Dutchman Tom Dumoulin won the 38.4-kilometre stage against the clock in Berne but Spilak overhauled Britain's Geraint Thomas and Thibaut Pinot of France to win by just five seconds overall.
Katusha's Spilak, 28, came second on the stage, 18 seconds behind Giant-Alpecin's Dumoulin, with timetrial great Fabian Cancellara having to settle for third at 19 seconds in his home race.
Thomas took fifth on the stage but 18sec behind Spilak having begun the day just 13sec ahead of the rider from Slovenia.
Those two were expected to battle for overall victory with Pinot, who started the day in yellow, but the Frenchman was one minute and 50 seconds slower than Dumoulin on the stage and slipped to fourth overall, one place behind the Dutchman.
For Spilak, a one-week race specialist, it was his second victory in Switzerland having also won the Tour de Romandie in 2010.
He finished second at Romandie in the last three years and was also third at Paris-Nice earlier this year but he has never managed to turn his stage-racing form into into a challenge at one of the three-week Grand Tours.
CYCLING
Spilak snatches Tour de Suisse cycling victory
Slovenia's Simon Spilak produced a stunning final stage time trial to snatch victory in the Tour de Suisse cycling race on Sunday.
CYCLING
Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland
Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.
Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.
He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.
But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.
“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.
“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”
“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.
🙏🏻 Gino, thank you for the light, the joy, and the laughs you brought us all, we will miss you as a rider and as a person.
❤️ Today and every day, we ride for you, Gino.
🔗 https://t.co/CSx5BsWfRz pic.twitter.com/caBmfmWwyg
— Team Bahrain Victorious (@BHRVictorious) June 16, 2023
Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.
American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.
On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.
“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.
“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”
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