Race 3 of the Digital Swiss 5 saw the peloton take on a mixed bag of terrain, with a testing 33 kilometres from a virtual Fiesch to Nufenenpass to contend with. Chris Hamilton, Wilco Kelderman and Nicholas Roche were in action for the team, with their Cervélo bikes set up on Elite Cycling trainers, ready for another hour of tough racing.
Like in previous days, today’s racing got off to a scintillating pace with a number of riders pushing over eight watts per kilogram for the opening few kilometres. After their impressive second and fourth places in Race 1, Roche and Hamilton were to the fore in the early stages and they both picked their way through the pack and up the standings.
The riders charged along in ones and twos along the valley roads before making the turn onto the Nufenenpass. Leading onto the climb after a very impressive display on the flatter roads beforehand, Roche continued to put the power through the pedals as the road continued to rise, extending his gap over the opposition. Behind, Hamilton continued to make progress through the bunch and soon moved into fifth place.
With everyone giving it their all on the stinging slopes, Roche managed to hold on to take a commanding win, with Hamilton climbing into fourth place once again at the finish.