Amber Kraak (FDJ-SUEZ) delivered a masterclass in timing and endurance on stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse Women, launching a daring solo move with 25 kilometers to go and never looking back. The Dutch rider surged away from a dwindling breakaway group on the final climb of the day and rode alone to the finish in Oberkirch, securing her second career win at WorldTour level.
Kraak had been part of a five-rider move that escaped the peloton just over 100 kilometers from the finish, joining forces with Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime), Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck), Henrietta Christie (EF Education-Oatly), and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto). The quintet worked well together and quickly built up a commanding lead, peaking at over six and a half minutes by the time they reached Escholzmatt.
Skalniak-Sójka was the first to crack, losing touch on the slopes of the Schallenberg climb. The remaining four continued into the decisive phase of the race, hitting the steep Buechehübeli ascent with the peloton steadily closing in. Up to this point, Kraak had remained passive, largely sitting on to protect her team’s general classification ambitions with Demi Vollering. But as the gap to the bunch started to shrink and the final categorized climb approached, she shifted strategy.
Sensing an opportunity, Kraak went all in on the Buechehübeli, immediately distancing her breakaway companions. Her pace tore the group apart — Lach fought hard to hold on but quickly slipped back, while Schrempf and Christie had already fallen behind. At the summit, Kraak had carved out a lead of 1:34 on Lach, with the chasers more than three minutes down.
Despite scorching conditions, Kraak powered through the final kilometers alone, showing no signs of fading even as the chase behind intensified. Lach, who had ridden bravely all day, lost further time after mistakenly entering the course deviation with one kilometer to go. She corrected her error swiftly and still managed to hold on for second, albeit 1:55 behind the winner.
Élise Chabbey, Kraak’s teammate at FDJ-SUEZ, claimed third after outsprinting Mavi García (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, who had ridden aggressively on the final climbs and helped animate the chase.
Behind them, the rest of the contenders filtered in. Vollering and Marlen Reusser (Movistar) led the next group across the line a little over three minutes down. While the general classification remained largely unchanged, Reusser maintained her narrow four-second lead over Vollering, with Niewiadoma-Phinney still trailing by 1:21.
The stage’s 161.7-kilometer route from Gstaad to Campus Sursee in Oberkirch included three classified climbs: the gradual Schallenberg, the brutally steep Wintermatt wall, and finally the decisive Buechehübeli ascent, a 5.7km climb averaging over 6% that crested just 19.3km from the line.
As the breakaway battled the climbs, the peloton began to splinter. Young U23 white jersey wearer Eleonora Ciabocco (Picnic PostNL) launched a daring descent attack after Wintermatt, managing to gain over a minute as she tried to bridge to the leaders. Meanwhile, Niewiadoma-Phinney made multiple attacks on the Buechehübeli before breaking free and chasing down Ciabocco. Together, they picked off Schrempf and Christie, but Kraak remained unreachable out front.
In the run-in to the line, the group of GC favorites reformed behind them. Attempts to ignite a late-stage reshuffle were made — Kerbaol stretched the bunch thin with a powerful dig, García launched an attack that was joined by Niewiadoma-Phinney and Chabbey — but with the victory already sewn up, they were racing only for the remaining podium places and time bonuses.
For Kraak, it was a moment of redemption after a difficult opening day and proof of her growth as a rider. “Yesterday was really hard for me,” she admitted post-stage. “It was hot, and I was still recovering from racing in Britain, where it was cold and wet. But today I felt a bit better — not great — but when the break formed, I had to be there. It was for Demi at first, but when our lead stayed high, we decided to go for the win.”
With this victory, Kraak adds a second WorldTour triumph to her palmarès, following her win at the 2024 UAE Tour Women. Now in her fourth year as a professional, she celebrated not just the result, but the opportunity: “With such strong GC riders behind, you sometimes get the chance to take your own shot. Today it worked out perfectly.”
Stage 2 may not have disrupted the general classification dramatically, but it showcased the depth and versatility within FDJ-SUEZ’s ranks — and gave Amber Kraak a solo moment in the sun that was as hard-earned as it was spectacular.
HIGHLIGHTS
RESULTS
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
