"I wanted to give it a try today, also to have a little fun" - Alberto Bettiol nearly upsets sprinters in second stage of Tour de Suisse

The second stage of the Tour de Suisse ended in a sprint of a large group and was won by Bryan Coquard, but Alberto Bettiol did everything he could to avoid a sprint in the final. The Italian seemed to have some chance to pull through with his late attack, but was eventually caught before the flamme rouge.

"On the climb, there appeared to be no one willing to make an attack," Bettiol told Eurosport after the stage. "We didn't ride the climb too hard, although Alpecin-Deceuninck tried it just before the top. After that I didn't know it for a while, but a rider from Decathlon AG2R then took some lead in the descent."

The Italian from EF Education-EasyPost did not hesitate, countered and even briefly went alone on the descent of the Regensberg. "I decided to give it a try. I wanted to give it a try today, also to have a little fun. But winning the stage was difficult, because the stage was not that difficult. Now on to tomorrow's stage."

Stage 3 will provide the Italian with one more opportunity to attack the yellow jersey Yves Lampaert. The lumpy arrival to Rüschlikon, near the beautiful Lake Zurich, should prove too hard for the Belgian rouleur, but that doesn't mean Bettiol will get anything for free as he's currently only 7th overall, 9 seconds behind Lampaert, but also Ethan Hayter holds a five-second advantage, Provided Bettiol wants to take over the lead in general classification, even if for just a day, a stage victory will be essential.