14/06/2023

Felix Gall turns Tour de Suisse on it's head as he wins stage 4 with long-range attack and takes over yellow jersey

Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse saw a summit finish at Leukerbad, most of the GC contenders couldn't distance themselves, but Felix Gall anticipated the attacks and has soared into a stage win that has earned him the race lead.

The day in the mountains started off with a long pan-flat section, but the pace was high all throughout. A group of 10 riders forced the peloton into a focused chase, this includes Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Nikias Arndt (Bahrain - Victorious), Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers), Daryl Impey (Israel - Premier Tech), Kristian Sbaragli (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Stan Dewufl (AG2R Citroën Team), Luca Mozzato (Arkéa Samsic), Lluís Mas (Movistar Team), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny) and Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM).

Prize Money Critérium du Dauphiné 2023 - €144,024 to be split between teams

The group entered the first climb of the day to Crans-Montana with only 2 minutes of advantage, with Gino Mäder attacking from the peloton and bridging across to the breakaway. The gap remained relatively stable until the riders reached the base of the string of ascents that led into Leukerbad.

Calmejane attacked out front early on, but was caught by remnants of the group, however the spectacle unfolded behind as Felix Gall attacked together with a teammate, a team attack which saw the gap grow quickly as no team responded.

Accelerations eventually came as the pace was conservative, among those Romain Bardet and Wilco Kelderman, however there responses came quickly. Mattias Skjelmose remained calm in the GC group as the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso were dropped in the tough gradients.

The following kilometers saw a few small climbs and descents where attacks continued in the chasing group, the very same three attackers individually got a gap and bridged across to each other by the top of the penultimate hilltop, however the high pace in the Skjelmose group saw the gap close, as Gall extended his lead into 1:15 minutes at the summit.

Gall took a solo victory, his first as a pro which has also seen him take over the race lead. Remco Evenepoel sprinted to second place on the road whilst Skjelmose took third place.