Tour de Suisse stage 3 - Live coverage

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9 riders to watch at the 2022 Tour de Suisse

Leknessund wins stage 2 as Williams retains yellow

Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse.

The 176.9km stage is underway and we already have attacks as riders look to join the break of the day. 

With the hilly stage profile in the Jura hills, teams know that the break has a chance of staying away. The sprinters will have to work hard if they want take the spoils.

It's another hot day in Switzerland. 

A total of 150 riders are in the peloton, including some of the biggest contenders for the rapidly approaching Tour de France.

There are four riders on the attack, with two others chasing them. 

Matthias Reutimann was the first attack and he was joined by Manuele Boaro, Stefan Bissegger and KOM leader Quinn Simmons of the USA.

Philippe Gilbert and Joseph Rosskopf have joined the attack and others are trying. 

However behind Intermarche are leading the chase for Alexander Kristoff.  

The attackers lead by just 40 seconds. The peloton does not want to let them go.  

Nicolas Prodhomme is trying to chase  but is struggling to go across. The peloton is at 2:00. 

The elastic seems to have stretched.  

The riders are over the top of the first of seven hills. The hard start has helped them get away but who will now lead the chase. 

We expected a very tactical day of racing.

In theory Bahrain Victorious should lead the chase to protect Stevie Williams race lead.

165km to go

The peloton has eased up. the six attackers lead by 3:00.  

The gap is now 3:15 as Bahrain place one rider up front to lead the chase. 

The peloton will have to vigilant after the break escaped their grasp yesterday. 

Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) fended off the peloton for an impressive solo victory.

23-year-old Leknessund accelerated sharply away from a slowly disintegrating breakaway, with just 90 seconds margin on the bunch and opened his advantage to nearly two minutes by the summit. 

He then time trialled his way down the fast sweeping descent, staying out front all the way to the finish.

To read our full stage report and check out the results and photo gallery, click below.  

Tour de Suisse: Leknessund takes glory from breakaway with stage 2 victory

Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën) refuses to give up hope of catching the attack but he is now 1:20 down on the 6. 

They are not waiting for him. 

Crash! 

A rider has gone into the field on the right. 

These are the4 six riders in the attack: 

Philippe Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal), Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), Joseph Rosskopf (Human Powered Health), Manuele Boaro (Astana) and Mathias Reutimann (Swiss National Team).

Prodhomme has wisely given up his solo chase and is dropping back to the peloton.

Kamil Małecki appears to be the rider who crashed but he is back up and riding gain.

Some of the riders jumped the gun at the start. 

Kamil Małecki got going but has now abandoned the race. That's a blow to him and Lotto Soudal.

Another crash has involved Intermarche riders. 

Alexander Kristoff and Georg Zimermann needed bike changes. 

That will slow the chase of the peloton. 

135km to go

The gap is at 2:55. 

The peloton seems keen to peg the gap at around 3:00 to control the race. 

Philippe Gilbert is the best placed rider in the attack. He is only 2:02 down on Williams.

It's a busy week of racing and today there is also the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges Femmes race over the mighty mountain of Provence. 

Tomorrow sees the start of the Tour of Slovenia and the Baloise Belgium Tour. 

Of course, Cyclingnews will have coverage, reports and news from all the races. 

Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope) won the inaugural edition of the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges Femmes, soloing clear 2.5km from the summit of the Giant of Provence.

The Italian rider is enjoying a hugely successful season. She came home 41 seconds clear of Clara Koppenberg (Cofidis), while French champion Evita Muzic (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope) took third a further eight seconds back.

Click here for our report on the women's race.

Marta Cavalli wins inaugural Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges Femmes

The attackers cover 43 kilometers in the first competition hour, including the early climb. 

After the valley road, the riders will soon hit two non-categorised climbs as they ride south and then face four categorised climbs and two intermediate sprint points.

Much of the 3000m start now, with 125km to race.

Quinn Simmons took the red KOM by going on the attack on stage 1. 

The young American is chasing selection for his first ever ride in the Tour de France.  

And here is the break in action.

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert and TotalEnergies keep the gap to 3:00. 

They clearly want to make the most of the few sprint opportunities in this Tour de Suisse.

If you want to watch the Tour de Suisse on television or via streaming, use our guide for the best way to see the action.

How to watch the 2022 Tour de Suisse – Live streaming

115km to go

The attackers are over the top of the climb but the peloton has closed to the gap to 2:30.

It's good to see US national champion Joey Rosskopf in the break today.

After a fast descent, the attacks quickly start the next climb. 

Remco Evenepoel is looking for a new challenge at the Tour de Suisse, as he continues to test his stage racing credentials against some of the favourites for this year’s Tour de France, while following his own career trajectory and plans to target the Vuelta a España.

The 22-year-old Belgian leads the QuickStep-AlphaVinyl  in Switzerland.

Click here to read what Remco said of his Tour de Suisse ambitions. 

Evenepoel seeks new challenges against Tour de France contenders at Tour de Suisse

This is the full route map for the 2022 Tour de Suisse.

105km to go

The peloton is tightening their grip on the race as the kilometres tick down. 

The gap to the attackers is 2:30 as they ride over the plateau of the latest climb. 

The presence of TotalEnergies working on the front of the peloton is perhaps a sign that Peter Sagan also feels good and wants to fight for stage victory.

The three-time world champion is back racing after an injury-hit spring and a long spell in the USA training at altitude.  

The riders hit the The Côte au Bouvier climb. 

It is 5.5 kilometers long and has an average gradient of 8.3%. 

It will hurt but watch for Simmons trying to take maximum KOM points at the top.  

Behind the sprinters and their teams will have to carefully pace their effort. 

95km to go

As expected, the peloton has eased on the climb. 

The gap is up above 3:00.

Simmons leads the mountains classification with 13 points. 

It's another hot day at the Tour de Suisse.

Were close to the top of the Côte au Bouvier now. Get ready for Simmons' attack to the KOM.  

The climb is only 5.5km long but has a painful gradient of 8.3%. 

The peloton is riding steady but fast. They're 2:50 down on the break now.

At the top of the Côte au Bouvier, Simmons has almost doubled his points, scoring 12 points. Reutimann is second, Gilbert third.

The riders now rode over another short climb and then can enjoy the fast descent. 

They are half way through their daily suffering. 

88km to go. 

75km to go

Back down in the valley road, the peloton has closed the gap to 2:30.

Stevie Williams can stay cool and relaxed as he was at the start.

Next up is the Bellelay climb. It's 4.7km  long at 7.4%, so far from easy.

70km to go

Remco Evenepoel spins his way back up to the peloton after a natural break. 

The six attackers are:  Philippe Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal), Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), Joseph Rosskopf (Human Powered Health), Manuele Boaro (Astana) and Mathias Reutimann (Swiss National Team ).

They can enjoy the shade of the valley for now.

The peloton is at 2:30.

Bike change for Rohan Dennis. 

He is keen to get going and holds both bidons so that he can stay hydrated.

60km to go

The riders enjoy some cool as they descend on a fast, wide road.

Simmons takes maximum points on the Bellelay climb. 

He gets 6 points on this second category climb. 

Gilbert also grabs 4 points.

60km to go

The peloton has reduced the gap to 2:10.

Bahrain, TotalEnergies and Intermarche lead the chase.

The breaks blasts through the intermediate sprint point. There is no real sprint but Mathias Reutimann (Swiss National Team) made sure he took the most points and the most cash.

Marc Hirschi stops for a bike change. He opens his arms and does not seem too happy. 

But he is quickly away on his spare bike. 

Today's finish could be perfect for him. 

The six attackers continue to work smoothly together but the peloton is slowly eating into their lead. 

it is down to 1:45 with 45km to go.

The break head into a long tunnel, the darkness replacing the hot sun for a moment. 

Attack!

Bissigger decides to take off alone and is quickly joined by Simmons. 

The two, unlike Gilbert, is not an overall threat. The peloton might  give them a little more advantage.  

The race is on the Vauffelin climb and Quinn Simmons takes off alone. 

Simmons eases up after taking more KOM points  and waits for the remains of the break. 

He grabs fresh bidons and quickly pushes on. 

The break is at 1:25 but refuses to give up. The last 35km will be a real tussle between the break and the peloton.

Another biker change for bike Hirschi. 

He seems to now be on his second spare bike of the day. 

35km to go

The break is climbing a valley road. They are down to four riders. 

 Manuele Boaro (Astana) and Mathias Reutimann (Swiss National Team) have been distanced.

The peloton seems determined to keep the four under control. The sprinters can't misso ut yet again today. 

Attaque by Bissegger again. He wants to go faster alone and try to hold off the peloton.

Bissegger goes wide on a hairpin but is quick to correct and try to get back up to speed. 

He quickly ticks low on his bike and tries to time trial to victory. 

25km to go

Bissegger has quickly opened a 20-second gap. 

The peloton is at 1:12.

Bissegger blasts through the finish area and starts the circuit around the hills of Grenchen.  

Bissegger leads the rest of the break by 40, with the peloton at 1:10.

Everyone was able to study the final corners and kilometres of the stage.

The remains of the break ease up and are swept up by the peloton.

Philippe Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal), Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) and Joseph Rosskopf (Human Powered Health) gave it their all but the peloton kept them in check today.  

20km to go

Only Stefan Bissegger remains out front. 

He leads the peloton by 50 seconds.

Bissegger sweeps through every corner, using every inch of the road. 

But his lead is down to 45 seconds as he starts the final rolling section of the circuit.

The last 12km are on flat, straight roads. 

15km to go

As the road climbs along the hillside, Bissegger suffers and the gap is down to 20 seconds. 

Meanwhile Peter Sagan and TotalEnergies seem determined to fight for the win.

He has not won for ninth months and win would be  huge boost before the Tour de France.

Bissegger starts the descent but the peloton can see him. 

14km to go

Gruppo compatto. 

But will someone try an attack on the flat road to the finish?

Is this a sign of destiny? 

Attack for the intermediate sprint.  

Max Schachmann sat on Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas but the Welshman got it to take a nice handt little bonus. 

The two joked about continuing their attack but eased up. 

Now UAE take over at the front for Hirschi and Trentin. 

There's a constant fight for position and stay up front.

5km to go

DSM are also up front and seem keen to control the final kilometres.  

Crash!!

At 4.3km to go. 

Max Schachmann went down. his sprint chances are over.

The peloton has split. 

Sagan is there and up front. 

Sagan is in fifth or so place, trying to surf the wheels and stay protected.

Kristoff also moves up. 

Last Kilometre! 

Geraint Thomas leads it out.

Sagan is on Kristoff's wheel.

Sagan goes early and wins!!! 

Pidcock and Kristoff congratulate Sagan on his win. 

It's his first win for nine months.

Sagan won by almost a bike length. He pointed to the sky to indicate he was back.  

It was Sagan's 120th career win.

Several riders from QuickStep finish now, delayed by the crash.  However Remco Evenepoel finished 46th in the same time as Sagan. 

TotalEnergies are happy.

Sagan beat Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) to the line.

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) took fourth in the bunch finish ahead of Alex Aranburu (Movistar) and Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates).

Here's Sagan's winning sprint.

Here's the shot of the win.

Stevie Williams (Bahrain Victorious) keeps the leader's yellow jersey.

That's another good ride by the Welshman. 

Sagan was happy to celebrate his first win with his TotalEnergies teammates.

Asked why it took him so long and why he suffered on the opening 2 stages, Sagan responded: 

“It’s hard to get back in a racing mood after my sickness and three months without racing, I  just needed some time," he said, playing down talk that he was finally back. 

"It’s just a stage win. I’m happy for that and happy for the team. They all did a  great job pulling with another team all day.  In the end I just made it."  

So is he back?

"Well, it’s nice to be back," he concluded. 

This shot shows how Sagan jumped just ahead of Kristoff to be out front and so take the best line. He then held his speed all the way to the finish line.  

Sadly Kasper Asgreen of QuickStep was one of the riders to crash hard with 4.3km to go.

Images published on Sporza show he suffered road rash on both of his forearms and he also suffered a blow to the head. 

To read more about stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse, check out our full stage report, results and growing photo gallery.

Click below. 

Tour de Suisse: Peter Sagan surges to sprint victory on stage 3

Thanks for joining us for our full live coverage of stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse.

We'll be back on Tuesday with full coverage of stage 4. The 191km stage is from Grenchen to Brunnen in central Switzerland. 

It's been a fascinating and successful 12 years for Sagan. 

He's clearly back to his best and no done yet.