Powerful Lemmen can't match FDJ's Grégoire on the descent and concedes Tour de Suisse opening stage to the Frenchman

From the start in Küssnacht, it was climbing right from the beginning. The Michaelskreuzstrasse followed the short Adligenwilerstrasse; the final would follow the same route, so it was a good way to test the circuit. The riders took it very seriously: from the start, it was a fierce race, and there were quickly quite a few casualties. After 30 kilometers, Felix Engelhardt (Jayco-AlUla) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) managed to break away, but a strong chasing group was closing in.

Riders such as Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), and Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike) were in a group of 12 riders trying to close the gap to the two in front. The peloton saw the danger and kept the breakaway riders in sight. The attacks kept coming, and after a lot of hustle and bustle, a large leading group finally managed to break away.

No fewer than 29 riders were at the front. Among them were Alaphilippe, Vauquelin, Simmons, and Castrillo, but also new names such as Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R), Bart Lemmen, Thijmen Graat (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Ben O'Connor). It was a very strong group, which quickly gained a 3-minute lead on the peloton. Meanwhile, Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) crashed: the man with bib number 1 was severely injured on his left side. It was a bad start to his home race.

The breakaway group saw this as a golden opportunity with such a strong group. The cooperation was strong, but the peloton was not standing still either. With 50 kilometers to go, it started to rain. It was not just a shower; it turned into a real downpour, making the day even more challenging than it already was. Meanwhile, the gap remained stable, and in the final, things started to look increasingly promising for the leading group.

A large group reached the foot of the Michaelskreuzstrasse, the day's decisive climb. O'Connor took the lead there: the Australian saw an excellent opportunity for the GC. The pace set by the climbers left the field open at the back of the leading group: the group went from 30 to 20 to 10 riders. Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty) was among those who couldn't keep up. Further up the climb, Alaphilippe launched the final attack.

The Frenchman from Tudor accelerated, and only a few riders could follow. Vauquelin, Grégoire, and Lemmen were still there. The Dutch rider from Visma | Lease a Bike was very strong and even had the legs to accelerate. The Frenchmen dug deep in his wheel but could only hold on to the top. The four of them reached the summit and plunged into a rain-soaked descent.

Grégoire was fearless and immediately opened up a gap. The youngster from Groupama-FDJ flew over the slippery roads, but once on the less difficult sections, the chasing trio could work together. With 9 kilometers to go, the difference was seven seconds, but the final seemed to be against the lone leader. On the section where Marlen Reusser had made her move earlier in the day, Lemmen showed his strength again. He forced Alaphilippe to give up a few meters, but the tough guy managed to hang on.

Could Grégoire hold on? He maintained a lead of about 8 seconds. The Frenchman proved the strongest in the final kilometers: he gradually pulled away from the three chasers. Vauquelin won the sprint for second place from Lemmen, who finished third, about 20 seconds behind. The big favorites, including João Almeida, crossed the finish line more than 3 minutes behind the winner.