The third stage at the Tour de Suisse if turned around would have been a stage for GC, but with the long Gotthard Pass (18.8km, 5.8%) tackled right from race start, and the short, punchy climbs at the backend of the stunted 117.3 kilometer stage, it all ended in a reduced bunch sprint.

Despite numerous attacks in the closing uphill kilometers, 31 riders arrived at the finish where Peter Sagan (Tinkoff Saxo) finessed the narrow and tricky final corners to take the win.

Julian Arredondo played a crafty game of patience, and with everyone at his limit at the end of the grueling long uphill ending, he was one of a few able to react when Daniel Moreno (Katusha) and Sagan jumped in the final 300 meters.

“I was told to stay in the wheels and I did. But in the technical corners at the end Sagan is so good at that. I was also okay, as it helps that I am small and have a lower center of gravity to get around the corners quickly, but Sagan was very impressive," Arredondo said.

“I am feeling stronger every day, and I recovered well from yesterday’s effort. I really liked the second to last climb today which suits me - steep with all the hairpins. I had good position, maybe it could have been a little better, but I was feeling good.

“So far the race is going well for us, the team is strong, and I am having fun. We have many cards to play still, and I am really looking forward to Wednesday’s stage. I think we can do something really nice that day.”

Bob Jungels and Fränk Schleck also arrived with the vastly reduced front group and finished in the same time; Jungels successfully protected his 9th place in the overall classification while Arredondo still holds on to 11th.

“It was not a super, super hard stage, but when Bob had to have a bike change before the category two climb we had to go back and help him," Schleck said. "It was a big effort from the team and really showed our spirit. Sometimes we miss some shape, some strength, or luck, but I think today we can say we were a team and that was nice to see.”

“I have done Gotthard Pass maybe 20 times already," Jungels said. "We always went there with the Junior National team for training camps so I knew the climb well. I felt pretty good up the climb, and the peloton went fairly neutral up it and I was quite surprised. But when they put an 18km climb at the start I think it’s quite normal the riders are scared. If it was a 5km climb then it’s different. I was hoping it might have gone a bit harder because I felt very good. At the end, it was some bad luck with a mechanical, but the team made a great effort to help me and it all ended okay.”

Tomorrow the Tour de Suisse continues with another lumpy stage that may end with a larger bunch sprint, before the queen mountain stage on Wednesday.