Coquard sprints to Tour of Switzerland stage win

French rider Bryan Coquard emerged fastest from a group sprint to take victory in the second stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Monday, as Yves Lampaert of Soudal stayed top of the general ranking.

Bryan Coquard remporte sa première victoire de la saison et sa deuxième au niveau World Tour 🔥🔥#TourdeSuisse 📷 @GettySport pic.twitter.com/rLeR47W8sY

— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) June 10, 2024

The 177-kilometre hilly stage two run from Vaduz, Liechtenstein to Regensdorf in Switzerland came down to a mass sprint in the final stretch, with Australian Michael Matthews and Belgian Arnaud De Lie joining Cofidis' Coquard on the podium.

Italian Alberto Bettiol attacked with 3km to go but was reeled in by the peloton just 1.2km from the finish line.

Ineos' Ethan Hayter and Stefan Bissegger of EF Education EasyPost fell with just over a kilometre left as the bunched peloton prepared itself for a sprint to the line.

But Coquard, 32, was the fastest as he raced clear of his competitors to claim his first stage win in the Tour of Switzerland.

Belgium's Lampaert, the winner of Sunday's stage one time-trial, remained top of the general classification, 4sec ahead of Hayter with Portugal's Joao Almeida a further 3sec back.

What a day in the saddle at the Tour de Suisse😍 Here are the highlights of the 2nd stage from Vaduz to Regensdorf. pic.twitter.com/b5SOyigjYp

— Tour de Suisse (@tds) June 10, 2024