LUIS LÉON SÁNCHEZ claimed the Tour of Romandie’s third stage to all but erase Bradley Wiggins’ (Team Sky) general classification advantage.

The Spaniard, brother of Real Madrid footballer Pedro León Sánchez, has broadened his skillset in recent seasons to become a potent threat in multi-stage races, but returned to his roots as a time triallist in the closing stages of this afternoon’s 158km route.

Sheltered within a group of general classification contenders until inside the final kilometre, Sánchez proved the only member of the cohort willing, or indeed able, to launch a sprint on the testing uphill approach to Charmey.

Powerless to arrest his rival’s progress, Wiggins looked on as the Rabobank principal coasted home to claim his third stage victory of the year and with it an invaluable 10-second bonus – enough to draw Sánchez to within a single second of his overall lead.

Gianni Meersman (Lotto-Belisol) and Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) finished the stage in second and third place, respectively.

Matt Brammeier (Omega-Pharma), two-time Irish national champion, featured in the day’s most prominent breakaway but returned to the main body of the peloton when Team Sky increased its pace within the final 50km.

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