Felix Engelhardt extended his lead in the mountains classification at the Tour de Suisse after strong day for Team Jayco AlUla that saw Mauro Schmid spend the day in the break and Ben O’Connor keep his fifth place overall.
Engelhardt had a two-point lead in the competition going into the stage, having taken the lead on the opening day after getting into a key breakaway. With a mission in mind on stage two, he jumped out of the peloton over each of the day’s three climbs to secure himself enough points to increase his lead in the mountains standings.
Schmid is now second in the competition after leading the breakaway over all of the ascents. The Swiss national champion was the last man standing from a breakaway that formed in the opening kilometre of the stage, only being reeled back in by the peloton with around 14km remaining.
For his efforts, Schmid was awarded the day’s combativity prize for the most aggressive rider. Adding to the team’s strong ride, Ben O’Connor comfortably maintained his fifth place in the general classification.
Alongside Engelhardt and Luke Durbridge, O’Connor made it into a surprise breakaway on stage one that stayed away to the line and saw the Australian gain important time in the overall classification. With some important mountain stages to come, O’Connor is within touching distance of the podium.
Felix Engelhardt
“It’s nice to keep the mountains jersey for another day. I was hoping for a bit more in the final, but I was also a bit à bloc from the previous day and going in the breakaway.”
Mauro Schmid
“It was a good day in the breakaway. Unfortunately, we didn’t really get a bit gap over the peloton, but in the end, I still tried and did what I could. It wasn’t enough but we will try again tomorrow.”
Tour de Suisse mountains classification
1. Felix Engelhardt (Team Jayco AlUla) 15pts
2. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) 12pts
Tour de Suisse general classification
1. Romain Grégoire 06:46:01
2. Kévin Vauquelin +25
3. Bart Lemmen +27
5. Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) +1:18
