Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) won the 3rd stage of the Tour de Suisse in the sprint between Aesch and Granges (177 km). This is the 18th victory on the national circuit for the 32-year-old Slovak.
The triple world champion beat Frenchman Bryan Coquard and Norwegian Alexander Kristoff. Impressive ease in the final, Sagan perfectly negotiated the last meters of the race in front of the Solothurn velodrome.
With 3000 meters of elevation, one might wonder if the stage would end in a sprint. Long in the lead, Stefan Bissegger was caught 11 km from the finish following having tried everything to resist the peloton, but with the headwind in the last part, the mission was too difficult.
The yellow jersey remains on the shoulders of Welshman Stephen Williams (Bahrain).
On Wednesday, the riders will join Brunnen in the canton of Schwyz for a 191 km stage. The decision should be made on the climb to Sattel (2nd category) 15 km from the line.
/ATS