The second day of the Tour de Suisse saw the breakaway already succeed, as the day's move had one survivor to resist the chase of the peloton, Team DSM's Andreas Leknessund who took his first pro win outside of national championships.
Early in the day the pace was very quick as many riders looked to go in front. The day's breakaway consistent of Michael Schär (AG2R Citroën Team), Leonardo Basso (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost), Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM), Simon Pellaud (Trek - Segafredo), Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal), Matteo Badilatti (Groupama - FDJ), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and Joel Suter (UAE Team Emirates). The group wasn't overly strong, but there was no concerted chase in the peloton which saw the gap rise and then struggle to come down.
From early on in the hills the breakaway started to see moves, as the 5:30 minutes with 50 kilometers to go cemented that the win was in front. With 19 kilometers to go Leknessund attacked off the front, and distanced his companions who were suffering from the fatigue.
The Norwegian summited the final ascent with 1:40 minutes over the peloton and was certain for the win, despite the work that started to be done after the climb from Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux and UAE Team Emirates after Alpecin-Fenix put in a lot of work throughout the climb.
The chase was strong but the finale very fast, and the Team DSM rider had enough power to resist the incoming peloton to take the biggest win of his career. Alberto Bettiol sprinted to second place in the peloton, raising his arms in what would end up being a massive disappointment for the Italian. Michael Matthews sprinted to third.
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