The Norwegian professional cyclist Andreas Leknessund from Team DSM has won the second stage of the Tour de Suisse.
After 196 demanding kilometers, the 23-year-old asserted himself as a soloist and celebrated his first day’s World Tour victory in Aesch.
The top German rider Maximilian Schachmann, who finished second on Sunday’s opening stage and just missed out on winning the day, crossed the finish line with the peloton.
In the overall standings he is still four seconds behind the leading Brit Stephen Williams (Bahrain Victorious) in second place.
Leknessund was part of a six-man breakaway group, and with around 17 kilometers to go he left his rivals behind after a strong attack.
The arrival of the field was curious about half a minute after the Norwegian had crossed the finish line: The Italian Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), who won the mass sprint, cheered extensively about the supposed stage win because he hadn’t noticed that Leknessund had been a breakaway in front of the peloton.