Tour de Suisse

Yves Lampaert knew it was always going to be hard for him to keep hold of the yellow jersey on the complicated stage three, but the first leader of the race showed a great fighting spirit on the hilly finale in Rüschlikon.

The last 15 kilometers featured two classified climbs and a tough uphill finale, which averaged 7% in the closing kilometer. Several teams joined hands to push a big tempo as soon as that unraked ascent started with three kilometers to go, stretching out the field and creating some gaps. Lampaert did his best to stay there, but the gradients were too much for him and he got distanced. The victory went to Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) after a late surge, while William Junior Lecerf was the first Soudal Quick-Step rider home, just outside the top ten, a result which elevated the young Belgian almost 40 places in the general classification.

At the end of the stage, Yves took to the podium where he received the black jersey, which he will wear on Wednesday, when the peloton is set to tackle Gotthard Pass, one of the country’s toughest climbs.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images