20th June – Stage 6: Chur – Neuhausen am Rheinfall
Stage 6 featured a 4-man breakaway that established itself early and built a lead of over three minutes. With 50 kilometres to go, the gap stood at 1’23”, while the peloton set a steady pace, with our riders contributing to the chase. The breakaway continued to work well together and maintained a 1-minute advantage with 25 kilometres remaining. As the race approached its final phase, our riders and a few other teams increased their efforts at the front of the peloton in an attempt to close the gap. With less than 10 kilometres to go, the gap began to come down rapidly. The breakaway was eventually caught inside the final kilometre, setting up a bunch sprint in Neuhausen am Rheinfall. Pavel Bittner was in a good position heading into the sprint but was boxed in during the final few hundred metres. He crossed the line in 7th place.
After the stage Bittner said: “We went into today thinking it could be a good opportunity for a sprint, though we knew the climbs would make it challenging. Early on, the guys were up front controlling the break, and over the climbs things went pretty well—even though it wasn’t easy and the heat made it tough. After that, the pace really picked up. Edmo did some really strong work on the front and we managed to catch the break in time. The final was total chaos, but I stayed together with Warren and Sean. I moved up well into the roundabout and was in a good position for the sprint, but then a few guys came around me and I had nowhere to go. It’s a bit frustrating, I was where I needed to be and the legs were good, but in the end I didn’t even get the chance to sprint properly.”