Fabian Cancellara had to wait a long time this afternoon, only to find out that he had been beaten by a mere three seconds. Due to his overall ranking in the Tour de France, the Olympic medallist attacked the 40.5 kilometre route around Lake Annecy in the early afternoon and scored the best time - until Contador, the last one to start, crossed the finish line.

Cancellara puts his second place mainly down to his strong performance during the last third of the route.

The first split times showed the native of Bern lagged behind by up to 46 seconds.

This victory enabled Contador to extend his lead in the overall ranking. .