Fabian Lienhard Shines in Front of His Home Crowd
Fabian Lienhard, a local favorite, took advantage of the Tour de Suisse passing through his hometown to break away during the third stage of the race on Tuesday. In the hilly final stretch towards Rüschlikon, he saw the peloton catch up before Thibau Nys dominated a hill sprint. Caught in the splits, Lenny Martinez conceded sixteen seconds at the finish line and now trails thirty seconds behind the new yellow jersey holder Alberto Bettiol. Tomorrow, the French climber will return to his favorite terrain with a summit finish at Gotthardpass.
At first glance, a calm day seemed to be in store for the Tour de Suisse riders on Tuesday, at least until the challenging forty last kilometers towards Rüschlikon. Fabian Lienhard, who hails from Steinmaur, intended to make the most of this third stage, starting in his birth city. “We were on his training roads, we left not far from his childhood home,” said Thierry Bricaud. “He took the opportunity to spend the day at the front even though we knew it would end in a group finish, among punchers.” “It was really nice to start from home, where we used to meet with Mauro Schmid and Johan Jacobs when we were younger to train on Wednesday afternoons after school,” Fabian recounted. “There was a chance to break away, and after five kilometers, we left with two Swiss team riders, my friend Johan, and a Corratec-Vini Fantini rider.” The thirty-year-old accompanied Johan Jacobs, Luca Jenni, Christoph Janssen, and Roberto Gonzalez in the breakaway of the day, and the quintet had a lead of up to 3’30 while averaging nearly 48 km/h in the first two hours of the race. “It was a good group, we rode hard but the peloton didn’t let us go,” added Fabian. “They caught us quite early but that’s how it goes. It was a nice attempt, and it’s always nice to show yourself in the breakaway on your home roads.”
Thierry Bricaud stated, “We will have a first element of answer” as Fabian Lienhard saw the peloton catch up in the last thirty kilometers, with the selection already starting from the back. The fast pace continued in the final two climbs of the route, and Marc Hirschi tried to anticipate the uphill finish in Rüschlikon (700m at 7%). It was ultimately Thibau Nys who led a single-file peloton across the line. “The main goal was for Lenny not to lose time and not to get caught in the splits,” said Thierry. “Unfortunately, he got caught up a bit in the finale. The level is high, and when things get going, it rolls very fast. He wasn’t too badly placed, but everyone was elbowing and trying to find their spot, and in the final surge, he lost the elastic. It went very quickly after that, and he stayed where he was. He lost a bit of time at the finish line, but stayed roughly in the mix, which is essential. It’s part of his learning process.” Thirty-sixth at the finish, Lenny Martinez conceded sixteen seconds to the winner and around ten seconds to his direct competitors. In the general classification, this puts him thirtieth, thirty seconds behind the yellow jersey holder Alberto Bettiol. On Wednesday, the Tour de Suisse will already climb to new heights with a summit finish at Gotthardpass (8km at 6.5%), especially after thirty-five ascending kilometers. “We will have a first element of answer for the riders who have ambitions for the general classification,” Thierry concluded.