The stage took the peloton from Chur to Neuhausen am Rheinfall. After a tough start featuring two second-category climbs, the route levelled out heading into the final. Right after the start, a battle broke out for a place in the early breakaway. Both Bart Lemmen and Thomas Gloag were active in the opening phase. A strong lead group of five riders formed. Lemmen and Gloag made attempts to bridge across, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.  

In the run-up to the sprint, Tiesj Benoot suffered a minor crash at the back of the peloton. Fortunately, the 31-year-old Belgian was able to continue without major issues. Meanwhile, the last remaining escapees – Stefan Küng, Harry Sweeny, and Mauro Schmid – were only reeled in during the final kilometres by the charging peloton. In the bunch sprint, Meeus proved the fastest. Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders played no part in the finale. Tomorrow sees the last regular stage, followed by the concluding time trial on Sunday.  

“We did everything we could to get someone into the early break,” reflected sports director Maarten Wynants. “A few riders, including Küng and Schmid, made up the first serious move. Bart and Thomas put in a big effort to close the gap, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. There really wasn’t much more in it for us today. Sadly, Tiesj was also involved in a crash towards the end, but luckily he escaped with just some abrasions. In tomorrow’s challenging stage, we’ll be looking to show ourselves again – hopefully in the breakaway.”