Three-time world champion Peter Sagan raced to victory in the third stage of the Tour de Suisse on Tuesday with Welshman Stephen Williams holding the overall race lead. The 32-year-old Sagan, of the TotalEnergies team, came across the finish line ahead of France’s Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Norway’s Alexander Kristoff (Intermarches).

It was the 18th stage win on the Swiss tour for Sagan, a record seven-time winner of the Tour de France green jersey awarded to the rider who tops the points classification after consistent high finishes in stages and for winning intermediate sprints.

Bahrain Victorious’ Williams remained atop the general classification, 6 seconds ahead of Denmark’s Andreas Kron. Norway’s Andreas Leknessund and former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas are both a second further adrift after the 110 mile ride from Aesch to Grenchen that featured more than 9000 feet of climbing over seven hills.

The eight-stage Tour of Switzerland is one of the final chances for riders to race before the Tour de France starts in Copenhagen on July 1. Wednesday’s fourth stage is a 118 mile ride from Grenchen to Brunnen, the flattest of the Tour and best suited for sprinters, although the ascent over the Sattel offers a last opportunity for breakaways and mountain climbers to shake off the speed specialists.

TOUR DE SUISSE 2022 STAGE 3 RESULTS

1	Peter SAGAN	TotalEnergies	4:28:38
2	Bryan COQUARD	Cofidis	0:00
3	Alexander KRISTOFF	Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux	0:00
4	Thomas PIDCOCK	INEOS Grenadiers	0:00
5	Alex ARANBURU	Movistar Team	0:00
6	Matteo TRENTIN	UAE Team Emirates	0:00
7	Cees BOL	Team DSM	0:00
8	Michael MATTHEWS	Team BikeExchange – Jayco	0:00
9	Mike TEUNISSEN	Jumbo-Visma	0:00
10	Alberto BETTIOL	EF Education-EasyPost	0:00

 

TOUR DE SUISSE 2022 STANDINGS

1	Stephen WILLIAMS	Bahrain – Victorious	13:32:19
2	Andreas KRON	Lotto Soudal	0:06
3	Andreas LEKNESSUND	Team DSM	0:07
4	Geraint THOMAS	INEOS Grenadiers	0:07
5	Stefan KUNG	Groupama – FDJ	0:10
6	Sepp KUSS	Jumbo-Visma	0:10
7	MArc HIRSCHI	UAE Team Emirates	0:10
8	Aleksandr VLASOV	BORA – hansgrohe	0:10
9	Jakob FUGLSANG	Israel – Premier Tech	0:10
10	Adam YATES	INEOS Grenadiers	0:10

 

RBA/AFP Photos: Sprint Cycling Agency