Bahrain - Victorious have this morning announced the departure from the
Tour de Suisse from two of it's main riders,
Gino Mäder and
Hermann Pernsteiner who were expected to play a big role in the mountainous stages.
Mäder had been hinted as one of the big favourites for the race, and he himself said this was was "
the highlight of my season". He had visibly struggled throughout the opening stages, being dropped from the GC group on several occasions, and it has been confirmed that the heat caused serious difficulties to the Swiss climber.
His teammate Hermann Pernsteiner, who alongside Mäder is scheduled to be at the Tour de France, has also pulled the plug on his race. Bahrain - Victorious remain in the yellow jersey as Stephen Williams remains solid in the position he's obtained on the first day, but the Briton will now have virtually no support entering the most complicated stages of the race.