Reusser beats Vollering in final stage and wins CG of Tour de Suisse

After the first stage, in which Marlen Reusser beat Demi Vollering, the real action had to wait until the following two stages. Mischa Bredewold almost won the third stage, but the Tour de Suisse would be decided in the final stage. With a tough climb 15 kilometers from the finish, it was sure that the battle would erupt there. The winner of the stage could well be the winner of the GC.

During the opening phase, Küssnacht was very nervous. There were many breakaways in the wet conditions, as well as crashes. Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ), the winner of the final stage of the Tour of Catalonia, went on the attack. Still, only the Afghan Fariba Hashimi (CERATIZIT) remained ahead of the peloton for a while. When she was caught with 90 kilometers to go, the race continued to be turbulent. No one could make a difference for a long time, but with 50 kilometers to go, Henrietta Christie (EF Education - Oatly) managed to break away.

She won the intermediate sprint in Arth, but Reusser and Vollering fiercely contested it behind her. The Dutch rider was the strongest in a millimeter sprint, gaining a second. Two to go! The New Zealand leader was then joined by Julia Borgström (AG Insurance - Soudal) and home rider Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx - Protime). They didn't get much space, as the peloton was less than a minute behind. They were almost caught on the Adligensswillerstrasse, the penultimate climb of the day.

The trio struggled to stay ahead of the pack for a while, but all eyes were on the Michaelskreuzstrasse, the challenging final climb. The breakaway riders were caught at the foot of the climb, and Reusser immediately took the lead. Her goal was clear: keep the pace high so her rival couldn't escape. The peloton immediately thinned out to a select group of favorites. Vollering followed, as did Kasia Niewiadoma, Marion Bunel, and a handful of other climbers.

Vollering stayed with them: the FDJ-SUEZ leader didn't have the legs to go it alone. When Niewiadoma accelerated below the summit, only Reusser, Niamh Fisher-Black, and Vollering could keep up, although the Dutch rider was struggling. She had to push to keep up the pace, but the four entered the descent together. There, it was the two rivals who looked at each other. They were feeling each other out, both trying to see if they could sneak away.

Niewiadoma succeeded in doing so. She gained a few meters, and Reusser forced Vollering to the front. She did the work to catch up with the Polish rider, and when the gap was almost closed, the yellow jersey wearer struck. She shot away on a nasty uphill stretch, and Vollering had no answer to her acceleration. The Swiss rider steadily extended her lead and rode unchallenged to the finish line. Vollering no longer had the energy to win the sprint from Niewiadoma, who finished second.