the peloton and opens a small gap on the climb. The Spaniard sets out in lone pursuit of Jenni at the head of the race
-11km
Jenni is sticking gamely to his task and he remains 26 seconds clear of the bunch, but Alpecin-Deceuninck have now taken up the reins, and their effort is dooming De la Cruz. It's also seeing more riders shed off the back of the bunch.
De la Cruz and Jenni are both swept up thanks to the Alpecin's acceleration. They have four men on the front, but are they working for Axel Laurance or Soren Kragh Andersen? In either case, they have whittled the bunch down considerably on this climb, with only 30 or so riders in the front group - though a larger group of chasers might bridge back on over the other side.
-10km
Soren Kragh Andersen powers over the top of the climb with Laurance on his wheel, which indicates the hierarchy for Alpecin. Their efforts have pared down the peloton, and it will be interesting to see what fast men have survived this winnowing process.
-8km
Mauro Schmid (Jayco-Alula) comes through on the descent and tries to stretch the race out still further. It's going to be very difficult for any team to organise a sprint here, even if EF look to have some numbers around Van den Berg.
-5km
Schmid and Kragh Andersen had a small lead over the front group for much of the descent but it looks as though there will be a regrouping as the road flattens out. Schmid and Andersen are caught by the 30-strong front group, but the second group - which includes Ethan Hayter and yellow jersey Yves Lampaert - is about to make contact.
Alberto Bettiol takes a flyer with 4.5km to go and the Italian opens a decent lead over a very stretched front group.
-3.5km
Bettiol is pedalling very smoothly indeed and the Italian is stretching out his advantage. Unless one of the sprinters' teams can get themselves organised quickly, they won't see Bettiol again until the podium ceremony.
-3km
Bettiol has a handful of seconds in hand on a four-man group featuring Kragh Andersen, with the 50-strong peloton a little further behind.
Stefan Kung was also in that group with Kragh Andersen, but they've been caught by the reduced peloton.
-2km
Alberto Bettiol leads alone into the final 2km, with Decathlon-AG2R and Lotto-Dstny pressing the pace behind him.
Ethan Hayter (Ineos) and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) crash out of contention on a sharp right-hand bend... Out in front, Bettiol's 8-second lead is beginning to evaporate on an interminable false flat.
-1km
Bettiol is caught beneath the flamme rouge. A frantic, reduced bunch sprint awaits, with De Lie and Michael Matthews among the obvious contenders.
Lotto-Dstny have numbers to lead this sprint out for Arnaud De Lie...
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) opens the sprint off the crown of the final bend. De Lie is on his wheel but the Belgian sits down due to an apparent mechanical problem...
Bryan Coquard kicks for home. Michael Matthews closes but not quickly enough...
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) wins stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse
Michael Matthews (Jayco-Alula) takes second place ahead of Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), who finished rapidly having been forced to pause by an apparent mechanical issue.
The head-on camera shot suggest a slipped chain for De Lie. He managed to reship the chain and kick again, but he ran out of road and his frustration was palpable on crossing the line.
Brandon Rivera (Ineos) was fourth ahead of Rui Costa (EF Education-EasyPost), Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tom Pidock (Ineos).
Yves Lampaert (Soudal-QuickStep) was 18th on the stage in the same time as Coquard, and that should keep him in the yellow jersey.
Result
1 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis 4:06:39
2 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco Alula
3 Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto-Dstny
4 Brandon Rivera (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
5 Rui Costa (Por) EF Education - Easypost
6 Axel Laurance (Fra) Alpecin - Deceuninck
7 Thomas Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
8 Roger Adrià (Spa) Bora - Hansgrohe 8
9 Francesco Busatto (Ita) Intermarché - Wanty
10 Stephen Williams (GBr) Israel - Premier Tech
Ethan Hayter remounted and completed the stage after his late crash, and the Briton will be awarded the same time as the front group, thus preserving his position in the overall standings.
Indeed, Ethan Hayter confirms to Eurosport that he didn't come down - he was simply forced to a halt behind the crash. The Briton admits he was feeling a little off for much of the day, but after coping relatively comfortably with the final climb, he would have fancied his prospects in the reduced sprint all the same.
General classification
1 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step 4:11:44
2 Ethan Hayter (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:04
3 João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:07
4 Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) Uae Team Emirates
5 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco Alula
6 Samuel Watson Groupama – FDJ 0:00:09
7 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Ef Education - Easypost
8 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama – FDJ 0:00:11
9 Mauro Schmid (Swi) Team Jayco Alula
10 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Alpecin - Deceuninck
That's the 52nd win of Bryan Coquard's career and it is, by his admission, the biggest. His only previous WorldTour win was a stage of last year's Tour Down Under. On the big occasion, meanwhile, the Frenchman has known plenty of heartbreak. He finished second on the Champs-Elysees on the 2015 Tour de France and twelve months later, he was pipped by Marcel Kittel in Limoges.
"It’s my biggest victory," Coquard says. "It was a difficult stage with a hard climb just before the final and today with the team we knew it was a good opportunity for me. I am a good sprinter, but with the big guys it’s more difficult for me. Today was a big opportunity for me, we arrived with a small bunch and I did a perfect final with a perfect sprint.
"At lot of times, I’ve finished second, in the Tour for example – by 28mm to Marcel Kittel in Limoges. I’m very happy because I came from a three-week altitude camp in preparation for the Tour de France. I’ve arrived here and I’ve won, it’s perfect."
A report, results and pictures from today's stage are available here.
Thanks for joining our live coverage of today's stage. We'll be back with more from tomorrow's stage 3 from Steinmaur to Rüschlikon, where the late climbs might put the honours beyond the reach of the fast men.
