Almeida takes fourth stage of Tour of Switzerland with injured Thomas out / Photo: © AFP/File
Almeida takes fourth stage of Tour of Switzerland with injured Thomas out
Portuguese rider Joao Almeida powered to the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland after former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas withdrew with less than three weeks from the start of the Tour de France.
Thanks to a breakway up the Spluegen Pass at 2,114m altitude UAE-Emirates' Almeida finished 40 seconds clear of Briton Oscar Onley with Australian Ben O'Connor in third on 42 seconds.
Almeida, 26, was second last year in the overall standings and moves up to seventh in this season's race, trailing leader Romain Gregoire by more than two minutes.
Frenchmen Kevin Vauquelin and Julian Alaphilippe complete the top three with O'Connor in fourth.
Almeida is set to play a key support role to Tadej Pogacar in his defence of the Tour de France, which begins on July 5.
Another former Tour de France champion in Thomas pulled out of the rest of the Tour of Switzerland before the day of 193.2km in the saddle had even started of the race having fell on Tuesday.
The Welshman had complained of a dead leg after the third stage with the Tour starting next month in Lille with the 39-year-old ending his career this season.
"Following a crash during stage three of the #TourdeSuisse, @GeraintThomas86 will not take the start today as a precautionary measure," Ineos said on social media.
Thursday's fifth of eight stages on the Tour of Switzerland takes the peloton on a 183.5km ride up four tough climbs from La Punt and Santa Maria.
T.Bennett--TNT
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