Mauro Schmid is taking his good form from winning the Swiss championship title into the Tour of Europe.
The 24-year-old from Zurich took the overall lead at the Okolo Slovenska, a tour through Slovakia, and will be aiming for overall victory on Sunday.
Schmid finished the 4th stage from Partizanske to Ruzomberok in 6th place, 17 seconds behind the German stage winner Johannes Adamietz, and benefited from the fact that the former leader Anders Foldager and the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe lost significantly more time.
The 5th and final stage on Sunday leads over a hilly 145 km from Liptovsky Mikulas to the vacation resort of Strbske Pleso.