The first big mountain pass of the Tour de Suisse, the Splügenpass, awaited the peloton today. Officially almost nine kilometres at seven percent in gradient, the road beforehand climbed up in steps, so the whole ascent could be categorised at four percent for almost 35 kilometres; with those steeper gradients in the finale as they crested above 2100 metres in elevation.
From the start a fierce pace was set in the peloton as multiple teams and riders looked to make the breakaway. The attacks continued for well over an hour before eventually a group went clear out front. Team Picnic PostNL stayed within the peloton and rallied around Oscar Onley, keeping him well positioned for what was to come. On the ascent the team took control and started to up the pace, ensuring that the breakaway was within a catchable distance. Then onto the steeper section of the climb, the tempo ramped up even further and the peloton split to shreds. Onley climbed superbly to top the ascent in third place, and rode a good descent down the other side behind lone-leader Almeida.
More riders joined Onley’s group as they approached the bottom of the descent and despite there being a few riders going through and off, the pace started to go out from the group and Almeida’s advantage extended. Sensing that, Onley almost made a stealth attack off the front when he was making his pull at the front and he was quickly joined by O’Connor. The duo worked well together for the final five kilometres and kept rotating, extending the gap to those behind come the line, where Onley once more produced a strong kick to take second place on the stage; and with that move up to eighth on GC.
