Richie Porte continues to stake his Tour de France claims, cracking several key rivals in an uphill finish at the Tour de Suisse.
The Australian cycling star extended his lead by 12 seconds with his sixth place in stage six.
Compatriot Nathan Haas finished runner-up in the stage behind Dane Soren Kragh Andersen to boost his hopes of making Katusha-Alpecin's Tour de France lineup.
BMC have backed Porte with a strong team at the Swiss race and they rode brilliantly for him in the tough sixth stage.
The Tasmanian was delivered perfectly to the base of the final climb and repaid his teammates with a storming finish.
He was able to drop fellow Tour contenders such as Nairo Quintana and now has a 32-second advantage with two key stages left.
Porte was well-placed in last year's Tour de France when he crashed out with serious injuries.
"This is a dress rehearsal for the Tour de France and it really showed today that we are there," Porte said of BMC.
"I think that after the amount of work that the team did for me today, I had to do something.
"I didn't really expect to take time like that. I wasn't feeling great yesterday but today I had a better day and the team was incredible."
But Porte notes that Sky and their leader Chris Froome remain imposing opposition.
"Sky can put three teams together for every Grand Tour," he said.
Porte, who lost last year's Criterium du Dauphine in dramatic fashion during the finale, is also taking nothing for granted at the Swiss race.
The event ends on Sunday with a time trial and Porte notes second-placed riders Wilco Kelderman and Sam Oomen are strong against the clock.
"It's nice to take a little bit more time," he said. "Guys like Kelderman and Oomen are good time triallists, so it's good to put a bit more time into them.
"We can't be complacent yet. We still have a hard stage tomorrow. There are a lot of tired legs out there and after today, some of our guys will be tired tomorrow."
Kragh Andersen won the stage nine seconds ahead of Haas, who also finished third in stage two and is back in form after a bout of ill health earlier this year.
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