With the first professional victory of his career, the Austrian Felix Gall surprisingly took over the yellow jersey at the Tour de Suisse and stole the show from the top stars.
The 25-year-old single-handedly clinched victory on the fourth stage over 152.5 kilometers from Monthey to Leukerbad, replacing Mattias Skjelmose from Denmark, who was third this time, at the top of the overall standings.
Belgian road cycling world champion Remco Evenepoel finished second, but struggled again on the climb and lost more than a minute to Gall. Gall now sits two seconds ahead of Skjelmose and 16 seconds ahead of Evenepoel in the overall standings.
“A new experience for me”
“I’m overwhelmed and can’t quite believe it yet. I’m in the best shape of my life. I hope I can enjoy it. Let’s see what’s possible on Thursday. It’s a new experience for me to be at this level drive,” said Gall, who has been a pro for four years and has made a leap in performance with several top-five finishes this year.
The two-time German champion Maximilian Schachmann belonged to the group of favorites for a long time and finally reached the finish line 1:49 minutes behind in tenth place. The native of Berlin thus improved to 16th place in the overall ranking.
Difficult climbs await the riders again on Thursday when the fifth stage covers 211 kilometers from Fiesch to La Punt over the Furka Pass, the Oberalp Pass and the Abula Pass.