Tour de Suisse 2024 - Stage 3: Nys wins in Rüschlikon - Bettiol takes yellow
Thomas Goldmann
· 11.06.2024
Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) had the greatest stamina in the uphill finale of stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse 2024. The 21-year-old Belgian came out on top after 167.1 kilometres between Steinmaur and Rüschlikon ahead of Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education EasyPost). This is Nys' eighth victory as a professional and his third in Switzerland. The youngster had previously won a stage of the Tour de Romandie this spring and the Grand Prix of the Canton of Aargau in 2023. However, Nys crashed in a promising position in the sprint at this year's edition last Friday.
Thibau Nys on victory on stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse 2024
"I've been dreaming of this stage for a long time. After the crash in Gippingen, I was very disappointed because I was close to winning there. On the way from the race to the hotel, we watched this stage here. I tried to get my head right. Yesterday and today I struggled and didn't feel good on the bike, but the guys piloted me really well and I believed in it. And it worked out in the end," said Thibau Nys in the winner's interview.
There is a new leader in the overall standings. The yellow jersey has moved from Yves Lampaert (Soudal - Quick Step) to Alberto Bettiol, who now leads the overall classification ahead of Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike).
Tour de Suisse 2024 - Results: the top 10 of stage 3
- Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) 3:27:31
- Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) +0:00
- Alberto Bettiol (EF Education EasyPost) +0:00
- Roger Adria (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:00
- Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0:00
- Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:00
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +0:00
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) +0:03
- Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:03
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education EasyPost) +0:03
The current standings in the overall standings
- Alberto Bettiol (EF Education EasyPost) 7:39:20
- Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:06
- Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:06
- Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) +0:06
- Joao Almeida (UAE Team EMirates) +0:09
- Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates) +0:09
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) +0:09
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +0:10
- Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) +0:11
- Roger Adria (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:13
How the 3rd stage of the Tour de Suisse went
After the crashes on stage 2, there were two withdrawals for stage 3: Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), who suffered a broken hip and collarboneand Nairo Quintana (Movistar), who had broken his hand on Monday. After the start, five breakaways initially dominated the race: Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Luca Jenni and Christoph Janssen (both Swiss national team), Roberto Carlos Gonzalez (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini) and Fabian Lienhard (Groupama-FDJ). Their maximum lead over the peloton was around four minutes.
As the hilly finale began, the leading group fell apart. Jacobs broke away, Lienhard and Janssen were the first breakaway riders to be swallowed up by the peloton, followed by Jenni and Gonzalez. Around 18 kilometres before the finish, Jacobs was also caught again. EF Education EasyPost set a very high pace.
Attacks in the finale of stage 3
Brandon Smith Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers) opened the attacks on the climb to the Albis Pass, the last categorised climb of the day, and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and later Rivera's team-mate Thomas Pidcock also tried it on the descent. However, Marc Hirschi's (UAE Team Emirates) attempt looked really promising when he pulled away in a counter wave three kilometres before the finish.
Scary moment for Marc Hirschi
The Swiss rider opened up a lead of around five seconds on the peloton and shortly afterwards had to survive a scary moment on the descent when a woman with a dog tried to cross the road but then abandoned. Alpecin-Deceuninck gradually narrowed the gap to Hirschi as the race climbed again. In the end, it was Valentin Paret-Peintre for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale who caught Hirschi in the final kilometre.
On the uphill road, Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike) opened the sprint 300 metres before the finish, Thibau Nys passed 150 metres before the finish with Alberto Bettiol (EF Education EasyPost) and Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) in tow. However, nobody was able to counter the young Belgian's kick.
