Astana rider Enrico Gasparotto finished an agonizingly close second on Thursday in stage two at the Tour de Romandie, chasing a late breakaway from a small group of riders into the Swiss town of Granges.

Gasparotto was in an elite selection after a late category two climb split up the peloton on the 190 km stage. He finished in a dead heat with Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) of Lithuania after the Lithuanian sprinted from 300m to go.

"The difference between us at the finish was two fingers. No more. I was third into the last corner with 400m to go, and it was my job to work for Gavazzi. But Navardauskas sprinted from 300m, so I jumped on his wheel and tried to pass him for the sprint, but he was too fast," said Gasparotto on the Astana website.