Breakaway Bart Lemmen is having fun at the Tour of Switzerland: 'I feel really, really good'

Bart Lemmen was in great form during the second stage of the Tour de Suisse. The Dutch rider from Visma | Lease a Bike was part of the early breakaway group and was in contention for the stage win, which he narrowly missed. It was a shame, but the rider and his team could still look back on an excellent day.

Early in the stage, Lemmen broke away with a strong group of escapees. Joined by Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), and Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), the climber managed to stay just ahead of the charging Tadej Pogacar and Mathias Vacek, but in the sprint, Lemmen was beaten by Grégoire and finished third.

“I felt really good today,” he says on his team’s website. “I rode a good race, but it’s a shame I wasn’t able to finish it. It’s great to be competing for the win in a field like this, but I felt the cramps coming on in the last 3 kilometers, so I knew it was going to be tough to win today.”

Incidentally, this isn’t the first time Lemmen has had to concede defeat to Grégoire in Switzerland. Last year, the pair were also part of the leading group in the opening stage. In the pouring rain, the Frenchman took a big risk on the descent and rode solo to victory. The Dutchman was the strongest on the climbs, but ultimately had to settle for third place then as well.

The missed opportunity will sting for a while, but it also gives Lemmen a lot of confidence. “It feels really, really good, and today’s performance only confirms that. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a chance to contend for the win with Matthew (Brennan, ed.), and Sunday will be an important day for Wilco (Kelderman, ed.). I hope to do my part in both stages.”

Friday’s third stage will take place around Bad Ragaz. With a flat finish, Brennan and Visma | Lease a Bike will be hoping for a sprint. Kelderman is the team leader for the general classification: the Dutchman rode an excellent opening stage and is currently eighth in the standings. He will need to defend that position in Saturday’s time trial and the subsequent queen stage.