The 170 riders still competing in the Giro d'Italia travelled to Switzerland with a stage that finished on the shores of Lake Lugano. Italian Sacha Modolo was again the fastest in the sprint in which Kevin Reza took ninth place.

Riding behind his sprinter, Alexandre Géniez (13th) gained 12 seconds on Ryder Hesjedal due to a split in the finale.

"Collectively, everything went well," Kevin Reza said. "In the end, it was tortuous and we made ​​the effort to protect our leader Alexandre Géniez. At the start of the sprint, he was right behind me. That was the goal of the day. Then I could defend my chance but again. I was not very well placed to do better than ninth, missing the top 5. I was a bit far back but in this Giro d'Italia, there are teams well organized for that, including Lampre-Merida who were very fast in the last 500 meters. I will try in Milan in the last stage ... "

Victim of a crash yesterday, Cédric Pineau reached the finish line without any problems despite having a bandaged elbow and left knee.

More than ever, the objective of the FDJ team seems to be within reach as Geniez is 9th overalle. Before the last very big stage to Sestriere, the peloton will return to Italy with a hard stage to Verbania. A breakaway could get far.