British rider Adam Yates has kept his lead in the Tour de Suisse with a second-place finish behind Portugal’s Joao Almeida in a shortened stage six.
The stage was originally planned to run 151.1km from Locarno, but snowpack made Nufenen Pass impassable and also ruled out an alternate route over the Furka Pass, resulting in a 42.5km race.
Yates saw his 35-second lead cut to 27 seconds by UAE Team Emirates team-mate Almeida, with fellow Britons Tom Pidcock and Oscar Onley sitting seventh and eighth in the general classification standings.
It resulted in a 7km climb to finish where Yates attacked with 3km to go, but Almeida caught his team-mate a kilometre out to clinch the stage, with Mattias Skjelmose third.
“I think we were both really strong,” Almeida said.
“He [Yates] attacked quite far from the finish and I was just on the wheel of Skjelmose, so it was perfect for me. In the end, I could catch him without bringing the other riders back.
“Of course I want to win all the time, but I would also respect my team-mates as well so I’m happy for him also.”
Saturday’s penultimate stage is a tough 118.1km circuit, which includes three big climbs.
Both Yates and Almeida will soon turn their attention to the Tour de France, where they are likely to be support riders for UAE team-mate Tadej Pogacar when it begins on 29 June.
Stage six result
1. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) 55 mins 13secs
2. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +4 secs
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +9 secs
4. Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) +15 secs
5. Lenny Martinez (Fra/Groupama–FDJ +35 secs
6. Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +40 secs
7. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +47 secs
8. Matthew Riccitello (US/Israel-Premier Tech) +47 secs
9. Pelayo Sanchez (Spa/Movistar) +54 secs
10. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale) +54 secs
General classification
1. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) 16hrs 39mins 46secs
2. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +27secs
3. Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 28secs
4. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +2min 24secs
5. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +2min 38secs
6. Matthew Riccitello (US/Israel-Premier Tech) +2mins 42secs
7. Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +3mins 28secs
8. Oscar Onley (GB/Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +3mins 37secs
9. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale) +4 mins 1sec
10. Pelayo Sanchez (Spa/Movistar) +4mins 28secs