Elisa Longo Borghini finished fifth in Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse Women, a 23.7-kilometre individual time trial, stopping the clock 1:05 behind stage winner and reigning world time trial champion Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team).
The Italian champion fought hard to defend the yellow jersey but ultimately surrendered the overall race lead to Reusser by just ten seconds. With a demanding mountain stage still to come, however, the battle for the general classification remains wide open.
It was also a strong collective performance from UAE Team ADQ in the race against the clock. Brodie Chapman claimed sixth place, just three seconds behind Longo Borghini, after holding the fastest provisional time for much of the afternoon. France’s Maeva Squiban finished seventh at 1:10, despite losing valuable seconds after running wide in the final double corner.
In the overall standings, Marlen Reusser now leads by ten seconds over Elisa Longo Borghini, while Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) has moved up to third place, 1:20 behind the race leader.
The fight for the overall victory will be decided tomorrow over the 100.4 kilometres of the final stage, starting and finishing in Villars-sur-Ollon, where a challenging route packed with climbs promises an exciting finale to the race.
(ph. Getty Sport)
