Five seconds is nothing but in a very close Tour de Suisse, it was very annoying for race leader Thibaut Pinot to lose those seconds to some of key rivals in stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse. A split before the last corner created a lot of frustration after a great performance by the FDJ team.

"Yes, it was frustrating because the guys had done a great job up to 3 kilometers from the finish where the splits due to craskes or punctures are not taken into account. The road was wet, and it was a very twisty final and there was a crash for the Etixx-Quick Step riders leading the pack. Thibaut was there in sixth place, and he did not have to brake but the peloton was disorganized and became more nervous," sports director Yvon Madiot said.

Arnaud Démare, protected by Sébastien Chavanel and William Bonnet, saw the peloton getting stretched and split  in the last corner. Behind the first five riders who finished in the same time, six riders with Geraint Thomas and Jakob Fuglsang lost two seconds and the peloton lost 7 seconds.

Those five seconds enable the Welshman to reduce his deficit to 42 seconds and Fuglsang is now 1'22'' behind. It could potentially be decisive in the final time trial on Sunday.

"It was nervous," Pinot told L'Equipe. "There were craches and splits. I was in front in the final kilometers and I managed to avoid the crash when the riders Etixx-Quick Step hit the deck 5km from the finish. I could have gone down too. There was a lot of roundabouts and a big fight for position. Many riders slowed down and caught us out. At one point, I lost contact."