Ilan Van Wilder concludes the day with the main bunch.
Stage 1 of the Tour de Suisse was a rain-soaked one, and this helped the huge breakaway make it to the finish against all odds and completely rewrite the script of the battle for the overall glory, as among those who managed to gain minutes on the peloton on Sunday were also some of the general classification riders.
Before this huge group forged a gap of three minutes, Pieter Serry tried his luck and attempted to go up the road, only for the bunch to quickly react and bring that move back after just a couple of kilometers. Then, to the surprise of many, 28 riders went clear and kept their advantage on the field pretty much intact, despite the presence of the steep Michaelskreuz climb not far from the finish.
An attack in the final kilometers from what at that point was a splintered breakaway saw Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) take the victory and the first leader’s jersey of the race in Küssnacht, while the peloton – which included also Soudal Quick-Step’s Ilan Van Wilder – concluded this strange stage more than three minutes down on the winner.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
