The Swiss rider won the third stage of the Tour this afternoon from Newtown to Swansea in dreadful conditions.
Garmin's Cameron Myer had led the way but Albasini who finished second yesteday over-took Myer on Constitution Hill and took the time bonus and the stage to ensure he had the leader's jersey.
"I felt really good and we decided that we were going to try to make the race really hard and see what happened," said Albasini after the win to the HTC Colombia Press Office. "Tony and I went full gas on the second last climb which was quite a long way from the finish and we caught a leading group with about 40 kilometres to go. Then on that last hard climb we worked really hard and I could break away. I just went like crazy and at the top there was nobody else there. With just one kilometre to go, I knew I had a good chance. Now we've got the lead we're going to see if we can keep this jersey all the way to the race finish in London."
"We decided to try and retake control of the race," said HTC-Columbia Sports Director Brian Holm. "So when we got to the second last ascent, Tony and Michael really went for it. Then Tony did a brilliant job keeping our rivals from catching the front group with him and Michael by driving all out. He was like a locomotive. It's been fun, and it's been a good day for our guys. The pressure was off for the team after André won that opening stage, but we lost the lead on the second stage and we wanted it back."
Tomorrow's fourth stage is from Minehead to Teignmouth.