Jordi Meeus sprinted to his second win of the season on Stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse, powering across the line in Neuhausen am Rheinfall after a dramatic chase to bring back the day’s break.
The 186.7km stage from Chur almost looked set to reward the escapees, with a trio holding out in front for more than 180 kilometres. It took a concerted effort from several sprint teams, including Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, to finally reel them in inside the last kilometre.
With the peloton lined out and the final few hundred metres approaching, Danny van Poppel hit the front to bring Jordi Meeus into position. As the race veered into the final corner and the last 300 metres opened up, Van Poppel launched Meeus into the finishing straight. The Belgian surged past his rivals and carried his speed all the way to the line, taking the win ahead of Ballerini and Askey. Van Poppel also finished strongly to place sixth.
Jordi Meeus: “It’s definitely been a hard week for me so far, it’s not really been my favourite terrain with all the hills and climbs. I was disappointed after Stage 2 because that was supposed to be a flatter stage, but I didn’t feel great at the start of the week. Each day my legs got better, and this morning I could feel that I had good shape. I’m really happy I could finish it off today. It’s only my second win at WorldTour level, so I’m super happy to take this one home.”
Stage 6
- Jordi Meeus (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in 4:10:24
- Davide Ballerini (Ita) XDS Astana
- Lewis Askey (Gbr) Groupama-FDJ
GC
- Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels, in 20:12:10
- Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Tudor Pro Cycling, +29s
- João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +39s
