Thomas Löfkvist moved up to third place overall at the Tour de Suisse after battling to an impressive eighth on stage three.

The 26-year-old Swede positioned himself towards the front of the peloton as they approached the steep ascent up to Schwarzenburg and powered on to finish just nine seconds behind stage winner Fränk Schleck.

Tony Martin was credited with the same as Löfkvist in 10th place, and the HTC-Columbia rider was also celebrating after snatching the leader's jersey from Fabian Cancellara.

The 196.6 km stage had begun in Sierre and Alexandre Pliuschin (Katusha), Jussi Veikkanen (Francaise des Jeux) and Ermano Cappeli (Footon) worked themselves free early on and had built a lead of almost 15 minutes as the crested the day's major climb on the Col des Mosses.

With Team Sky, Saxo Bank and RadioShack all working together, that advantage quickly dropped back though and Pliushkin was forced to go it alone as he crossed the finish line for the first time.

The Moldovan was soon swept up on the 39.2km loop which followed and after brief bursts from Michael Albasini (HTC-Columbia) and Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne), the peloton was as one as they approached the destination town again.

Martin and Nicolas Roche (AG2R) both tried their hands on that sharp final rise but it was Schleck who made the move that counted and despite a last-ditch attempt from Rigoberto Urán (Caisse d'Epargne) to haul him back, the Saxo Bank rider managed to hang on narrowly for victory.

Morale sky high

Sports director Marcus Ljungqvist was understandably delighted to see Löfkvist right in the mix and admits morale in the team is sky high.

He told us: "The guys showed excellent teamwork throughout the day and the end result was really good.

"We moved Kurt and Lars-Petter up to the front in the last 100km to help bring the breakaway back, but we were more concerned with preserving Thomas' GC position and fortunately other teams then took up the chase as well."

"Thomas is feeling really good about the way things are going, as are the whole team. It's great to see."

Tuesday's stage sees the riders travel 192.2km from Schwarzenburg to Wettingen and Ljungqvist is hoping for a straightforward day in the saddle.

He added: "On paper, tomorrow's stage looks a little bit easier. There are only two, third category climbs to deal with and it should be one for the sprinters. Our aim will be to ensure that Thomas does not to lose any time."