Adam Yates consolidated his Tour de Suisse yellow jersey. The Briton won the 5th stage between Ambri and Cari (148.6 km) with 5 seconds ahead of his Portuguese teammate Joao Almeid
The UAE team therefore did very well on Thursday, also thanks to the hard work carried out by the Swiss Marc Hirschi and Jan Christen. Everything was decided on the final climb. The day’s escapes were caught 10 km from the goal, and the leader’s team then set a hellish pace in the lead.
The selection from behind was merciless. It was notably fatal to the outgoing winner Mattias Skjelmose, who arrived at 1’41. Yates therefore beat Almeida while the Colombian Egan Bernal finished third at 16 seconds.
Overall, Adam Yates, who won the 2023 Tour de Romandie, now has a 35-second lead over Almeida and 1’11 over Bernal. Only the Spaniard Enric Mas (at 1’49) and the American Matthew Riccitello (at 1’53) are still less than two minutes behind the leader. Best Swiss, Grison’s Matteo Badilatti occupies 16th place at 4’33.
On Friday, the 6th stage will take the riders from Ulrichen to Blatten-Belalp over just 42.5 km. It will be a real sprint which will end with a final climb. The stage had to be planed due to the impassability of the Nufenen Pass, which should have been the roof of the tour.
/ATS
