Tour de Suisse (st. 3)

Portuguese takes 2nd in Meiringen behind Sagan (CAN), jumps into 3rd overall; Italian places in 6th, sits in 4th GC after big performance through Hasliberg climb in infamous weather

Great result from Movistar Team once again at a 2013 Vuelta a Suiza where they’re confirming themselves as one of the strongest blocks in the race. The telephone squad had to undergo several obstacles on stage three, held under rain over 205 kilometers from Montreux to Meiringen. A strong 18-man break including the likes of Boonen, Gilbert, Terpstra, Breschel or Albasini forced the Blues to push iwht Gutiérrez, Jesús Herrada, Karpets or Sanz to keep things under control before the Hasliberg (Cat-1) ascent, whose top was just 19k from the finish. At the climb, Rui Costa and Giovanni Visconti always kept position into a bunch that crested with only 15 riders in search of a technical descent.

At the first 2k of dangerous downhill, Costa opened a gap along with Sagan (CAN), Frank (BMC) and Kreuziger (TST), while a notable Visconti awaited for his moment on the wheel of the second group. Cooperation within the four leading riders allowed them reaching the finish -where theorical favourite Sagan beat Rui- with around forty seconds of advantage, with Giovanni taking sixth by winning his own sprint. The outing from the two Blues made a major change in the overall, with Frank in the lead, Kreuziger in second and Costa and Visconti in 3rd and 4th, all of them within a minute of distance. Tuesday will see the race get back into calm lands, with 174km between Innertkirchen and Buochs marking the first of three stages before the showdown on Friday (Albulapass) and Sunday (mixed ITT up the Flumserberg).