Norwegian Torstein Traeen grittily held off Adam Yates' late charge to claim a career-first stage win at the Tour of Switzerland on Wednesday, as the Briton jumped into first place overall.
The 28-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider went off on his own in the mountainous 171-kilometre stage four from Rueschlikon to San Gottardo and looked to be running out of steam as Team UAE's Yates pursued him up the final ascent.
But Traeen hung in to take the biggest win of his career after gambling on a solo breakaway with 6km to go, finishing 23 seconds ahead of Yates in second and 48sec ahead of third-placed Dane Mattias Skjelmose.
Big win for @Torsteintren on the mighty San Gottardo🏔️👏🏼
— Tour de Suisse (@tds) June 12, 2024
.#tds2024 #tourdesuisse #rideforgino pic.twitter.com/vgTGNkJ8HY
It was an emotional win for Bahrain, one year on from the tragic death of team rider Gino Maeder after a freak fall coming downhill.
"It's for Gino, the Gino mountain, and ride for Gino. We still miss him. We always want to ride for him," said Traeen.
"On a day like this when his mum is here, it's super special," added the Norwegian, who recovered from testicular cancer in 2022 to come back to the elite of cycling.
Yates, 31, leapfrogged overnight yellow jersey holder Alberto Bettiol into first in the general classification.
UAE teammate Joao Almeida sits 26sec behind Yates, level with Lidl-Trek's Skjelmose in third.
Former Tour de France winner in Colombian Egan Bernal is fourth, 49sec off Yates, with Dutchman Wilco Kelderman a further 26sec behind.