Astana’s Sanchez wins solo after phenomenal team’s work At Tour De Suisse Stage 2

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NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM Meanwhile, at the Tour de Suisse Astana Pro Team has continued its fantastic Sunday with an amazing solo victory of Luis Leon Sanchez at the second stage of the race. Sanchez attacked with 11 km to go and immediately opened a solid gap. He was able to stay clear away right until the finish line in Langnau im Emmental, taking a very emotional win, the team's press office informs.

"I am so happy I could win today, I did not expect I could be so strong in the final, but I was lucky to hold the gap until the end. We knew we have to do this race as hard as possible since with many big sprinters in the peloton we had to try to escape the bunch sprint to get a chance to fight for the victory. The team was super strong on the last two climbs and later when I saw a moment, I've made my attack. For a few kilometers the situation still was on the limit since the peloton was really close, chasing me hardly. But in the end, I've managed to resist and to win! I want to thank my teammates, they did a phenomenal work during the whole day and, especially, in the final. It is a great moment for me to win here at the Tour de Suisse. Also, I want to congratulate Jakob Fuglsang and all Astana on a big success at the Critérium du Dauphiné! That's great we could reach such a great result for our sponsors and our main partner Samruk Kazyna," said Luis Leon Sanchez.

With 2 climbs on each of three local laps, the second stage provided a good opportunity for the riders who like and know how to attack. Astana Pro Team went in front of the bunch on the bottom of the penultimate climb with around 40 km to go, to set the pace. Firstly, it was Yuriy Natarov and Rodrigo Contreras and later, Andrey Zeits and Luis Leon Sanchez, who did a huge selection in the main group. Omar Fraile made a strong attack with 31 km to go, but later he was caught back. Anyway, thanks to this attack, the group has been split in parts. With 11 km to go Luis Leon Sanchez went away solo and this was the winning move.

"We had a good plan for this stage to do it aggressive and hard for the rivals. All guys did a fantastic job, also Omar Fraile made a very nice attack, which helped us to reduce the peloton. We knew we have to keep on attacking and Luis Leon did it in a right moment. We can be happy with the way we started this Tour de Suisse and also with our team, which won the Critérium du Dauphiné in France! What a great day for Astana Pro Team," said Dmitri Sedoun, sports director of Astana Pro Team.

Also Omar Fraile after his long and powerful attack was able to take part in the sprint and to finish 7th!

In the general classification Kasper Asgreen became the new overall leader, while Luis Leon Sanchez moves up to the 11th position.

The Tour de Suisse will continue tomorrow with the third stage from Flamatt to Murten, 162.3 km. Most probably, it will be a day for sprinters.

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