Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) went on the attack with seven km left of Friday’s stage at the Tour de Romandie and managed to create a gap of almost ten seconds.

Pierre Rolland (Europcar) and Sébastien Reichenbach (IAM Cycling) subsequently attempted to bridge the gap to the Italian, but Omega Pharma-Quick Step had taken control of the peloton and soon shut them down.

Malori managed to hold off the Belgian team until 450 metres to go, however, but was swallowed up as the sprinters left in the peloton dashed for the line.

"What a pity! It was the good chance to win,” Malori commented. “I waited for the proper moment to attack, trying immediately to create a good gap between the bunch and me. Then I focused my attention on keeping the pace high, but behind me the sprinters' teams organized the chase."