Tour de Suisse

The profile of the second stage favoured a breakaway, and five hours after the start it ended up fulfilling the expectations, one rider managing to hold off the chasers despite the three classified climbs punctuating the last 50 kilometers.

A ten-man group went clear as the bunch left behind Küsnacht, where Sunday’s stage concluded, and didn’t need too long before establishing a mammoth eight-minute gap over a peloton that wasn’t troubled by this move. It was only on the penultimate ascent that the chasers decided to ramp up the pace, but despite slashing the gap to one minute with 17 kilometers to go, the sole survivor of the break Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) took the victory in Aesch.

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl boys concluded with the peloton, and Ilan Van Wilder remained our best-placed rider in the general classification, just ten seconds from the lead, ahead of another hilly stage, this time to Grenchen.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images