Biding his time to see if his Vacansoleil DCM team-mate Marcato could stay clear to win the stage, then hitting the jets when it was obvious he’d be caught, Borut Bozic blasted around triple world champion Oscar Freire to take today’s fifth leg of the Tour de Suisse.
The Slovenian judged his effort best of all the top riders, remaining patient when Tom Boonen (QuickStep) floored it with one kilometre to go and then waiting when Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo) pushed forward with 500 metres remaining. They faded on the uphill run to the line, as did Freire inside the final 50 metres.
Bozic had done things perfectly, though, and came through to land his biggest win since stage six of the 2009 Vuelta a España.
Freire netted second, with Sagan picking up third and American rider Tejay Van Garderen (HTC Highroad) collecting an unexpected fourth. Marcato hung on for sixth, and then hung on to his team-mate Bozic after the line when he became visibility emotional about his win. The long embrace showed what the stage win meant to him, and also the team spirit which earned the team victory against some of the bigger ProTeam squads.
“My last [major] win was in 2009, a stage in the Tour of Spain and even today I hadn't expected to do so well,” he told reporters after the stage. “I told my team mate Marcato to attack in the last kilometre, because I felt a bit rough, and that if he couldn't make it, I'd try for the sprint. We were lucky it all worked out.”
Having had a tough season meant that the success was all the more appreciated. “I've had a very difficult last six months, no wins and never really feeling good on the bike,” he continued. “Today I thought it wasn't my day, either, but with 50 metres to go I got on Freire's back wheel, then got past him at the last possible moment."
Overall leader Damiano Cunego held onto his yellow jersey, successfully defending his 54 second lead over Colombian Juan Mauricio Soler (Team Movistar) and his one minute 16 second advantage over Bauke Mollema.
The latter’s Rabobank team-mate Laurens Ten Dam and Van Garderen are fourth and fifth, just ahead of last year’s race winner Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek). He is one minute 25 seconds back and will seek to reduce his deficit in the tough stages ahead.
Gradual build-up to a big bunch finish:
The inevitable break went shortly after the drop of the flag in Huttwil, when Daniel Sesma (Euskatel-Euskadi), Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank Sungard), Alessandro Bazzana (Team Type 1-Sanofi Aventis) and Jan Barta (NetApp) clipped away to little resistance. The peloton was content to give them some leeway, particularly as best-placed rider Sesma was over 20 minutes off the yellow jersey, and they opened a lead of ten minutes.
From that point on the main bunch started to gradually open up the throttle, with the sprinters teams rotating on the front and chiselling away the quartet’s margin. That caused the gap to crumble and with forty kilometres to go, the break was in trouble. Bazzana decided to scarper five kilometres later, seeking to build a lead of his own before the others were caught, but he was reeled in. Barta then nipped away and stayed out front until 14 kilometers to go.
The sprinters’ teams continued their push forward, riding quickly to dissuade any further attacks. HTC sought to dictate things from four kilometres to go, but Sky Procycling came to the front soon afterwards. Behind, there was plenty of shoulder bumping and hairy manoeuvres as the big guns fought for position. Race leader Cunego was towards the front, but did what he could steer clear of any problems.
Mark Cavendish became boxed in and stranded too far back; conversely, Tom Boonen (Quick Step) found himself being pushed to the front too early, and so he decided to simply floor it and try to get a big gap.
He succeeded in that but as the road kicked up, he began to fade. Hushovd also found himself too close to the front and swung over to drop back a few places. Marcato had other ideas and floored it, passing Boonen and opening a decent lead. However the drag continued and the fresher riders behind pegged him back, little by little.
Sagan and Hushovd were prominent, but appeared to move a little early. Freire timed it better and struck out for home, seeking to add to the Tour de Suisse stage wins he took in the past. Bozic foiled that plan, though, kicking hard to ensure the team took the stage win that Marcato’s faltering legs couldn’t quite deliver. He crossed the line, threw his arms aloft, and then placed his hands over his mouth, clearly not being able to believe that a tough, frustrating season had taken a turn for the better.
He showed stronger emotion after coming to a halt, bending over and covering his watery eyes, then embracing Marcato. The display of happiness was touching, and showed what the victory meant to him.
It was also a good day for Cunego, as he steered out of trouble and continued to hold on at the top. The terrain gets tougher tomorrow and he will come under fire, but if he is riding as he did earlier this week, he’ll battle with determination to hang on.