Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Bert Grabsch made the move of the 187.9km Tour de Suisse Stage 6 on Thursday, making a four rider escape group that had more than a 14 minute advantage late into a stage with only two Category 3 climbs and a descent into a flat finish.
The peloton did not start making a reduction in the gap until less than 20km to go, but the breakaway still had more than a 12 minute advantage in the last 10km.
The four riders — Gregory Rast (Radioshack-Leopart), Mathew Hayman (Sky ProCycling), Grabsch and Alexandre Kolobnev (Katusha)— played cat and mouse into the final kilometer. Grabsch tried twice to attack, but was unable to get a gap. Rast took his chance under the flamme rouge and was able to win the stage solo, with Hayman 2nd, and Kolobnev 3rd.
OPQS looks next to a 206km stage 7 on Friday.
"After one hour of fighting I entered in the good breakaway," Grabsch said. "We went with four guys and we took immediately a good rhythm. The gap between us and the group was increasing kilometer by kilometer. At 80 kilometers to go we had more than 10 minutes so we understood that it was possible to make it until the end. On the final climb nobody really attacked, so I was able to stay in the front. In the final I was really tired, but I tried to attack twice. I knew that I had no chance against the others at the final sprint so I tried. Rast closed the gap two times. He was really the best one in the breakaway today. But I'm happy with my race. For a guy like me it's always something special to get into a breakaway and go until the end, I'm proud of my day. Tomorrow we will try again to try to get one stage."