Geraint Thomas clawed another five seconds back on Thibaut Pinot at the Tour de Suisse by crossing the line on the right side of a late split for the second day in succession.

In a carbon copy of Thursday’s stage, Thomas rode astutely to make sure he finished the contest in a 17-man front group, and clock the same time as the day’s victor Alexander Kristoff. Pinot however, saw his lead reduced to 37 seconds after he rolled home in a second 31-man pack.

The result edged Thomas into an even stronger position in the overall standings, and the 10 seconds he has picked up over the last two stages could yet prove decisive in Sunday’s concluding time trial.

The seventh stage had followed the tried and tested formula for a sprint stage, with world champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Eitxx – Quick-Step) a surprise addition in a four-man breakaway that also contained Daryl Impey (Orica GreenEdge), Silvan Dillier (BMC Racing) and Axel Domont (AG2R).

The escapees were aided by a brisk tailwind in the otherwise clement conditions, but Giant-Alpecin and Tinkoff-Saxo quickly joined forces to keep their advantage at a manageable distance.

The undulating parcours saw Dupont dropped from the breakaway in the last 30km, but Kwiatkowski put up a far more determined fight, and there were only 500m left to race when he was finally hauled back on the run in Düdingen.

By then the sprint trains were in full flow with Kristoff (Katusha) sat on Daniele Bennati’s wheel as he attempted to lead out Tinkoff-Saxo team-mate Peter Sagan.

Sagan, however, paid the price for slotting in behind Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar), and the gap which opened up when Rojas floundered proved a fraction too far. Sagan dug deep to reduce his losses on the fast finishing straight, but Kristoff did just enough to hold off the Slovak and take his victory by half a wheel at the line.