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Up-and-coming Danish cyclist Matti Breschel won the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, a 195km ride from Biasca to Stafa.

In a small bunch sprint for the finish, Saxo Bank rider Breschel held off Astana's Maxim Iglinskiy by a wheel rim to snatch the stage victory ahead of Wednesday's 202km-long hilly fifth stage from here to Serfaus in Austria.

It is the third victory of the season for the 24-year-old Dane, a bronze medallist at last year's world road race championship, after stage wins at the Tour of Catalonia and the Tour of Luxembourg.

Overnight leader Fabian Cancellara, also of Saxo Bank, handed the race leader's jersey to Slovenian Tadej Valjavec of the AG2R team, who finished third in the lead group.

Cancellara had led the nine-stage race since winning the opening time trial but he came over the finish one minute three seconds in arrears to drop down the standings.

"The good thing about cycling is that you can change your tactics for lots of reasons," Breschel said.

"We had the leader's jersey with Fabian but we didn't want the responsibility of having to control the race all day and so we sent two riders in the break. It worked out because we got the stage victory and Andy also gained time on all the other overall contenders. He almost got the leader's jersey as well."

Thanks to the bonus seconds awarded for his third place finish Valjavec now leads Cancellara's team-mate Andy Schleck by two seconds in the race's general classification.

Any doubts about Schleck's intentions on the race were dispelled by the fact he pocketed six bonus seconds from the intermediate sprints near the end of the stage.

While Breschel was rewarded by lasting the pace throughout the day after getting into a 27-man breakaway, eventually reduced to nine, from the ninth kilometre Saxo Bank will now be expected to throw everything behind Schleck in the race for the yellow jersey.

One of the best climbers in the business, Schleck, 24, won the white jersey for the best placed rider aged under 25 at last year's Tour de France, and this season won the prestigious Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic.

Valjavec, however, is now slouch in the mountains and finished ninth overall in the Tour of Italy last month.

The scene is now set for a thrilling battle between AG2R and Saxo Bank in Wednesday's fifth stage, which includes the climb over the 1793m high Col de Arlberg at the 141km mark and the 10km long climb to Serfaus.

The Tour of Switzerland is a major warm-up race for the three-week Tour de France, which begins in Monaco on July 4.

Stage four results:

1. Matti Breschel (Denmark / Saxo Bank ) 5 hrs 1 min 34 secs

2. Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazakhstan / Astana ) same time

3. Tadej Valjavec (Slovenia / AG2R )

4. Peter Velits (Slovakia / Milram )

5. Oliver Zaugg (Switzerland / Liquigas )

6. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg / Saxo Bank )

7. Alexander Efimkin (Russia / AG2R )

8. Thomas Rohregger (Austria / Milram )

9. Robert Kiserlovski (Croatia / Fuji ) +5"

10. Filippo Pozzato (Italy / Katusha ) +1:03"

Overall standings:

1. Tadej Valjavec (Slovenia / AG2R ) 13 hrs 27 mins 57 secs

2. Andy Schleck (Luxembourg / Saxo Bank ) +2"

3. Peter Velits (Slovakia / Milram ) +11"

4. Thomas Rohregger (Austria / Milram ) +13"

5. Oliver Zaugg (Switzerland / Liquigas ) +14"

6. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland / Saxo Bank ) +20"

7. Robert Kiserlovski (Croatia / Fuji ) +34"

8. Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic / Liquigas ) +42"

9. Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazakhstan / Astana )

10. Andreas Kloeden (Germany / Astana ) +45"

Watch the men's Mountain Biking World Cup race from Maribor on British Eurosport on Sunday 21st June at 10.45pm (Sky 410/Virgin Media 521) , with Women's race highlights on British Eurosport 2, Sunday 21st at 10pm. Or watch on your PC via Eurosport Player - click the link beneath the picture to subscribe

Reuters / AFP