Few followers expected Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) to win the time-trial from Sedrun via the Oberalp pass to Andermatt. The 34-year-old Colombian rider won by a huge margin of 40 seconds over Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck â Quick-Step) and 54 seconds over home rider Gino Mäder (Bahrain). Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) remains in the overall lead by 17 seconds over Uran.
Fourteen years ago, Uran won the eighth stage of the Tour de Suisse (Innertkirchen â Schwarzee) as a young professional. His star wasnât shining as bright as before over the past few years. His victory in Andermatt was the first pro victory in four years. âA wonder? Not really but itâs certainly a surprise to me too. Together with the team directors we decided to use a rear disc wheel. It turned out to be the right callâ, said Uran, who by far had the best climbing split time on the Oberalp.
The spectacular test against the clock placed two Swiss riders in the top-10 with Mäder and Stefan KĂźng (Groupama â FDJ). European champion KĂźng was pleased with his performance: âThe first part went quite well for me. Afterwards I realized that Iâm not a man for the mountains but thatâs nothing new.â
Overall leader Richard Carapaz didnât leave a lasting impression. The climb to Oberalp clearly wasnât steep enough for the 2019 Giro dâItalia winner. Everything will come down to a duel between the two South American riders. âThe team-mates and I will do everything we can to defend the leaderâs jerseyâ, said Carapaz. âThe Tremola climb to the Gotthard pass will be the battleground for the overall victory and Iâm up for the challengeâ, Uran stated. – www.tourdesuisse.ch
