Stefan Küng battled to the finish of stage 3 at the Tour de Romandie despite suffering a spectacular crash in the finale, sliding at high speed across the road in sodden conditions.
The Groupama-FDJ rider is the Swiss road race and TT champion and he was clearly intent on making an impact today on home roads. He got into the six-man breakaway and looked the strongest from that group on the penultimate climb.
After coming off that ascent, and with the peloton breathing down his neck, Küng slipped out on the white line in the wet conditions and slid spectacularly across the road.
He flew off his bike and hit a grass verge, which he flew over before coming to a stop. Küng looked shocked after the high speed incident but got back on his bike and battled on, before being caught by the remains of the peloton and being dropped by it.
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Race leader Rohan Dennis (Ineos Grenadiers) also crashed in the closing kilometres and lost time to the 23-man peloton. Marc Soler (Movistar) had attacked that group in the finale, after the last breakaway survivors had been mopped up, and rode clear to a brilliant solo win.
He took the stage by 14 seconds and that time gain, and Dennis's crash, meant Soler took the race lead. Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) won the group sprint for 2nd place from Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) on a hilly stage where the road men did just as well as the climbers.
Soler now leads the race with two stages remaining, including the queen stage tomorrow and the concluding 16km TT on Sunday. Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte of Ineos Grenadiers are 2nd and 3rd, both at 14 seconds.
Eddie Dunbar, also of Ineos Grenadiers, again rode very well today. The young Irishman was a constant presence on the front as his team looked to control the breakaway in defence of Dennis's yellow jersey.
The TV cameras did not catch Dennis's crash but he fell around the same point of the stage as Küng, just inside 15km to go. Dennis's shorts were ripped on the right thigh and he limped home in 45th at 1:21, dropping to 23rd overall.
After his efforts on the front today, on the 168.7km stage starting and finishing in Estavayer, Ireland's Dunbar finished in 84th. He was in a group some 7:25 down on Soler, but having proven his worth with a really strong ride in awful conditions.
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