Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) stands on the brink of final overall victory at the Tour de Suisse after producing a fine performance in the short Davos time trial on stage 8.
The 22-year-old placed second in Saturday’s 16.8-kilometre test, 18 seconds behind Jon Izaguirre (Movistar) but one second ahead of Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) to move into the overall lead.
With one further examination to come – Sunday’s 117-kilometre final leg takes in the Albula and Flüela passes before the finish in Davos – Lopez lies just 8 seconds clear of Andrew Talansky (Cannondale), while Izaguirre (3rd at 16 seconds) and Warren Barguil (4th at 18 seconds) remain very much in contention.
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Speaking after taking possession of the yellow jersey on Saturday evening, Lopez was under no illusions as to the task ahead of him on the concluding stage. “Tomorrow it will be a war, but I'm ready,” Lopez said.
Winner of the Tour de l’Avenir in 2014, Lopez turned professional with Astana last season and delivered a string of strong performances, including 7th place overall in his debut Tour de Suisse. In the absence of Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru, Astana handed the reins of leadership to Lopez for the Swiss race once again this year, and he has been a model of consistency this week.
After finishing with the group of favourites on the mountain stages to Carì and Amden, Lopez showed his hand by placing second to Tejay van Garderen (BMC) on the Rettenbachferner, a display that moved him up to second place overall. The Davos time trial has pushed him to the cusp of a bigger prize.
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