Onley pips Almeida to Tour of Switzerland fifth stage win

BERN: Scottish rider Oscar Onley won the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Thursday by a tyre’s length from Joao Almeida after an uphill sprint.

The 22-year-old Onley claimed the second major win of his career at the end of a mountainous 183.5km from La Punt to Sant Maria with a head-to-head battle to the line.

“I felt good, and just gave it a go on the last climb,” Onley said.

“I don’t win often and I’ve had a quite a few podiums so far this year, or quite close results, so to pull it off today is really nice for myself and my teammates, because they do a really good job every day, today was no different.

“It’s nice to be able to pay them back now and a again,” he added.

Austrian Felix Gall was third 23 seconds behind the Picnic PostNL youngster.

Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin took the overall lead from compatriot Romain Gregoire, who struggled and finished more than six minutes behind Onley.

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Two-time former world champion Julian Alaphilippe moved to second, 29 seconds behind Vauquelin with Portuguese rider Almeida third and Onley fourth.

It was an emotional day of racing held in memory of Gino Maeder, a 26-year-old Swiss rider who died of his injuries following a high-speed crash on a descent on the 2023 Tour of Switzerland.

Race organisers unveiled a statue near to the Albula Pass at 2,312m altitude, the location of Maeder’s fatal crash.

Friday’s sixth of eight stages is a 186.7km flat ride from Chur to Neuhausen am Rheinfall.

The eight-day Tour of Switzerland is the final significant stage race before the start of the Tour de France on July 5.