Nat Bromhead
Richie Porte has extended his overall lead in the Tour de Suisse, the final major event prior to next months 105th edition of the Tour de France.
Making a bold late attack from a group of high profile contenders including Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Porte put down an immense amount of power and went on to cement his overall lead by 32 second
“Allan Peiper said on the radio ‘Richie if you have any gas, you gotta go,’,” said Richie after the stage. “And I actually thought I had hit out a bit too early but when I heard that they were cracking, I dug in a little bit more. It really hurt but it is nice to take some extra time,” he continued.
‘Dress Rehearsal For The Tour de France’
“The guys put me in a great position and they looked after me so I am happy with how the day went,” said Richie. “This is a dress rehearsal for the Tour de France and it really showed today that we are there. It was good to take a little bit more time on some strong time trialists today. Tomorrow on paper is maybe better for me and I am super motivated.”
“I think that after the amount of work that the team did for me today, I had to do something. I didn’t really expect to take time like that. I wasn’t feeling great yesterday but today I had a better day and the team was incredible for me. Each and every one of the guys was really good especially Michi Schär. He rode most of the stage for me. It’s good coming into the Tour.”
Nathan Haas Second On Stage
Fellow Aussie Nathan Haas finished second on the 186km Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse.
“I went through a rough patch with my health in April,” said an clearly thrilled Haas after crossing the line. “With my team doctors and my family, I put a lot of effort into getting back into shape. So for me it’s unreal to be back and feeling this strong.”
Tour de Suisse Stage 6 Fiesch – Gomminswald
1. Soren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb)
2. Nathan Haas (Katusha Alpecin)
3. Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain Merida)
