Tour de Suisse 2023: Ayuso solos to victory, Skjelmose regains race lead

image: Cor VosJuan Ayuso attacks in the last of three colossal climbs, Albula Pass, gobbles up the lead group and solos to victory. Mattias Skjelmose sprints to second place to move back into the overall race lead. (Slideshow route/profile)

Results 5th stage 2023 Tour de Suisse

1. Juan Ayuso (spa)
2. Mattias Skjelmose (den) + 0.54
3. Pello Bilbao (spa) s.t.
4. Rigoberto Uran (col) s.t.
5. Romain Bardet (fra) s.t.
6. Wilco Kelderman (nld) s.t.
7. Rui Costa (por) + 0.58
8. Felix Gall (aut) s.t.
9. Antonio Tiberi (ita) + 1.01
10. Remco Evenepoel (bel) + 1.20

11. Dylan Teuns (bel) + 1.21
12. Cian Uijtdebroeks (bel) s.t.
– Magnus Sheffield (usa) DNF

GC after stage 5
1. Mattias Skjelmose (den)
2. Felix Gall (aut) + 0.08
3. Juan Ayuso (spa) + 0.18
4. Remco Evenepoel (bel) + 0.46
5. Pello Bilbao (spa) + 0.57
6. Wilco Kelderman (nld) + 1.16
7. Romain Bardet (fra) + 1.29
8. Rigoberto Uran (col) + 1.54
9. Cian Uijtdebroeks (bel) + 1.57
10. Dylan Teuns (bel) + 3.00

Race report
After roughly 10 kilometres the peloton splits. A big group sets off, while Michal Kwiatkowski and Wout van Aert manage to latch on before the Furka Pass. Higuita grabs most KOM point at the summit, ahead of Eenkhoorn and Van Aert.

The lead group is down to 18 on the Oberalp Pass – Izagirre (Gorka), Neilands, Voisard, Houle, Costa, Costiou, Powless, Küng, Sobrero, Simmons, Hirschi, Tiberi, Higuita, Eenkhoorn, Lazkano, Juul-Jensen, Gogl, Van Aert – before Haller makes it across. Eenkoorn outsprints Higuita at the summit for KOM points.

Attacks are flying in the lead group ahead of the Albula Pass. Izagirre, Neilands, Costiou, Juul-Jensen, Voisard and Haller lose contact, while Eenkhoorn and Hirschi are dropped early in the climb.

Powless attacks 12 kilometres before the summit and Tiberi, Costa and Lazkano track him down. The latter is dropped later on.

Yellow jersey Gall attacks from the GC group. Bardet, Kelderman, Bilbao and Ayuso follow his move before Ayuso heads out alone. He gobbles up the leaders in the last 2 kilometres of the climb before he reaches the summit 1 minute ahead of the yellow jersey. Gall is together with Kelderman and Bilbao.

A group with Skjelmose, Evenepoel and Uijtdebroeks rejoins the yellow jersey on descent, while Sheffield – ninth on GC – hits the deck. Mäder also goes down and his crash proves to be fatal.

Unaware of the drama behind him, Ayuso solos to triumph. Skjelmose outsprints Bilbao 54 seconds later in the chase group to regain the yellow jersey, as Gall crosses the line 4 seconds behind the Dane.

Another interesting read: route 5th stage 2023 Tour de Suisse.