After a long day in the breakaway, Simmons finishes brilliant solo win in Switzerland as favorites misjudge the American

After Grégoire had taken the first leader's jersey in a crazy opening stage, Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost) won the exciting second stage. In Switzerland, where there are virtually no flat sections, day three again featured a punchy stage, which was even slightly tougher on paper than the previous day.

From the start, Nans Peters (Decathlon AG2R), Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost), Jasper de Buyst (Lotto), and, a little later, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) went on the attack, but after a short time, the group came back together. Immediately afterward, Peters, Walker, and Simmons accelerated again, taking Brent van Moer (Lotto), Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Samuele Battistella (EF Education-EasyPost) with them. The six riders broke away and gained a lead of about two minutes in the relatively flat opening phase.

With just over 100 kilometers to go, the gap had been reduced to about one minute, after which a few riders tried to make the crossing. Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) was among those who attempted the move, but it ultimately proved unsuccessful. The French team eventually regained control at the front of the peloton together with Tudor. The breakaway riders saw their lead increase slightly to around two minutes.

At 86 kilometers, we saw a crash, with Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step) and Fabio Christen (Q36.5) as the victims. A few kilometers further on, both men rejoined the peloton. The breakaway group's lead increased slightly to about two and a half minutes. With the hilly finale approaching, more excitement was expected. Geraint Thomas was the next rider to hit the ground. At what appeared to be a low speed, the INEOS Grenadiers veteran went down and remained on the asphalt for a long time.

After a medical check by the doctor, Thomas continued on his way a little later. Meanwhile, Arkéa-B&B Hotels had posted a few men at the front of the peloton to help chase the breakaway riders. With 55 kilometers to go, they still had a two-minute lead.

While Thomas and three teammates were busy making a long return to the peloton, the race exploded at the front. Walker was the first to drop back with 38 kilometers to go, after which Peters was also unable to keep up with the pace. The four remaining attackers pushed on but saw the peloton slowly but surely closing in.

Simmons was not impressed by the fast-approaching peloton and accelerated with 20 kilometers to go. The American champion set off solo, with the pack just under half a minute behind. Simmons' lead slowly grew as he rode alone ahead of the chasing peloton.

At the foot of the climb to Büriswilen (2 kilometers at 6.9%), Simmons had a 40-second lead over the peloton, which had already caught up with the remaining attackers. However, on that challenging climb, the race exploded when Jan Christen (UAE Emirates-XRG) accelerated. Several riders immediately jumped with him, while others had more trouble keeping up. Not long after, Juan Pedro Lopez jumped, but the Lidl-Trek Spaniard could also stay away. Simmons reached the top with a half-minute lead, with ten kilometers to go.

Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) was the next rider behind his compatriot to move towards the final climb, but he didn't get much closer to Simmons. Behind him, there was no control in the thinned-out peloton for a long time, which was to the advantage of the American champion.

With two kilometers to go, Powless was caught by the chasing peloton, where the pace was slightly higher. However, that group did not get any closer to the leader, who seemed to lose little time on the final climb. Simmons stayed ahead of the peloton and sprinted to an impressive victory after finishing fourth the day before. Grégoire retained his leader's jersey.