Pinot impresses in Switzerland

(Reuters) - France's Thibaut Pinot laid down a Tour de France marker when the FDJ rider powered to a mountain-top victory in the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse in Soelden, Austria, on Wednesday. The 25-year-old, who finished third in last year's Tour, motored away from a group of favourites to record his second win of the season after he also claimed the queen stage of the Tour de Romandie last month. Pinot beat Italian climber Domenico Pozzovivo by 34 seconds and Slovenian Simon Spilak by 37 seconds. Overall, the Frenchman leads Britain's Geraint Thomas by 47 seconds and Spilak by 50. The Tour de France starts on July 4. (Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar)