Tour de Suisse stage 6: Nico Denz wins photo finish mountain sprint, GC hits stalemate
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This article originally appeared on Velo News
Nico Denz (DSM) won a two-up sprint on the high-altitude finish of the Tour de Suisse.
Denz bettered Clement Champoussin (Ag2r Citroen) as Friday’s “queen stage” of HC climbs came down to a five-rider breakaway kick for the line on the Moosalp climb.
Jose Herrada (Cofidis) took third on the podium.
Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) threw fireworks into the final after catching back to the breakaway group in the closing meters and lighting up the final sprint, only to narrowly miss the top-three.
Denz’s victory came on another day of searing sun in the Swiss summer.
“I felt fantastic during the day, I have to thank the staff in the car who kept me cool all day. I think that was key,” he said.
The burly rouleur is better known for his work as a domestique, making victory on a stage dominated by two HC climbs all the more unlikely.
“I knew I had a fast finish so I could live with the other guys coming back but I almost think I lost it because I launched the sprint late. I do a lot of work in the shadows for teammates so today is really special for me.”
Back in the GC group, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) led out a sprint of classification contenders but couldn’t do enough to overhaul Jakob Fuglsang (Israel Premier Tech).
Fuglsang started the day in the leader’s jersey after Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora Hansgrohe) exited early with COVID. The Dane now takes a one-second lead into the closing weekend.
The day started with concerning COVID news after Jumbo-Visma and Adam Yates had already taken early exits Thursday.
Vlasov was among one of many confirmed to have caught the virus Friday morning. UAE Emirates, Bahrain Victorious and Alpecin-Fenix pulled their whole teams from the race after they saw a swath of infections.
Almost 30 riders were on the DNS list for the day due to illnesses, injury or infection, and the peloton was an empty place.
With Vlasov out, Fuglsang inherited the yellow jersey and took to the start of another super hot stage with his new garment after organizers scrambled to make it ready at late notice.
The break finally formed after around an hour of racing, with KOM category leader Simmons one of a strong 11-rider move including Denz, Masnada, Herrada and Champoussin.
Simmons led the race over the top of the huge 2,5000-meter Nufenenpass to grab more mountain points as the break held around six minutes of a gap over the Israel Premier-Tech-controlled peloton.
Not much changed until the escapees hit the bottom of the relentless 18km climb to the line.
Denz attacked first and Simmons and Masnada followed.
Simmons’ big day in the mountains looked likely to come to a close at 11km to go when he dropped, leaving just two at the front until when Champoussin and Herrada bridged across at 4km. Nonetheless, Simmons kept motoring in his relentless chase back.
Masnada was aggressive after the group swelled to four, but couldn’t shake his rivals.
The stage looked set to go down to a four-rider sprint until Simmons appeared from nowhere in the final meters and lit up the surge.
The Coloradan kicked clear but soon faded after his huge chase and had to make do with fourth and a tightening on his KOM classification lead.
Denz and Champoussin overhauled Simmons at 50m to go and went to the line in a photo finish. It took several minutes before Denz was confirmed as winner before the German rouleur roared in delight as he celebrated the biggest win of his career.
GC action
With Vlasov out of the race, Thomas started the day just one second down on Fuglsang and the race lead.
Ineos Grenadiers set the pace early on the Moosalp before Fuglsang and Co took control in the peloton.
The GC action only lit up at 5km to go. Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) made the first move before Fuglsang and Ineos Grenadiers countered.
A series of following accelerations in the group saw Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) pop out the back as Daniel Martinez (Ineos Grenadiers) set a crushing pace in bunch of favorites. The young Belgian ended the stage three minutes down and far off the back of the GC pack.
The contenders came to the final hundred meters together, and Thomas accelerated in the hunt for GC scoring seconds but couldn’t get the gap he needed.
Up next: Extra tough weekend
The GC will be decided on two equally important closing stages this weekend.
A cruel summit finish on the 8.5km, 9.2 percent Malbun climb could zap the legs Saturday before the decisive 26km Vaduz TT Sunday.
Tour de Suisse Stage 6 Results
Stage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
1 | DENZ Nico | Team DSM | 5:11:14 |
2 | CHAMPOUSSIN Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 0:00 |
3 | HERRADA Jose | Cofidis | 0:00 |
4 | SIMMONS Quinn | Trek - Segafredo | 0:00 |
5 | MASNADA Fausto | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 0:11 |
6 | PACHER Quentin | Groupama - FDJ | 1:33 |
7 | THALMANN Roland | Switzerland | 1:46 |
8 | THOMAS Geraint | INEOS Grenadiers | 2:14 |
9 | HIGUITA Sergio | BORA - hansgrohe | 2:14 |
10 | FUGLSANG Jakob | Israel - Premier Tech | 2:14 |
11 | GROssSCHARTNER Felix | BORA - hansgrohe | 2:14 |
12 | PINOT Thibaut | Groupama - FDJ | 2:14 |
13 | POZZOVIVO Domenico | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 2:14 |
14 | MARTINEZ Daniel Felipe | INEOS Grenadiers | 2:18 |
15 | JUNGELS Bob | AG2R Citroen Team | 2:18 |
16 | POWLESS Neilson | EF Education-EasyPost | 2:18 |
17 | LEKNESSUND Andreas | Team DSM | 2:22 |
18 | WARBASSE Larry | AG2R Citroen Team | 2:50 |
19 | KUNG Stefan | Groupama - FDJ | 2:53 |
20 | LUTSENKO Alexey | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 2:55 |
21 | PEDRERO Antonio | Movistar Team | 2:55 |
22 | EVENEPOEL Remco | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 3:06 |
23 | SCHACHMANN Maximilian | BORA - hansgrohe | 3:06 |
24 | HOULE Hugo | Israel - Premier Tech | 3:06 |
25 | SWIRBUL Keegan | Human Powered Health | 3:06 |
26 | KRON Andreas | Lotto Soudal | 3:06 |
27 | REICHENBACH Sebastien | Groupama - FDJ | 3:06 |
28 | MATTHEWS Michael | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 4:12 |
29 | BURGAUDEAU Mathieu | TotalEnergies | 4:12 |
30 | ROCHAS Remy | Cofidis | 4:22 |
31 | VOISARD Yannis | Switzerland | 6:06 |
32 | PASQUALON Andrea | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 6:22 |
33 | RODRIGUEZ Oscar | Movistar Team | 6:41 |
34 | BERTHET Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 8:01 |
35 | SCHAR Michael | AG2R Citroen Team | 8:01 |
36 | OLIVEIRA Nelson | Movistar Team | 8:17 |
37 | NEILANDS Krists | Israel - Premier Tech | 8:41 |
38 | TORRES Albert | Movistar Team | 10:21 |
39 | RUTSCH Jonas | EF Education-EasyPost | 10:56 |
40 | HOELGAARD Markus | Trek - Segafredo | 11:47 |
41 | MONIQUET Sylvain | Lotto Soudal | 11:47 |
42 | IZAGIRRE Ion | Cofidis | 12:53 |
43 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto Soudal | 13:28 |
44 | ARMEE Sander | Cofidis | 13:40 |
45 | DUCHESNE Antoine | Groupama - FDJ | 13:40 |
46 | OURSELIN Paul | TotalEnergies | 13:40 |
47 | ARNDT Nikias | Team DSM | 13:53 |
48 | DECLERCQ Tim | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 14:33 |
49 | PELLAUD Simon | Trek - Segafredo | 14:33 |
50 | AASVOLD Kristian | Human Powered Health | 15:49 |
51 | HOLMES Matthew | Lotto Soudal | 15:58 |
52 | BAUER Jack | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 16:06 |
53 | GILBERT Philippe | Lotto Soudal | 16:06 |
54 | REUTIMANN Mathias | Switzerland | 16:23 |
55 | VITZTHUM Simon | Switzerland | 16:23 |
56 | BADILATTI Matteo | Groupama - FDJ | 17:05 |
57 | MOSCON Gianni | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 17:05 |
58 | GRUZDEV Dmitriy | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 17:26 |
59 | VAN BAARLE Dylan | INEOS Grenadiers | 17:26 |
60 | NIBALI Antonio | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 17:26 |
61 | JACOBS Johan | Movistar Team | 17:47 |
62 | PRODHOMME Nicolas | AG2R Citroen Team | 19:41 |
63 | COSNEFROY Benoit | AG2R Citroen Team | 19:41 |
64 | DE GENDT Thomas | Lotto Soudal | 19:41 |
65 | BEVIN Patrick | Israel - Premier Tech | 21:44 |
66 | IMPEY Daryl | Israel - Premier Tech | 21:44 |
67 | SMITH Dion | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 21:44 |
68 | KNOX James | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 21:44 |
69 | MANNION Gavin | Human Powered Health | 21:44 |
70 | HALLER Marco | BORA - hansgrohe | 22:43 |
71 | HAGA Chad | Human Powered Health | 24:16 |
72 | KAMP Alexander | Trek - Segafredo | 24:19 |
73 | COQUARD Bryan | Cofidis | 24:35 |
74 | ASKEY Lewis | Groupama - FDJ | 24:50 |
75 | VAN WILDER Ilan | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 24:52 |
76 | FRAILE Omar | INEOS Grenadiers | 25:28 |
77 | ROWE Luke | INEOS Grenadiers | 27:06 |
78 | RUEGG Lukas | Switzerland | 27:43 |
79 | FROIDEVAUX Robin | Switzerland | 27:43 |
80 | PLANCKAERT Baptiste | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 29:00 |
81 | OSS Daniel | TotalEnergies | 29:25 |
82 | BOHLI Tom | Cofidis | 29:25 |
83 | TURGIS Anthony | TotalEnergies | 29:25 |
84 | MANZIN Lorrenzo | TotalEnergies | 29:25 |
85 | PETIT Adrien | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 29:25 |
86 | KRISTOFF Alexander | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 29:25 |
87 | SAGAN Peter | TotalEnergies | 29:25 |
GC | |||
|---|---|---|---|
1 | FUGLSANG Jakob | Israel - Premier Tech | 27:30:30 |
2 | THOMAS Geraint | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:01 |
3 | HIGUITA Sergio | BORA - hansgrohe | 0:10 |
4 | POWLESS Neilson | EF Education-EasyPost | 0:26 |
5 | GROssSCHARTNER Felix | BORA - hansgrohe | 0:34 |
6 | LEKNESSUND Andreas | Team DSM | 0:46 |
7 | KUNG Stefan | Groupama - FDJ | 0:49 |
8 | KRON Andreas | Lotto Soudal | 1:00 |
9 | POZZOVIVO Domenico | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 1:07 |
10 | REICHENBACH Sebastien | Groupama - FDJ | 1:29 |
11 | JUNGELS Bob | AG2R Citroen Team | 1:36 |
12 | SCHACHMANN Maximilian | BORA - hansgrohe | 1:47 |
13 | MARTINEZ Daniel Felipe | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:52 |
14 | HOULE Hugo | Israel - Premier Tech | 2:44 |
15 | EVENEPOEL Remco | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 3:08 |
16 | PEDRERO Antonio | Movistar Team | 3:53 |
17 | BURGAUDEAU Mathieu | TotalEnergies | 4:36 |
18 | PINOT Thibaut | Groupama - FDJ | 6:20 |
19 | MASNADA Fausto | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 6:54 |
20 | HERRADA Jose | Cofidis | 9:03 |
21 | PACHER Quentin | Groupama - FDJ | 10:22 |
22 | BERTHET Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 10:59 |
23 | MATTHEWS Michael | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 11:17 |
24 | LUTSENKO Alexey | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 11:24 |
25 | CHAMPOUSSIN Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 13:45 |
26 | WARBASSE Larry | AG2R Citroen Team | 15:37 |
27 | ARNDT Nikias | Team DSM | 18:19 |
28 | ROCHAS Remy | Cofidis | 19:09 |
29 | THALMANN Roland | Switzerland | 19:10 |
30 | OLIVEIRA Nelson | Movistar Team | 20:17 |
31 | PASQUALON Andrea | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 27:35 |
32 | NEILANDS Krists | Israel - Premier Tech | 29:53 |
33 | SCHAR Michael | AG2R Citroen Team | 30:31 |
34 | RODRIGUEZ Oscar | Movistar Team | 33:42 |
35 | MONIQUET Sylvain | Lotto Soudal | 34:42 |
36 | BADILATTI Matteo | Groupama - FDJ | 34:54 |
37 | VAN WILDER Ilan | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 35:00 |
38 | SIMMONS Quinn | Trek - Segafredo | 35:39 |
39 | MANNION Gavin | Human Powered Health | 36:51 |
40 | GILBERT Philippe | Lotto Soudal | 38:48 |
41 | VOISARD Yannis | Switzerland | 38:52 |
42 | IMPEY Daryl | Israel - Premier Tech | 39:02 |
43 | HOLMES Matthew | Lotto Soudal | 39:06 |
44 | RUTSCH Jonas | EF Education-EasyPost | 39:53 |
45 | IZAGIRRE Ion | Cofidis | 40:57 |
46 | SMITH Dion | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 41:32 |
47 | DENZ Nico | Team DSM | 42:25 |
48 | DUCHESNE Antoine | Groupama - FDJ | 45:08 |
49 | PRODHOMME Nicolas | AG2R Citroen Team | 46:20 |
50 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto Soudal | 47:18 |
51 | PELLAUD Simon | Trek - Segafredo | 47:39 |
52 | OURSELIN Paul | TotalEnergies | 51:31 |
53 | GRUZDEV Dmitriy | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 54:30 |
54 | MOSCON Gianni | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 55:04 |
55 | COQUARD Bryan | Cofidis | 55:53 |
56 | BEVIN Patrick | Israel - Premier Tech | 56:17 |
57 | BAUER Jack | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 57:51 |
58 | SWIRBUL Keegan | Human Powered Health | 59:25 |
59 | RUEGG Lukas | Switzerland | 1:00:22 |
60 | VAN BAARLE Dylan | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:02:32 |
61 | HOELGAARD Markus | Trek - Segafredo | 1:02:59 |
62 | AASVOLD Kristian | Human Powered Health | 1:03:21 |
63 | NIBALI Antonio | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 1:03:28 |
64 | HALLER Marco | BORA - hansgrohe | 1:05:23 |
65 | ARMEE Sander | Cofidis | 1:06:38 |
66 | DECLERCQ Tim | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 1:07:05 |
67 | VITZTHUM Simon | Switzerland | 1:07:51 |
68 | KAMP Alexander | Trek - Segafredo | 1:08:40 |
69 | DE GENDT Thomas | Lotto Soudal | 1:09:29 |
70 | TURGIS Anthony | TotalEnergies | 1:09:46 |
71 | JACOBS Johan | Movistar Team | 1:12:19 |
72 | PLANCKAERT Baptiste | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 1:12:46 |
73 | TORRES Albert | Movistar Team | 1:13:12 |
74 | COSNEFROY Benoit | AG2R Citroen Team | 1:13:25 |
75 | OSS Daniel | TotalEnergies | 1:15:09 |
76 | HAGA Chad | Human Powered Health | 1:16:59 |
77 | REUTIMANN Mathias | Switzerland | 1:19:04 |
78 | FROIDEVAUX Robin | Switzerland | 1:20:05 |
79 | KRISTOFF Alexander | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 1:20:15 |
80 | ASKEY Lewis | Groupama - FDJ | 1:23:23 |
81 | FRAILE Omar | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:23:25 |
82 | SAGAN Peter | TotalEnergies | 1:24:39 |
83 | ROWE Luke | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:25:52 |
84 | PETIT Adrien | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 1:26:20 |
85 | BOHLI Tom | Cofidis | 1:27:51 |
86 | KNOX James | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 1:32:56 |
87 | MANZIN Lorrenzo | TotalEnergies | 1:42:20 |
Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MATTHEWS Michael | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 22 |
2 | LEKNESSUND Andreas | Team DSM | 20 |
3 | SIMMONS Quinn | Trek - Segafredo | 18 |
4 | IMPEY Daryl | Israel - Premier Tech | 12 |
5 | DENZ Nico | Team DSM | 12 |
6 | SAGAN Peter | TotalEnergies | 12 |
7 | HOLMES Matthew | Lotto Soudal | 12 |
8 | SCHACHMANN Maximilian | BORA - hansgrohe | 10 |
9 | THOMAS Geraint | INEOS Grenadiers | 8 |
10 | POWLESS Neilson | EF Education-EasyPost | 8 |
11 | CHAMPOUSSIN Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 8 |
12 | COQUARD Bryan | Cofidis | 8 |
13 | KRON Andreas | Lotto Soudal | 7 |
14 | FUGLSANG Jakob | Israel - Premier Tech | 6 |
15 | PASQUALON Andrea | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 6 |
16 | KRISTOFF Alexander | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 6 |
17 | REUTIMANN Mathias | Switzerland | 4 |
18 | BURGAUDEAU Mathieu | TotalEnergies | 3 |
19 | MASNADA Fausto | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 3 |
20 | THALMANN Roland | Switzerland | 3 |
21 | HOELGAARD Markus | Trek - Segafredo | 3 |
22 | LUTSENKO Alexey | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 2 |
23 | VAN BAARLE Dylan | INEOS Grenadiers | 2 |
24 | KAMP Alexander | Trek - Segafredo | 2 |
25 | JACOBS Johan | Movistar Team | 2 |
26 | HAGA Chad | Human Powered Health | 2 |
27 | ASKEY Lewis | Groupama - FDJ | 2 |
28 | VITZTHUM Simon | Switzerland | 1 |
29 | ROWE Luke | INEOS Grenadiers | 1 |
30 | HERRADA Jose | Cofidis | -4 |
Youth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
1 | HIGUITA Sergio | BORA - hansgrohe | 27:30:40 |
2 | LEKNESSUND Andreas | Team DSM | 0:36 |
3 | KRON Andreas | Lotto Soudal | 0:50 |
4 | EVENEPOEL Remco | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 2:58 |
5 | BURGAUDEAU Mathieu | TotalEnergies | 4:26 |
6 | BERTHET Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 10:49 |
7 | CHAMPOUSSIN Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 13:35 |
8 | MONIQUET Sylvain | Lotto Soudal | 34:32 |
9 | VAN WILDER Ilan | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 34:50 |
10 | SIMMONS Quinn | Trek - Segafredo | 35:29 |
11 | VOISARD Yannis | Switzerland | 38:42 |
12 | RUTSCH Jonas | EF Education-EasyPost | 39:43 |
13 | PRODHOMME Nicolas | AG2R Citroen Team | 46:10 |
14 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto Soudal | 47:08 |
15 | JACOBS Johan | Movistar Team | 1:12:09 |
16 | FROIDEVAUX Robin | Switzerland | 1:19:55 |
17 | ASKEY Lewis | Groupama - FDJ | 1:23:13 |
Mountains | |||
|---|---|---|---|
1 | SIMMONS Quinn | Trek - Segafredo | 60 |
2 | DENZ Nico | Team DSM | 20 |
3 | MASNADA Fausto | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 19 |
4 | CHAMPOUSSIN Clement | AG2R Citroen Team | 15 |
5 | GILBERT Philippe | Lotto Soudal | 12 |
6 | LEKNESSUND Andreas | Team DSM | 10 |
7 | KAMP Alexander | Trek - Segafredo | 10 |
8 | VITZTHUM Simon | Switzerland | 10 |
9 | THALMANN Roland | Switzerland | 10 |
10 | HOLMES Matthew | Lotto Soudal | 9 |
11 | RUTSCH Jonas | EF Education-EasyPost | 8 |
12 | REUTIMANN Mathias | Switzerland | 8 |
13 | REICHENBACH Sebastien | Groupama - FDJ | 6 |
14 | FUGLSANG Jakob | Israel - Premier Tech | 6 |
15 | JACOBS Johan | Movistar Team | 6 |
16 | MATTHEWS Michael | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 6 |
17 | TURGIS Anthony | TotalEnergies | 5 |
18 | PASQUALON Andrea | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 4 |
19 | THOMAS Geraint | INEOS Grenadiers | 3 |
20 | SCHAR Michael | AG2R Citroen Team | 3 |
21 | POWLESS Neilson | EF Education-EasyPost | 2 |
22 | SCHACHMANN Maximilian | BORA - hansgrohe | 2 |
23 | EVENEPOEL Remco | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 2 |
24 | BURGAUDEAU Mathieu | TotalEnergies | 2 |
25 | BADILATTI Matteo | Groupama - FDJ | 2 |
26 | HOELGAARD Markus | Trek - Segafredo | 2 |
27 | HAGA Chad | Human Powered Health | 2 |
28 | VAN BAARLE Dylan | INEOS Grenadiers | 1 |
29 | MANZIN Lorrenzo | TotalEnergies | 1 |
30 | HERRADA Jose | Cofidis | -6 |
Teams | ||
|---|---|---|
1 | BORA - hansgrohe | 82:32:46 |
2 | Groupama - FDJ | 2:13 |
3 | AG2R Citroen Team | 13:18 |
4 | INEOS Grenadiers | 16:33 |
5 | Israel - Premier Tech | 21:07 |
6 | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 30:41 |
7 | Movistar Team | 31:48 |
8 | Cofidis | 43:59 |
9 | Team DSM | 45:06 |
10 | Lotto Soudal | 55:34 |
11 | Intermarche - Wanty - Gobert Materiaux | 1:08:34 |
12 | Trek - Segafredo | 1:26:01 |
13 | Team BikeExchange - Jayco | 1:32:47 |
14 | Switzerland | 1:42:53 |
15 | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 1:45:05 |
16 | TotalEnergies | 1:55:59 |
17 | Human Powered Health | 2:18:24 |
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