Think of Swiss cyclists and the name Fabian Cancellara is likely to be the first from your lips.
Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEDGE), however, has launched an impressive bid for stardom on home soil by winning three stages of the 2014 Tour de Romandie.
The latest came at the end of stage four when he outsprinted Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) and Jan Bakelants (OPQS) from a breakaway.
By sealing a hat-trick with his twentieth victory as a professional, the 33-year-old, overall winner of the 2010 Tour of Britain, proved that he remains a force.
Simon Spilak (Katusha) and Chris Froome (Team Sky) both finished in the bunch and remain separated by a single second at the top of the general classification.
With only an individual time trial remaining, however, the odds of a second consecutive overall victory at the Tour de Romandie are stacked in Froome’s favour.
Official UCI WorldTour photographer, Stefano Sirotti, was on hand to capture all the action from the 174km circuit stage in Fribourg.
Share