Due to bad weather, stage 6 of the 2024 Tour de Suisse has been forced into a change. The result? 42 kilometres of full gas racing. All-in-all, virtually one hour of racing.
It's a novel stage for sure. Long enough to be considered for a time-trial challenge but ridden as a peloton and a first category climb towards the end but other than that, not much to test the riders. It's likely to either be a rest day on the bike mid-race, or one of the toughest days of the race if the riders take to it full gas from the start.
One of those riders who'll be in and amongst the drama of the day, will be INEOS Grenadiers' Tom Pidcock. It's fair to say that the Brit isn't totally enthusiastic about the idea of an hour long effort in a stage race however, despite his capabilities of such performances on the cyclocross circuit.
"You could compare it with a cross. The difference is that you won't have any bends to breathe for a while," says the 24-year-old, who sits 8th in the general classification, 2:46 down on compatriot Adam Yates in the fight for the Maillot Jaune, in comments collected by Het Nieuwsblad. "I think it's a pity that that big climb has been canceled. It could have been such a beautiful ride, now I think so. especially treacherous. It is not a rest day and it is not a full-fledged mountain ride. In fact, it is mainly a waste of time."
Despite the short, sharp nature of the day, make no mistake, the final ascent, despite looking small in the overall profile of the stage, is brutal and can also see meaningful gaps created amongst the general classification riders. With such short distances, it could also see interesting race dynamics or a few unexpected favourites who will benefit from the lack of overall difficulty in the day.
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