The shortened stage from Ulrichen to Blatten-Belalp was a speedy one. It was a sprint from the start but at the finish it was João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) who claimed the stage win just ahead of his teammate and overall leader Adam Yates.
Instead of riding from Ticino over the Nufenen Pass, the teams had to transfer to Valais in the morning via the Furka car transport. With the Pass closed due to weather conditions the shortened stage started in Ulrichen. As a result the 42.5 kilometres to Blatten-Belalp were ridden at full speed from the very beginning.
A three-man breakaway including Stefan Bissegger (EF Education EasyPost) was able to open up a narrow lead of around one minute. The Swiss rider had his sights set primarily on the Tissot intermediate sprint. Indeed, Bissegger won the special prize receiving the much prized watch at the finish. Not long after this sprint classification the breakaway was caught by the peloton.
Duel for stage glory
With 3.5 kilometres to go, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) seized the moment again. Despite solid efforts from last year’s winner Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) he was able to pull away.
Still it wasn’t quite enough for victory, as his teammate Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) had the stronger legs over the final metres to snatch the stage win from Yates.
For the time being nothing changes in the GC. Yates retains the yellow jersey but the gap between him and teammate Almeida is reduced to 27 seconds. “I’m very happy about this win,” said Almeida afterwards in a TV interview. When asked about the GC duel within the team he said: “We will always ride as a team and respect each other. At the end of the day, whoever is stronger wins”. The battle for overall victory is well and truly underway ahead of the final two stages.
