Egan Bernal won stage seven to extend his overall race lead ©Twitter/Tour de Suisse

Egan Bernal triumphed on the seventh stage of the Tour de Suisse to extend his overall race lead ahead of the individual time trial tomorrow.

The Colombian finished strongly on the 216 kilometres mountain stage from Unterterzen to San Gottardo.

Bernal, who riders for Team Ineos, attacked on the 12km final climb of the day at Passo San Gottardo.

He rode clear of his rivals on the ascent to take the stage victory in 5 hours, 37 min and 40 sec.

The 22-year-old was followed across the line by Bahrain-Merida duo Domenico Pozzovivo of Italy and Australia’s Rohan Dennis.

The pair crossed 23 seconds adrift of the stage winner, having begun a late chase of the Colombian.

Bernal’s success gave him a 41-second buffer over nearest challenger Dennis heading into tomorrow.

Patrick Konrad of Austria lies third at 1min 13sec down.

The 19.2km time trial in Goms could offer Dennis – the reigning individual time trial world champion – an opportunity to close the gap on Egan Bernal.

A 144.4km stage in Goms will bring the race to a close on Sunday (June 23).