Another day, another demonstration While Tadej Pogachar prepared for the Tour de France in the highlands of the Izola 2000, the Tour de Suisse saw a shortened sixth stage to Bratten, where the key members supporting him maintained their advantage.

For the second day in a row, UAE Team Emirates took first and second place, further tightening the overall battle. Joao Almeida, who won Thursday's Cali race in second place behind teammate Adam Yates, contributed to Friday's 42km victory. Yates crossed the finish line four seconds later and retained the yellow jersey.

In the overall standings, Yates' lead over Almeida has been reduced to 28 seconds, but the UAE pair has opened a gap on the rest of the field: in third place, 1:28 back, Egan Bernal (Ineos) is the only rider within 2 minutes as the race enters its final weekend.

Almeida, who was involved in Yates' victory on stage 5, caught up to Bernal and Enric Mas and passed them in the last kilometer to take second place on the stage.

Friday's finale in Bratten followed a similar pattern, with Yates attacking with 3.5km to go and opening a small gap. Almeida lined up with Bernal and others, then caught up to Yates in the last kilometer to take the stage win by 4 seconds.

"I expected Ineos to pick up the pace, but I wanted to go a bit faster. I was on the wheel but feeling good so I bridged to Adam. From there we both pulled together and I finished first."

Almeida's analysis was echoed by Yates, who admitted that his attack may have been too hasty.

"Maybe I was a little too fast on the climb," he said. 'At the end João came to me and succeeded in dropping me. At the end João came across to me and he managed to drop me."

"We knew from the beginning that it was going to be a good race for both of us, and the last few days have proven that. They are both in good shape and in contention for the win. It's great for the team to be in this position."

Last week, it was announced that Friday's stage would be shortened significantly because both the Nufenen and Furka passes were impassable. Almeida has been highly regarded for his diesel qualities over the years, and he proved to be the strongest on the 42-km stage.

"It was one of the shortest stages I've ever done, and it was explosive, but luckily it worked out," Almeida said.

Yates spoke enthusiastically about the novel format. It's good to do something different," Yates said. It doesn't always have to be 200 km. It was a lot of fun."

With two stages remaining in the Tour de Suisse, the battle for the overall win is likely to be a tight one between Yates and Almeida. Almeida, a Portuguese rider, dominated Friday's time trial and should also have the advantage in Sunday's time trial, but the final stage, the Col de la Croix, could change the outcome.

"It's a queen stage. 'There are no valleys, only descents or climbs. Yesterday we were able to sort it out quite well in the valley before the final climb, but tomorrow it will be more difficult."

Almeida acknowledged that the final time trial played to his strengths, but stressed that his priority was to secure a team victory rather than personal ambition.

Almeida said, "I am very proud of my team.

Almeida, who rode the Giro d'Italia in his first four seasons as a professional, will make his Tour de France debut this year with Pogachar. As it stands, the riders who helped Pogachar win last month's Giro d'Italia will not line up with him in the Tour, as the UAE has planned since winter.

Almeida got off to a relatively subdued start in 2024, but seems to be getting better on the eve of the race.

"I've been working pretty hard," he said. It's been a rough start to the year, I've been out of shape and had to work to get back in shape."