An aggressive ride helped the 24-year-old become the first Danish rider to lead the race.
Kasper Asgreen was all over the road once the peloton entered into the business end of the tough stage 2, a 159.6km-long loop around Langnau im Emmental comprising six punishing climbs. It was on the penultimate of this, the Schallenberg, that Kasper Asgreen kicked away from the bunch and opened a small gap together with two other riders over the group, which the stiff gradients were mercilessly whittling down to around 40 men as the kilometers ticked down.
The group linked up with the Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider on the final ascent, but the Dane continued to head the peloton and push a tempo which saw many riders drop off the back. Then, on the descent, Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) clipped away and soloed to victory, a few seconds ahead of the chasers, from where Kasper – perfectly launched by Yves Lampaert – still had enough left in the legs to sprint to fourth place; his boldness paid off, the stage result together with the bonus seconds he had mopped up at the last intermediate sprint propelling the 24-year-old at the top of the general classification.
Riding his first Tour de Suisse, Asgreen showed again his hot run of form that this year has landed him a maiden pro victory, the points jersey and third overall at the Tour of California, in addition to a resounding runner-up spot at his Ronde van Vlaanderen debut.
“This season has been incredible for me so far! I’ve made some big steps this year and this jersey is definitely another step in the right direction and that makes me happy. I wasn’t sure I would survive the climbs, but I tried to do my best and gave everything. Leading both the GC and the best young rider standings is great and it gives me great pleasure, but for now I’m focused on tomorrow’s stage, when we’ll try to keep the race together and go for a bunch sprint with Elia”, said Kasper after becoming the first ever Dane to don the yellow jersey at the Tour de Suisse.
Photo credit: ©Heinz Zwicky/ Getty Images
