Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) bounced back to winning form as he triumphed from a slow-motion uphill sprint on day three of the Tour de Suisse.
The 21-year-old Belgian, son of cyclo-cross great Sven Nys, held off Stevie Williams (Israel Premier Tech) at the line in Rüschlikon, claiming his sixth victory of the season.
After the stage, the Lidl-Trek rider sat on a plastic chair behind the podium, sobbing proudly with his head in his hands.
"It's unbelievable. I cannot put into words how this feels and what it means to me," Nys said, red-eyed. "It's so nice to show the good form of the last few weeks. I've been dreaming about this stage for a long time already."
Last Friday, a crash in the final sprint at the one-day GP Gippingen left Nys frustrated and seeking revenge.
"I was so disappointed after the crash in Gippingen and it was difficult to get over it because I knew I was close to winning there," he said. "From the race to the hotel, we did the recon of this stage, and I tried to put my mind in the right direction, and it all worked out.
"Yesterday I was struggling a lot, today as well I was not feeling good on the bike," he added. "But the guys pulled me through it and I started to believe in it. It all worked out."
There was a change at the top of the general classification as Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), third on the stage, took over the race lead from Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step).
How it happened
Although labelled as "flat" in the race guide, stage three of the Tour de Suisse counted three categorised climbs and almost 2,000m of elevation en route to Rüschlikon.
The day began with news of Nairo Quintana's (Movistar) withdrawal, the Colombian revealed to have fractured his wrist in a crash on stage two.
From the flag drop, a five-rider breakaway, made up mostly of local Swiss riders, sailed clear up the road. Among them was Johan Jacobs (Movistar), whose childhood cycling club was based in the day's start town of Steinmaur. Riding with boyish spirit, the 27-year-old chose to ditch his compatriots with 31km to go, launching a solo attack.
Alone, Jacobs picked up points in the mountains and sprint classifications. He used his time on screen to pay homage to Gino Mäder – who tragically died at the race last year – pointing to his pink #RideForGino wristband when the camera panned in on him.
Jacobs was caught by the peloton with 18km to go, on the penultimate categorised climb. With the final summit then in sight, bids for the stage win started to multiply. Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers) attacked first, followed by recent Giro d’Italia stage winner Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates). No move, however, was stinging enough to last.
On the descent, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) briefly gapped the pack, then sat up to deal with a minor bike issue. Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) then animated a short incline with 3km to go, dodging an errant dog walker, but was unable to hold off the reducing bunch behind him.
In the end, it came down to a sprint on the drag to the line, and the honours went to Nys.
Results
Tour de Suisse 2024, stage three: Steinmaur > Rüschlikon (161.7km)
1. Thibau Nys (Bel) Lidl-Trek, in 3:27:31
2. Stephen Williams (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
3. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost)
4. Roger Adrià (Esp) Bora-Hansgrohe
5. Paul Lapeira (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
6. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
7. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, all at same time
8. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +3s
9. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, both at same time
General classification after stage three
1. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost, in 7:39:20
2. Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +6s
3. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
4. Stephen Williams (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech, both at same time
5. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +9s
6. Finn Fisher-Black (NZl) UAE Team Emirates
7. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, both at same time
8. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +10s
9. Jan Christen (Sui) UAE Team Emirates, +11s
10. Roger Adrià (Esp) Bora-Hansgrohe, +13s
