Team Sky went into the Tour de Suisse with three GC riders but after losing Bradley Wiggins and Sergio Henao due to injury, they only had Peter Kennaugh left going into today's stage. Unfortunately, the Brit was forced out of the race due to illness and instead Philip Deignan put in an impressive performance to finish sixth for the team.

Philip Deignan produced an impressive ride on the famous Verbier summit finish to claim sixth place on the penultimate stage at the Tour de Suisse.

The Irishman continued his strong form following the Giro d’Italia to climb with the lead group up the hors-categorie climb and secure an impressive finish, 17 seconds back on the day’s winner.

Deignan’s cause was aided by team-mate Christian Knees, who forced his way into the break as the peloton departed Delemont. Seven riders eventually became eight out front and the gap opened out to over six minutes at the stage’s half-way point.

Knees then hit out on the closing ramps as the escapees took it in turns to attack one another while the peloton closed in. It was Johan Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) who prevailed on the queen stage, launching a well-timed attack to edge out Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Bauke Mollema (Belkin) by three seconds.

Tony Martin headed into the stage with a lead of 28 seconds and the Omega Pharma – Quick-Step rider hung on gamely on the tough slopes to retain the yellow jersey heading into the final stage - now holding an advantage of 51 seconds.

A difficult race for Team Sky continued with best-placed GC challenger Pete Kennaugh forced out of the race through illness after battling through a cold for much of the week.

Sports Director Dan Frost talked through the day which saw Team Sky active on two fronts.

"Christian got into the breakaway and did a tremendous job out there," he confirmed. "He was going for the stage but there were some teams who didn’t want to see a break go. The group lost some time behind a railway crossing which is a tough situation as you lose your rhythm and it also hampers the mentality of the riders. If you’ve battled hard to build up that time, and to lose it so quickly is tough, even if you still have a decent advantage.

"Pete was struggling yesterday and he felt worse today. It made no sense for him to keep going in the condition he was in, especially with such a tough stage tomorrow.

"Philip took over and on that last climb we positioned him. Luke (Rowe) did a good job on the flat before and Joe (Dombrowski) was also there with him on the climb. He’s had some really good rides this year which is good to see. His form is good which bodes well for the future and hopefully tomorrow.”