Podium finish for Team Vorarlberg
Podium finish for Team Vorarlberg
Tour of Hellas, Day 5: Piraeus – Syntagma (146.5 km)
An intense and worthy finale to the highly competitive Tour of Hellas: on the fifth day, the 146.5-kilometre race from Piraeus to the capital Athens. There, a 6.5-kilometer circuit with a view of the Acropolis had to be completed three times. The tour finally ended at the historic Syntagma Square right in the pulsating heart of the Greek metropolis – directly in front of the parliament.
A day that ended with great joy at Colin Stüssi’s podium finish began with bad news for Team Vorarlberg. Shortly before 7 a.m., race director Paul Renger informed team boss Thomas Kofler via WhatsApp that the miserable weather had taken its toll on Friday’s queen stage: Emanuel Zangerle and Philipp Hofbauer were in bed with a fever, leaving Dominik Röber as the last helper for Colin Stüssi, who had performed brilliantly yesterday.
The last Team Vorarlberg Mohicans were very active. Stüssi gained a second time credit in the first sprint. The two then rode behind an eight-man lead group with all the contenders for the top places in the peloton, where they repeatedly showed themselves at the front with their yellow jerseys. Gradually all the breakaways were swallowed up, with three kilometers to go everyone was together and the sprinters were ready for the grand finale. The Dane Mads Andersen came out on top ahead of Dusan Rajovic (Serbia) and the Greek Nikiforos Arvanitou. Colin Stüssi and Dominik Röber finished at the same time as the winner in 14th and 39th place.
Vaclav Jezek brought the overall leader’s blue jersey to the finish line after a fierce battle. The Czech, who had benefited from Colin Stüssi’s brilliant finish the day before, remained eleven seconds ahead of Domenico Pozzovivo (Italy) and twelve ahead of Colin Stüssi.
The five stages over a total of 863 kilometers in fast-forward:
Day 1: Hectic start, horrendous speed (average speed 49.75 km/h). Colin Stüssi reaches the finish line at the same time as the day’s winner Mathis Avondts from Belgium in 16th place.
Day 2: Mass sprint, five of the six Vorarlberg riders at the same time as stage winner Dusan Rajovic. “Got through well and saved energy for the mountains,” was the successful conclusion of the first two stages.
Day 3: Colin Stüssi proves on the royal stage over 207 kilometers and 4266 meters of climbing and arrives in Lamia at the same time as stage winner Jelle Johannink from the Netherlands in a leading group of 18 riders. In seventh place overall, he is just ten seconds behind.
Day 4: Colin Stüssi is the bravest rider in the field on the final 17-kilometre climb, leaving all the other favorites behind together with Vaclav Jezek and only being caught a few hundred metres before the finish – partly due to the Czech’s passive riding style, which leaves all the leading work to Stüssi. The Italian Lorenzo Masciarelli celebrates his first success as a professional. Stüssi improves to third place in the overall classification
Day 5: Another intense stage into the center of the Greek capital, but with no major changes. Colin Stüssi makes it onto the podium this time after finishing fifth last year, which very confident for the rest of the season.
Result: www.procyclingstats.com/race/international-tour-of-hellas/2026/stage-5
Cover picture: Colin Stüssi, 32-year-old Swiss rider, 1.87 m tall, 68 kg, with Team Vorarlberg since 2019 (eighth season), greatest success: overall victory at the Tour of Portugal 2023, fifth overall at the Tour of Hellas last year, third place this time.
The photos by Petros Gkotsis show impressions of the stage on Saturday, in which Colin Stüssi put in a brilliant performance. The photos can be used free of charge for editorial coverage of Team Vorarlberg in print and online media. Please name the photographer.
Squad: Dominik Amann, Philipp Hofbauer, Laurin Nenning, Dominik Röber, Emanuel Zangerle, Colin Stüssi
