LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, Switzerland, April 30, 2009 (AFP) – Oscar Freire of Spain won the second stage of the Tour de Romandie on Thursday after a break way by teammates Cadel Evans and Philippe Gilbert was stifled just miles before the finish line.

The team Silence-Lotto duo took advantage of the hilly course around northwestern Switzerland to break away on the final climb near the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds.

But Evans, the 2006 Romandie winner, and Gilbert were reeled in by the peloton led by late entry Alejandro Valverde just four kilometres from the finish.

Czech rider Frantisek Rabon was second in a mass sprint to the line after the 162 kilometre stage, while Kazakstan’s Assan Bazayev was third.

Swiss rider Gregory Rast retained the yellow jersey with a slender five second lead with most of the race favourites including Valverde lying in wait just behind.

But French cyclists Florent Brard and Mathieu Sprick earned consolation prizes as they led a solitary breakway for more than three quarters of the hilly stage. As a result, Sprick seized the yellow jersey for best climber.

For the veteran Freire, the sprint was a return to old ways, while Rast struggled through the climbs to hold on to the yellow jersey.

The third stage on Friday will mark a complete shift in pace, as the 160 riders take on a team trial around the lakeside town of Yverdon.