Australia's Richie Porte continues to lead the Tour de Suisse, holding a 17-second advantage over stage-seven winner Nairo Quintana.
Colombia's climbing specialist Quintana, of Movistar Team, powered to victory in Friday's 170.5km run from Eschenbach to Arosa in just over four hours.
Quintana completed the mountaintop finish stage with a time of four hours, one minute and 39 seconds, with Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang of UCI WorldTeam Astana and Porte (BMC/Aus) both finishing 22 seconds behind.
"In the end I was struggling. I literally exploded," admitted Porte, who saluted Quintana's ride.
"He pulled off a great performance. I congratulate him with his result."
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.
Refusing to claim that the overall victory was already in the pocket, he added: "We'll only draw conclusions on the final day.
"I don't think it's appropriate to talk about the overall victory just yet."
The nine-stage race culminates Sunday with an individual time-trial stage.
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