Rast powers to victory, Frank retains lead

Gregory Rast won the sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Thursday as Mathias Frank retained the leader’s yellow jersey.

Veteran Swiss Rast powered clear of Mathew Hayman, Alexander Kolobnev and Bert Grabsch over the final kilometre after the quartet had stayed out in front for much of the 186.1km ride from Leuggern to Meilen.

With Rast riding hard and out of sight, Australia’s Hayman pipped Kolobnev to second with Grabsch rounding out the top four.

In the overall standings, Frank, of Switzerland, remains 23sec ahead of Czech Roman Kreuziger, with last year’s champion Rui Da Costa of Portugal in third at 35sec.

Friday’s seventh stage, a 206km route from Meilen to La Punt, features four categorised climbs, including the HC Albula Pass just before the finish, a climb that peaks at 2,315m.