Stage 7 of Tour de Suisse 2024 was organized as a challenging mountain battle around Vollars-sur-Ollon in Switzerland. The stage featured two Category 2 climbs and two Category 1 climbs. The roundtrip route invited the riders in the professional cycling peloton to contest the Col de la Croix and Villars-sur-Ollon climbs no less than two times each.

Tomorrow’s final stage 8 of the 2024 Tour de Suisse was planned as an individual mountain time trial, so it was a possible scenario that some General Classification favorites would try to conserve energy in today’s stage, depending on how the stage action would develop.

UAE Team Emirates’ Adam Yates was leading the general classification before today’s stage 7. Teammate Joao Almeida was in second place, while Egan Bernal (Ineos-Grenadiers) was third and last year’s winner Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) was fourth, with high hopes of advancing to a spot on the final General Classification podium.

The hostilities started early and several breakaway attempts were launched shortly after the start of the stage on the Col de la Croix and the descent that followed. 

A breakaway group featuring eight men was established after twenty-five kilometers of intensive racing. The group featured Harold Lopez (Astana), Finlay Pickering (Bahrain Victorious), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon-AG2R), Einer Rubio (Movistar), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Swiss rider Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) and the Lotto-Dstny duo of Sylvain Moniquet and Maxim van Gils. Raul Garcia Pierna (Arkea – B & B Hotels) and Harrison Wood (Cofidis) were chasing forty seconds behind, while the peloton was 01:20 minutes behind the front men.

The riders were passing though classic Swiss mountain terrain featuring raw mountain cliffs, numerous forests, vine fields, and curvy roads. Famous Swiss watch brand Tissot was again responsible for controlling the timing as official timekeeper of Tour de Suisse. 

Ineos-Grenadiers riders were setting a fast pace at the front of the main peloton to keep the breakaway optimists within reach for the climbers in the team. 

The front group reached the Villars-sur-Ollon climb (Category One; 7.9 km; 7.6 % average gradient) with an advantage of 01:40 minutes over the chasing peloton. Ineos was still at the front of the peloton, but UAE Team Emirates riders were closely monitoring the action a few meters behind for their race leader Adam Yates.

The riders in the breakaway group were cooperating well on the difficult climb. 

Christen attacked from the breakaway group with sixty kilometers remaining of today’s challenging stage. Valentin Paret-Peintre joined the Swiss rider. The other six attackers were ten seconds behind. While the riders were now close to the top of the Col de la Croix climb, several climbing kilometers and a dangerous descent still awaited the riders in the stage.

Christen and Paret-Peintre were later replaced at the front by Staune-Mittet, who was showing great form in the uphill battle. Meanwhile, further back several riders were being dropped from the main peloton. The Ineos-Grenadiers team was still focused on making things as hard as possible. Some riders from the breakaway group were now getting reeled in.

Staune-Mittet was first across the top of the Col de la Croix with an advantage of approximately forty seconds over the chasing peloton. He was now the last man standing from the original breakaway group.

While Staune-Mittet was still in front with forty kilometers remaining, the main favorites group had been significantly reduced in size thanks to the hard work from Ineos-Grenadiers. Only approximately twenty riders remained, and UAE Team Emirates moved to the front of the group while being tailed by Movistar riders.

The riders passed by the UCI World Cycling Centre as they approached the final climb to the finish line. Staune-Mittet had remarkably increased his lead to 01:34 minutes at this point.

Staune-Mittet was first to reach the final climb to the finish line in Villars-sur-Ollon. Ineos-Grenadiers were setting the pace to try to catch Staune-Mittet for their climbers. They needed a stage win or a better position in the General Classification.

Staune-Mittet was first to reach both Tissot King of the Mountain Classification sprint spots on the route. He was, however, caught shortly after the second Tissot sprint by the chasing favorites group, which was headed by Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R).

Gall broke away from the main favorites and was still solo in front with two kilometers left of the stage.

Matthew Riccitello (Team PremierTech) attacked from behind and was joined by Adam Yates and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). They caught Gall and passed him.

Yates attacked approximately 1.6 kilometers from the finish line and was joined by teammate Almeida on his wheel.

Yates and Almeida crossed the finish line hand in hand, but with Yates as stage winner. Yates, thereby, also took valuable bonus seconds for the General Classification. Riccitello completed the stage podium.

Adam Yates increased his lead in the General Classification before tomorrow’s stage 8 – an individual mountain time trial.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for additional coverage from Tour de Suisse 2024.

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