Home » Top Stories » Road »

Live Coverage - Stage 4 Tour de Suisse, 2008

Published: Jun. 18, 2008
  • 01:13 PM: Good day and welcome

    To VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the fourth stage of the 2008 Tour de Suisse, a70.7km ride from Gossau to Domat.

    The peloton is slated to roll off of the start line at 2:20 p.m. local time, with the formal start at the end of the neutral zone at about 2:27 p.m. We'll begin our live coverage a few minutes before the start.

    Today's stage features a relatively flat profile, with just two Category 3 climbs about two-thirds of the way into today's race:
    The Schellenberg, which caps out at km 113.5
    The St. Luzisteig, at km 139.3

    The day also features three intermediate sprint marks:
    At km 129
    At km 148.9
    At km 161.1

    Keep in mind that today's final climb about 30km from the finish, so we are likely to see another mass charge to the line, featuring many of the riders who finished in the top-10 in yesterday's stage:
    1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Silence-Lotto, 155km in 3:50:05 (40.48kph),
    2. Oscar Freire Gomez (Sp), Rabobank
    3. Gerald Ciolek (G), High Road
    4. Robert Forster (G), Gerolsteiner
    5. Danilo Napolitano (Ita), Lampre
    6. Alexandre Usov (Blr), Ag2r
    7. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne
    8. Erik Zabel (G), Milram
    9. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel), Silence-Lotto
    10. Andreas Dietziker (Swi), Volksbank

    We'll also be keeping an eye on the GC picture, with a tight race that could be altered by things as small as intermediate sprint bonus time and bonuses awarded at the finish in Domat today:
    1. Igor Anton Hernandez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 12:32:34
    2. Kim Kirchen (Lux), High Road, at 0:06
    3. Damiano Cunego (Ita), Lampre, at 0:12
    4. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, at 0:16
    5. Oliver Zaugg (Swi), Gerolsteiner, at 0:18
    6. Roman Kreuziger (Cz), Liquigas, at 0:21
    7. Stijn Devolder (B), Quick Step, at 0:22
    8. Thomas Lovkvist (S), High Road, at 0:25
    9. Andy Schleck (Lux), CSC, at 0:40
    10. Andreas Kloden (G), Astana, at 0:40.

  • 02:24 PM: Rolling

    The peloton - composed of 154 riders - is on its way through the 3km neutral zone... no, Star Trek fans, that's not the DMZ between the Federation and the Romulan Empire, it's the nice and civilized way to start a long bike race, so that the peloton doesn't have to dash from the line while clipping in.

    One rider, Eros Capecchi (Saunier Duval) skipped sign in and isn't starting today.

  • 02:27 PM: Today's weather

    is pretty much the same as it was yesterday: Lots of cloud cover, moderate temperatures in the mid 60s and relatively high chances for sporadic rain showers all day.

  • 02:30 PM: Drop us a line

    If you have comments, questions, complaints or whatever, go ahead and hit the "Contact our editors" link at the bottom of our Live Update Window. We'll try to answer as many as time permits and even post a few during today's coverage. We have received quite a number of emails, so we can't get to all of them, but we'll do our best.

  • 02:37 PM: The start

    and we see early attacks already.

    Matej Jurco (Milram), Jerome Pineau (Bouyges Telecom) and Jonathan Garcia (BMC) have moved ahead of the field. We'll follow the break... and cheer for Garcia, a Boulder resident, just like VeloNews.

  • 02:40 PM: With 166km to go

    the three escapees have 45 seconds on the field.

  • 02:45 PM: Big gap

    the three off the front are working hard to build up a lead and this one may stick... for a while. The gap is now up to 3:45

  • 02:56 PM: Our leaders on GC

    Our three leaders have extended their advantage to 5:25, 21km into today's stage.

    The reason these fellas have gotten away may be due in part to the fact that none of them poses a significant threat to the overall standings of the Tour de Suisse. Take a look at their relative standings:
    52. Jerume Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 6:52
    114. Jonathan Garcia (USA), BMC, at 22:12
    154. Matej Jurco (Svk), Milram, at 30:11

  • 03:00 PM: Dark clouds

    but no rain ... yet. The Three men off the front are nearing the village of Altishausen and are now 6:10 ahead of the field.

  • 03:02 PM: In Altishausen

    The leaders are now 7:02 ahead of the main field.

  • 03:06 PM: A string of small towns

    The density of population in Switzerland is quite high and the relatively small distance between villages is such that they're more like neighborhoods separated by farmers' fields: Altishausen, Siegershausen, Oftershausen, Batershausen, Kreuzlingen ... all within a five-kilometer stretch of road.

  • 03:10 PM: On right on cue!

    It's beginning to rain.

    Our three escapees are now at 30km and 7:48 ahead of the peloton.

  • 03:15 PM: Weird behavior

    Despite ending his recent dry spell yesterday, Robbie "the rocket" McEwen had nothing nice to say about riding at the Swiss Tour.

    According to the Swiss paper Blick, McEwen called the official responsible for the awards ceremony ( Kurt Betschart ), a "f---ing idiot," the race a "f---ing organization" and Switzerland a "f---ing country."

    Huh? Put a sock in it McEwen.

    As our Swiss reader Eric points out:

    Some of the other racers said they can't understand why they don't just throw him our of the race. It must not be the first time. He must not realize how many assault rifles are in every Swiss household.


    Fortunately for McEwen, Eric, the average Swiss citizen shows a little more class than he does, eh?

  • 03:17 PM: Our leaders

    are in Munsterlingen and have an advantage of 9:09.

  • 03:23 PM: The rain has

    stopped again. This seems like someone just put yesterday's weather on replay.

  • 03:27 PM: With the break

    containing no one who poses a GC threat, we expect to see much of the chase work falling to the sprinters' teams. We can expect to see teams like Milram, High Road and Rabobank take up the effort.

    Hopefully, after that work, they won't be towing the ever-gracious Mr. McEwen to another stage win, after which he can make further disparaging remarks about his hosts. Would you want to invite a wanker like that to your house for dinner?

  • 03:32 PM: 10:10

    Our leaders are in Romanshorn (46km) and they have a lead of 10:10.

  • 03:42 PM: New time check

    Our leaders are now at 52km, between the small towns of Egnach and Arbon. The rain has eased off again and the escapees have bumped their advantage to 10:23.

    BMC has been in breaks for two days now. Garcia today and Jeff Louder yesterday. The were like this at the Tour of California, too.

  • 03:46 PM: McEwen

    You might recall that we mentioned that Robbie was on the phone yesterday as he was making his way to the podium. Apparently, he was already conducting an interview with a Belgian journalist, during which he made his rather ... ill-conceived remarks. Indeed, he actually was so busy that the hosts were compelled to break with the schedule and award the yellow jersey to Igor Anton before making the podium presentation for the stage winner.

    Apparently TdS rules require stage winners to give their first post-race interview to Swiss TV. McEwen, who rides for a Belgian team, opted to do otherwise. When Swiss officials threatened to fine him for that breach of protocol, he let loose. (Thank you to reader Glen P. for filling in the details for us.)

  • 03:51 PM: Birthdays

    It's a big day in cycling today. On this date in 1945, the great Eddy Merckx was born in Meenzel-Kiezegem, in the Vlaams Brabant region to the east of Brussels, in Belgium. Happy 63rd birthday to the Cannibal!

    (Of course, we in the upper echelons of cycling journalism should know stuff like that automatically, but usually we don't. It's just that it's also the 14th birthday of Live Update Guy's son, Philip, which is a much more important occasion in these circles. Happy birthday, Philip.)

  • 03:55 PM: The pull-back

    Our leaders have reached the 60km mark, but the peloton has increased its pace. The gap has dropped by a minute over the past five kilometers and the three escapees now have an advantage of 9:23.

  • 04:11 PM: The gap

    is coming down quickly. Our three leaders are at 68km and are 8:08 ahead of the field.

  • 04:19 PM: The rain

    has stayed away for a while now. The clouds are still quite heavy, though.

    Our three leaders are at 80km, in Heerbrugg, and they're holding their lead for now. They're 8:19 ahead of the peloton.

  • 04:22 PM: Approaching the feed zone

    The leaders are coming up on the feedzone at 84.5km and they are ticking along at a healthy 40kph.

  • 04:28 PM: Chasing duties

    appear to falling to Euskaltel for the most part. Pineau is 6:52 out of first, so with the current gap of 8:54, perhaps they're a little concerned, but the guy is generally a head-banger in the Jacky Durand tradition, so Pineau is not going to pose a long-term GC threat.

  • 04:33 PM: Nearing the 90km mark

    and the leaders are still around 8:50 ahead of the main field. The weather is holding for now.

  • 04:38 PM: Our leaders are

    heading to the village of Oberriet and have extended their lead to 9:02 again.

  • 04:48 PM: 100km

    Our leaders are at the 100-kilometer point in today's stage, meaning they have 70.7km remaining and that includes two Cat. 3 climbs and a gradual tilt upwards from here tot he finish. The course is now at an altitude of around 450 meters and the finish is riht at 600. The climbs top out at 625 and 700 meters respectively.

  • 04:52 PM: Sprinkle, sprinkle

    The rain is starting up again.

  • 04:55 PM: Heading into hill country

    While the roads up until now were generally out on wide-open spaces, much of the remainder of the route will course through valleys, with two trips up and over climbs.

  • 04:58 PM: The hounds

    are chasing. The gap is again beginning to drop. Our leaders, now at 106km, are 7:32 ahead of the field.

  • 04:59 PM: Drop us a line

    If you have comments, questions, complaints or whatever, go ahead and hit the "Contact our editors" link at the bottom of our Live Update Window. We'll try to answer as many as time permits and even post a few during today's coverage. We have received quite a number of emails, so we can't get to all of them, but we'll do our best.

  • 05:00 PM: Is that sun?

    Why yes it is! We see a very slight break in the cloud-cover and the sun is making its first appearance in may days.

  • 05:02 PM: Our leaders

    are nearing the lower slopes of the Schellenberg, a Cat. 3 that tops out at the 113.5km mark. Let's see what impact this climb, and the ensuing descent, have on the trio's chances.

  • 05:04 PM: Our leaders

    are on the climb and our latest time check puts them 7:21 ahead of the main field.

    As a reminder, the men in the break (along with their relative positions on GC) are as follows:
    52. Jerume Pineau (F), Bouygues Telecom, at 6:52
    114. Jonathan Garcia (USA), BMC, at 22:12
    154. Matej Jurco (Svk), Milram, at 30:11

  • 05:05 PM: Rain again

    temptress that she is, the sun has ducked behind the clouds again and the rain is starting for third or fourth time today, at least as far as the peloton is concerned. Ahead, our leaders are still enjoying a bit of light and dry roads.

  • 05:12 PM: Up and over

    The leading three have crested the climb and are on their way down the other side. The gap has dropped to 5:48.

  • 05:14 PM: The peloton has

    summited at 5:48.

  • 05:23 PM: Out on the flats

    Both the escapees and the peloton are out on the flat section between the day's two climbs. The leaders are in Schaan (at 122km) and they lead the peloton by 4:44.

    At the front of the peloton, we see the Lotto and Rabobank teams taking up chasing duties.

  • 05:27 PM: With 46km

    to go, the leaders are seeing their advantage evaporate. The peloton is really picking up the pace. The gap is down to 4:33.

  • 05:29 PM: 3:59

    With 45km remaining, the latest time check puts the leaders 3:59 ahead of the peloton.

  • 05:33 PM: We see

    Graham Watson zooming past the peloton. He just arrived in time for yesterday's finish, after having covered the Dauphine until Sunday. We should have a fine, fine selection of Watson images for today's stage report.

    Meanwhile, the leaders are 42km from the finish and just 3:35 ahead of the peloton.

  • 05:39 PM: With 38km

    remaining, our leaders are now just 2:55 up the road, meaning the catach appears to be almost inevitable. It's always worth a try, but it doesn't always pay off.

  • 05:43 PM: Starting the second climb

    the three leaders are just on the lower slopes of the day's second Cat. 3 climb.

    With 36km remaining, the gap is 2:47. The peloton appears to be content with letting the gap hold at that for a few.

  • 05:50 PM: Up and over

    Our leaders are over the climb. They have 31km remaining and the peloton is now 2:32 behind. A catch is inevitable, folks, so we are quite likely to see a mass-sprint to the line.

    By the way, we haven't offered a weather update for a while. The sun is out, folks. It's beautiful out there now. The roads are dry and, in typical Swiss fashion, quite smooth.

  • 05:56 PM: Up and over

    The peloton has been led over the top by Steve Zampieri (Cofidis), who snagged the last climbers' points available. The gap is 2:31 with the leaders now 29km to go.

  • 05:57 PM: On the descent

    the leaders are working their way through the town of Maienfeld, one of the places we'd choose to live, assuming that we could afford too.

  • 06:02 PM: With 25km remaining

    the gap is 2:21

    . The speed is quite high for both groups right now, but - as always - the roads are smooth. Even a little stretch of cobbles in down town Maienfeld is actually pretty good.

  • 06:03 PM: With 23km

    the gap has dropped to 2:17. Both the leaders and the peloton are on the flats and the peloton is entirely strung out in single-file.

  • 06:05 PM: 22km to go

    our leaders are 2:14 ahead of the field.

  • 06:06 PM: They're contesting the sprint

    The three leaders actually tried to fight out the intermediate sprint at the 21km to go mark. Jurco beat Garcia, with Pineau trailing in third.

  • 06:07 PM: 20km to go

    The gap is 2:04.

  • 06:10 PM: Oh man

    it's beautiful in this part of the world, folks. Despite the Aussie sprinter's assertion that this is a "f---king country" the peloton is coursing its way through one of the planet's most beautiful valleys. The hills are lush and green, with the big mountains in the background, now visible as the clouds begin to clear.

    The gap, with 18km remaining, is down to 1:54.

  • 06:13 PM: At the 15km

    to go mark, our three leaders aren't giving up, but the decision does not appear to be entirely theirs. The gap is now 1:48.

  • 06:17 PM: 14km to go

    the peloton, led by a combination of High Road, Ag2r, Lotto and Rabobank, is dringing the chase and the gap is already down to 1:10.

  • 06:20 PM: Droppin'

    With 12km to go, the three leaders are 40 seconds ahead of the peloton.

  • 06:22 PM: 10km

    and just 29 seconds. Well, Mr. Garcia, you made Boulder proud. Nice ride.

  • 06:23 PM: Nine kilometers

    to go and the gap is 20 seconds. The three leaders are pushing it... are they trying for that last intermediate sprint?

  • 06:24 PM: Nope

    the didn't fight that one. Jurca rides through first, but the three of them are not surrendering.

  • 06:25 PM: 8km

    and 14 seconds. Euskaltel is moving up to prtect Anton's lead and to set up their sprinter, Koldo.

  • 06:25 PM: 7km

    and 12 seconds

  • 06:26 PM: Six kilometers

    and the catch is made. Caught.

  • 06:27 PM: High Road

    moves to the front... the peloton is strung out in single file for about 30 riders with the big mass of riders trailing.

  • 06:28 PM: Fast

    Despite the slight uphill grade, the peloton is driving along at nearly 55kph. Five km to go

  • 06:29 PM: Milram, Gerolsteiner and High Road

    are all near the front, with 4km to go.

  • 06:30 PM: Vroooom

    With 3km to go, the peloton is still led by High Road... errrr... Team Columbia.

  • 06:31 PM: Quick Step

    moving up, but it's still High Road driving the pace with 2km to go.

  • 06:31 PM: Quick Step is now up front

    with the peloton heading to the final kilometer.

  • 06:32 PM: Silence Lotto

    is now chasing a quick attack by an FDJ rider.

  • 06:33 PM: Charge

    The big charge. McEwen leads... with Ciolek giving a hard chase and....

    and McEwen gets it. Gee... that should thrill the locals.

  • 06:35 PM: Preliminary results

    1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Silence-Lotto
    2. Oscar Freire (Sp), Rabobank
    3. Gerald Ciolek (G), High Road

    Folks, that's an exact repeat of yesterday's top-three.

  • 06:36 PM: No change in GC

    Igor Anton will remain in yellow.

  • 06:40 PM: McEwen

    is giving the first interview of the day to..... Swiss television. Good on ya, Robbie.

    He's saying that the paper blew the issue out of proportion.

    "It's not true. I love Switzerland and I love being here."

  • 06:43 PM: Okay, thanks for tuning in

    With no change in GC, Igor Anton gets another jersey for his collection.

    And we're going to close down shop - at least as far as Live coverage is concerned. Have a good day and be sure to tune in tomorrow, when we have a day for the climbers.