Kirchen storms to stage and lead in Tour of Switserland
Photo: courtesy Wim Dingemanse
Photo: courtesy Wim Dingemanse
A powerful last minute dash for the finish line earned Kim Kirchen both the stage win and the overall lead in the Tour of Switzerland on Thursday.
With 125 metres to go on the summit finish at Verbier on stage six, the Luxembourg-born rider tore away from the main pack for his fourth win of the season. Second overall last year in the same race - in a season in which he often placed well but victories proved more elusive - Kirchen recognized that his win in the Fleche Wallone one-day Classic this April “has acted as a huge confidence booster.”
“Fleche has given me the motivation I need to shift up a level and start winning stages like here in Switzerland.”
“But it was very close today. [Belgian Stijn] Devolder put in a big attack and we could only catch him with 500 metres to go.”
“My team were instrumental in helping me get this win, because they controlled the distance between the pack and a day-long break perfectly. Then in the final climb, it was up to me to pay them back for all that work.”
Looking further ahead, Kirchen says that the race “is far from over. My closest rival is barely 30 seconds back, and there’s Saturday’s mountain time trial to contend with. Tomorrow [Friday] we’ll defend the jersey on the flatter stage, and then we’ll have to take it as it comes.”
“Kim rode brilliantly and using his own initiative 100 percent.” adds team sports director Brian Holm. “He didn’t have any radio contact on the final climb, and so when he attacked that was his decision.”
“He calculated it perfectly, but we were a bit nervous in the directors car on the final climb. Kim always waits and waits, and sometimes he waits a bit too long.”
“But this time, he didn’t use up all his strength and he got it right. He won this one with his head as much as his legs.”
“The whole team put in a lot of work on the flat approach roads with Euskaltel-Euskadi and Liquigas put a rider on the front too. Then it was up to Kim.”
Looking ahead towards the Tour, Holm added “it’s very promising.”
“Last year he had a great ride in the Tour [finishing seventh], calculating his strength perfectly. We can be sure that he’s going to do the same this summer - after today’s win, even more so!”
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