Jeker holds on to yellow jersey in Portugal
Switzerland's Fabian Jeker has held on to his lead in the overall standings of the Tour of Portugal, at the end of the ninth stage on Friday.
Jeker retains the leader’s famous yellow jersey but is now only 14 seconds ahead of Spain’s Juan Miguel Mercado.
“It was easier terrain today, with a headwind at the start and a lot of attacks,” Jeker said. “But after we reached a three-man breakaway, the race was under control.”
Jeker was cautious about the subject of whether he would be able to keep the yellow jersey until the end of the race.
“There are still many days left,” he said. “Tomorrow’s stage will be hard and we still have the Graca peak, then we’ll know a bit more.”
Italy’s Salvatore Commesso won Friday’s ninth stage between Celorico da Beira and Agueda. Angel Edo of Spain finished second, while Italian Stefano Venturini came in third.
The next stage of the race on Saturday will take the cyclists from Agueda to Vila Real in central Portugal.
The 2,000-kilometre Tour of Portugal finishes on Wednesday in Maia, near the city of Porto.
swissinfo with agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.