Several corona cases have significantly reduced the field of participants in the 85th Tour de Suisse of professional cyclists. The Dutch Jumbo Visma team did not start the fifth stage in Ambri on Thursday.
This was announced by the team around Sepp Kuss (USA), who was seventh overall to date, before the start of the fifth part of the day. “The reason for this is that despite all the precautionary measures, Corona crept into the team again,” it said. It was not announced who was infected by the seven professionals participating in the Tour of Switzerland.
The DSM team also reported the retirement of the Danes Sören Kragh and Casper Pedersen and the Dutchman Cees Bol due to corona. In the Ineos Grenadiers team, Brit Adam Yates, who was tenth overall, tested positive and was withdrawn from the race. A total of 16 professional cyclists did not compete in the fifth stage, but not all because of Corona.
Wlassow gets the day’s win – chess man ninth
Not only because of the failures, the top of the overall classification was mixed up after the end of the stage. The new leader is the Russian Alexander Wlassow from the German Bora-hansgrohe team, who won the stage after 190.1 kilometers in Novazzano in a sprint in a leading group and replaced the British Stephen Williams as the wearer of the yellow jersey. The best German was Vlasow’s teammate Maximilian Schachmann, who had recovered well from his fall on Tuesday, in ninth place, six seconds behind.
The sixth stage on Friday covers 177.5 kilometers from Locarno to the top of the mountain in Moosalp at an altitude of 2,048 meters. With the 2478 meter high Nufenenpass, another mountain of the highest category is on the program beforehand. The Tour de Suisse ends on Sunday with an individual time trial in Vaduz.