Pogacar and Reusser seal Tour de Suisse titles with final stage wins
World champion Tadej Pogacar and home favourite Marlen Reusser secured the overall Tour de Suisse titles after winning the final stages of their respective races on Sunday.
Pogacar was making his debut in the men’s event and started the fifth and final stage with a commanding four-minute advantage over Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz.
The Slovenian superstar hunted down Lenny Martinez at the conclusion of a punishing 151km mountainous route.
He caught the French climber just 800 metres from the finish line to register his third stage victory of the week.
“We tried but he was just too strong in the end,” said Martinez.
“Tadej wins a lot of races and he keeps wanting to keep winning, so it’s difficult. I knew he wasn’t going to let me win.”
Pogacar’s dominance continues
The 27-year-old has now triumphed in six of the seven most historic week-long stage races on the cycling calendar.
His sensational season includes an astonishing 13 victories from merely 16 race days, building upon his Milan-San Remo success in March.
The highly decorated rider will now shift his focus toward securing a record-equalling fifth Tour de France crown next month.
Reusser reigns supreme on home soil
In the women’s race, Reusser successfully defended her crown to claim a third overall victory in just four years.
The 34-year-old time-trial specialist laid the foundations for her win on Saturday before entering the final 100km mountain stage with a narrow 10-second advantage over Elisa Longo Borghini.
While the Italian attempted to apply early pressure, Reusser remained composed before launching a decisive attack.
The Swiss powerhouse dropped Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Cedrine Kerbaol inside the final kilometre to take the stage win.
Meanwhile, Longo Borghini crossed the line almost 10 minutes later, plummeting down the final general classification standings.
Final General Classification Standings
Men’s Top Five
- Tadej Pogacar (Slo) 15hrs 8mins 43secs
- Richard Carapaz (Ecu) +6mins 32secs
- Mathias Vacek (Cze) +6mins 53secs
- Tobias Foss (Nor) +7mins 34secs
- Ilan van Wilder (Bel) +7mins 51secs
Women’s Top Five
- Marlen Reusser (Swi) 11hrs 58mins 35secs
- Cedrine Kerbaol (Fra) +1min 31secs
- Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Pol) +2mins 2secs
- Kimberley le Court (Mri) +2mins 48secs
- Femke de Vries (Ned) +2mins 54secs
