Intro:

Local rider Michael Albasini was victorious in stage two of the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland on Wednesday (29th April), taking the yellow jersey from Geraint Thomas after the Team Sky rider suffered a puncture.

Script:

Wednesday's second stage of the Tour de Romandie saw the riders take on a 168.1-kilometres route between Apples and Saint Imier.

Orica GreenEdge narrowly lost out to Team Sky by 0.63 of a second in the opening stage team time trial, and the British team was looking to hold on to that lead.

Yellow jersey-holder Geraint Thomas was a mainstay at the front of the peloton - but a puncture scuppered his ride and left him two minutes behind the leaders.

Orica's Michael Albasini and Astana Pro Team's Vincenzo Nibali looked to take advantage with under five kilometres to go but Etixx - Quick Step had manouevred themselves into the lead with only 1.2km remaining.

Quick Step's Tony Martin was in the lead going into the final section, but a strong challenge from a number of riders culminated in Albasini pulling away on the final straight.

The Swiss national crossed the line to claim his fourth overall stage win on the Tour de Romandie - despite close challenges from Jarlison Pantano Gomez and Julian Alaphilippe.

Albasini is now top of the general classification, with team mate Ivan Santaromita in second and Team Sky's Chris Froome in third.