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Juan Ayuso’s stellar day in the mountains sees him rise in the Tour de Suisse ranks

Hugo Houle in the day's breakaway

June 15, 2023
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The 86th Tour de Suisse is proving to be one of the other most fascinating WorldTour stage races of the season. Juan Ayuso stomped all over the final mountain of Thursday’s stage to take his second 2023 win in only 11 days of racing. He came close to seizing the yellow jersey from Felix Gall, who grabbed the race lead with Wednesday’s victory, but in fact it was Mattias Skjelmose who yanked back the top spot by coming runner-up. Hugo Houle was in the day’s breakaway, placing 26th on the day.

The Course

Two HC-rated climbs loomed over Thursday’s parcours. Furkapass arrived soon after the start in Fiesch and Albulapass crested 10 km from the finish in La Punt. A Cat. 1 was hard on the heels of the Furkapass.

Both Canadians in the race, Nick Zukowsky and Hugo Houle, were part of a huge breakaway that sprung loose on the Furkapass. Thirty-six riders strong, this platoon wouldn’t make it to the top with the same number, and Houle survived the decanting. It would be Pascal Eenkhorn who would take enough KOM points to assume the classification lead from Lilian Calmejean.

This merry band of fugitives carried on over Cat. 1 Oberalpass where Eenkhorn padded his lead. Before the 17-strong group made it to the foot of Albulapass, its members started to streamline the group. Houle and Eenkhorn were in the second group and Wout Van Aert and three-time winner Rui Costa were in the first. Van Aert then bolstered his lead in the points classification by winning the sprint in Surava.

Albulapass

It was time to climb again. Albulapass is 17.4 km of 6.8 percent with the steepest grades at its beginning. The leading group was still in flux as it approached, and Houle and Eenkhorn made it back. Now thirteen were 4:00 ahead of the yellow jersey bunch. Houle was the best placed on GC at 29th and +15:08.

Houle (right) hangs tough on the Albulapass.

Back in the peloton, Evenepoel’s Soudal-QuickStep dictated the pace. In the fugitive group Neilson Powless spearheaded a quartet that flashed off the front, Van Aert leading the pursuit. Every kilometer seemed to fragment the escapees more and more, and Houle was with a Spanish companion 15 seconds behind the Powless initiative.

Finally, there was action in the peloton. Gall’s AG2R-Citroën kicked it off. Gall, Ayuso, Wilco Kelderman, Pello Bilbao and Romain Bardet left Evenepoel and Skjelmose behind and found Van Aert up the road.

Ayuso bolted. With 14 km to race, it seemed like the fugitives’ dreams would be dashed. After many attempts to dump his breakmates, Powless was the one who faded. Ayuso moved through him and then joined Rui Costa and Antonio Tiberi up front. And then the UAE-Emirates Spaniard was solo. He dropped down the other side of Albulapass like a stone and celebrated his triumph in La Punt.

Skjelmose fought to join the Gall gang and took enough bonus seconds to take back the race lead.

Friday’s stage ends with a steep little Cat. 3 and then an uphill finish.

2023 Tour de Suisse Stage 5
1) Juan Ayuso (Spain/UAE-Emirates) 5:23:01
2) Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark/Trek-Segafredo) +0:54
3) Pello Bilbao (Spain/Bahrain-Victorious) s.t.
26) Hugo Houle (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +4:56

2023 Tour de Suisse GC
1) Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark/Trek-Segafredo) 16:43:41
2) Felix Gall (Austria/AG2R-Citroën) 0:08
3) Juan Ayuso (Spain/UAE-Emirates) +0:18
4) Remco Evenepoel (Belgium/Soudal-QuickStep) +0:46