tour of romandie 2023 gc

Tour de Romandie 2024

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Prologue - Maikel Zijlaard wins prologue from early start on dry course

Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling) earned the first leader's jersey of the Tour de Romandie with his victory in the prologue Tuesday. The 24-year-old completed the short 2.3km time trial in 2:55 and to the hot seat before the rain made the streets in Payerne treacherous. 

Australian Cameron Scott (Bahrain Victorious) came closest to unseating Zijlaard, taking second place with less than a second separating the duo. Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quickstep) finished third.

Tour de Romandie 2024 overview

The 77th edition of the Tour de Romandie returns to the calendar on the final week of April, 23rd to 28th. The six days of racing brings together all the cantons of French-speaking Switzerland, Romandie, for WorldTour competition. 

When the event launched in 1947, there were four days of racing. It was elevated to the WorldTour in 2011 and now with six days of competition it serves as preparation for riders and teams headed to the Giro d’Italia. In 2022, organisers launched the Tour de Romandie Féminin which continues on the Women's WorldTour. 

Irishman Stephen Roche holds the current record for most GC victories, taking the title in 1983, 1984 and 1987. There are 12 other riders who have a pair of overall titles, with Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) reaching that achievement most recently with wins in 2018 and 2019.

In 2023, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) used a solo triumph atop Thyon 2000 on stage 5 to take the general classification lead. He secured the title on Sunday, with Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) in second, 19 seconds back, while Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) rounded out the podium at 27 seconds.

This year's Tour de Romandie route is 45.5km shorter than 2023, but still provides more than 11,000 metres of climbing. The Prologue in 2024 will take place in Payerne on the east side of Neuchâtel Lake. For a second consecutive year a mid-race individual time trial will break up the action in the mountains, this one 15.5km loop around Oron. The queen stage on Saturday will be a 151km route to the Vaud Alps resort village of Leysin, with the overall finish on Sunday at Vernier, to the west of Geneva.

Tour de Romandie race history

The Tour de Romandie was founded in 1947 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Swiss Cycling Union. That first edition brought together 10 teams and a total of 40 riders for four stages of racing, Belgium's Désiré Keteleer securing the overall victory. 

Between 1983-1987, Irishman Stephen Roche won the Tour de Romandie three times and still holds that record. Twelve riders have won the race twice, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) last taking a pair of GC titles in 2018 and 2019.

Eight Swiss riders have won the Tour de Romandie, Tony Rominger securing the crown on home soil in 1991 and 1995, while Pascal Richard went back-to-back in 1993 and 1994.

The race was elevated to ProTour level in 2006, then five years later to WorldTour status. The high alpine mountains of Switzerland are on full display for the event, and provide the perfect tuneup for the first Grand Tour of the season, the Giro d'Italia, which arrives the following week.  

View the full list of winners .

• Tour de Romandie past winners
• Tour de Romandie 2024 route

• Stage 3 | Oron - Oron 2024-04-26 15.5km
• Stage 4 | Sailion - Leysin 2024-04-27 151.7km
• Stage 5 | Vernier - Vernier 2024-04-28 150.8km

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2023 Tour de Romandie (World Tour), Swiss Cycling

76th edition: april 25 - april 30, 2023.

Tour de Romandie podium history | 2022 edition | 2024 edition | Start list Prologue | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5

2023 Tour de Romandie map

Sunday, April 30: 5th & Final Stage, Vufflens la Ville - Genève [Geneva], 170.8 km

Stage 5 map & profile

Fernando Gaviria takes the final stage. Sirotti photo

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Weather at the finish city of Geneva at 3:00 PM, local time: 16C (62F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the northeast at 10 km/hr (6 mph).There is a 16% chance of rain.

The race: Here's the report from final GC leader Adam Yates' UAE Team Emirates.

Adam Yates and UAE Team Emirates put on a confident display of strength on the final stage of the Tour de Romandie to take overall victory and seal the 23rd win of the season for the Emirati squad.

Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) took the stage win in a fast sprint on the final straight alongside the lake of Geneva.

UAE Team Emirates also climbed the podium and winners of the team classification to top-off a successful week of racing in Switzerland.

Yates: “First of all I want to say a big thanks to the guys. They controlled the race perfectly today so it’s thanks to them the we won this race. It’s been the perfect week for us with two stage wins and the overall so we can’t ask for much more.We try and win every race we do, so for us in the team it’s fantastic. Now time to rest and build up to the next build goals.”

2023 Tour de Romandie winner Adam Yates takes home the yellow jersey.

Complete results:

170.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 43.056 km/hr

• GC winner: Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates)
• Mountains classification winner: Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo)
• Points classification winner: Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers)
• Best young rider: Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)
• Teams classification winner: UAE Team Emirates

691.57 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.180 km/hr

Stage 5 map & profile:

Stage 5 map

Stage 5 profile

Saturday, April 29: Stage 4, Sion - Thyon, 161.6 km

Stage 4 map & profile

Adam Yates has left everyone else behind to take the stage and the GC lead. Sirotti photo

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Weather at the finish city of Thyon at 2:50 PM, local time: 8C (46F), showers in the area, with the wind from the southwest at 6 km/hr (4 mph). Through 4:00 PM there is an 80% chance of rain, declining to 30% in the late afternoon.

The race: There were three non-starters: Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma), Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) & Kobe Goossens (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty)

Here's the report from stage winner and new GC leader Adam Yates' UAE Team Emirates:

UAE Team Emirates strike again at the Tour de Romandie.

After the success in yesterday’s time trial from Juan Ayuso, today it has been Adam Yates’ turn to take victory in Suisse by ruling the queen stage, 161,6 km from Sion to the summit arrival of Thyon 2000. It is the 22nd victory for UAE Team Emirates in 2023.

The British rider also becomes the new leader of the race.

Stage four, run under bad weather conditions, was led by a ten men breakaway, whose effort was neutralized on the final climb, 20.9 km at 7.6%.

Juan Ayuso, leader of the general classification, dropped from the main group at 8 km to the arrival, but UAE Team Emirates could rely on Rafal Majka and Adam Yates: the English cyclist attacked at 4.6 km to go and no one could prevent him taking the double stage victory plus leader jersey.

Second place went to Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) at 7” and third position for Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious) at 19”; Majka was 11th at 54”.

In the overall classification, Yates has an advantage of 19” on Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), Majka is 8th at 1’47”.

The final stage will take the group from Vufflens la Ville to Geneve over 170,8 km with a 2nd category climb and a 3rd category climb at 50 km to the arrival.

Adam Yates will start stage five in yellow. Sirotti photo

Yates :   “I am very happy. It was a really good performance from the team. From the beginning, we knew Ayuso would have tried to fight to keep the jersey as long as possible and we helped him. Then Juan gave me the green light to go for the win, so I tried and I pushed hard until the finish line.

"It has been important for me to win, especially after the bad luck in the last couple of races: I had a big crash in Catalunya, I took time to recover and now I am here celebrating this success”.

161.6 kilometers raced at an average speed of 34.544 km/hr

520.75 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 39.318 km/hr

Stage 4 map & profile:

Tour of Romandie stage 4 map

Tour of Romandie stage 4 profile

Friday, April 28: Stage 3, Châtel St. Denis 18.75 kilometer time trial

Stage 3 map & profile

This is how it is done. Juan Ayuso on his way to wining the time trial and taking over the GC. Sirotti photo

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Weather at the race city of Châtel St. Denis at 2:50 PM, local time: 18C (64F), cloudy, with the wind from the west at 18 km/hr (11 mph). There is a 16% chance of rain during the afternoon.

The race: Here's the report from stage winner and new GC leader Juan Ayuso's UAE Team Emirates.

Juan Ayuso returned to racing and did it in the best way possible, winning the third stage of the Tour de Romandie and his first World Tour stage with a perfect time trial performance.

The stage saw riders individually race against the clock along 18.7km with the start and finish in Châtel-Saint-Denis.

Juan Ayuso will start stage four in yellow. Sirotti photo

UAE Team Emirates was a major protagonist on the stage with several riders occupying the top positions both in the first intermediate and in the final top 10. Mikkel Bjerg finished today’s race in seventh position and Adam Yates in third.

Following the advice of his teammates who had faced the time trial before him, Juan Ayuso passed the first intermediate with the third-best time, unleashing his power in the second part of the race until the finish line where he stopped the clock at 25’15”.

Ayuso: “I am in disbelief but obviously happy. It is my first victory in a World Tour race and in a time trial, and when I realized I had won, it was fantastic. I was only able to train for three weeks and half, so tomorrow will be a decisive test to see my condition. In case I can’t give my best, we still have Adam who did a great job and is in a good position in the General Classification, and we can count on him. Surely I will give my best tomorrow to continue wearing this yellow jersey.”

Thanks to the seconds gained, the Spaniard now leads the General Classification with an 18" advantage over Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team) and 19" over Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma), awaiting the penultimate stage scheduled for tomorrow, the only one suited for climbers, which will take riders up to 2090 meters in Thyon 2000 after 161.6 km starting from Sion.

18.75 kilometers raced at an average speed of 44.554 km/hr

359.15 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 41.951 km/hr

Stage 3 map & profile:

Stage 3 map

Stage 3 profile

Thursday, April 27: Stage 2, Morteau - La Chaux de Fonds, 162.7 km

Stage 2 map & profile

Ethan Hayter takes the stage and the GC lead. Sirotti photo

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Weather at the finish city of La Chaux de Fonds at 2:30 PM, local time: 14C (57F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the west at 10 km/hr (6 mph). There is a 1% chance of rain during the afternoon.

The race: There were two non-starters: Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost) & James Knox (Soudal Quick-Step).

Here's the report from stage winner & new GC leader Ethan Hayter's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Ethan Hayter powered to a comprehensive sprint victory on stage two to move into the overall race lead at Tour de Romandie.

Hayter rounded off an excellent team performance after a lead out from Egan Bernal and Jhonatan Narvaez on a tricky finish in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The British national time trial champion had weathered a number of attacks on the categorised climbs approaching the finish, with only half the peloton making it to the final climb - Le Communal.

The Grenadiers came together after the final ascent, working together well to navigate a technical finale with a lot of road furniture in the last kilometres.

After coming through the final roundabout, Bernal and Narvaez timed their leadout to perfection, dropping Hayter at the front of the bunch. The London rider calmy waited for his rivals to make the first move before putting an impressive acceleration in to win the stage and move into the race lead.

Ethan Hayter: "I was climbing quite well yesterday and maybe if there had been another climb nearer the finish I would have done better yesterday, but I was quietly confident today.

"The sprint wasn’t so close, but to get there was the hard part. It was a pretty hard stage, Jumbo made a pretty hard pace on all the final climbs and there were a fair few attacks at the end. I survived and we got to the front at the perfect time.

"We had to go a little bit early, but I think it was best with all the roundabout to stay out of trouble. Then I was waiting for the guys to come behind, because Jhonatan Narvaez came a long, long way to join the front. I saw someone was coming and then opened up the sprint.

162.7 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.482 km/hr

340.4 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 41.832 km/hr

Stage 2 map & profile:

Stage 2 map

Stage 2 profile

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Wednesday, April 26: Stage 1, Crissier - Vallée de Joux, 170.9 km

Stage 1 map & profile

Ethan Vernon is the day's fastest rider. Sirotti photo

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Weather at the finish city of Le Sentier at 2:15 PM, local time: 9C (50F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the southwest at 11 km/hr (6 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Testing positive for Covid-19, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan), did not start.

Here's the report from stage winner and new GC leader Ethan Vernon's Team Soudal Quick-Step.

Ethan Vernon scored a crushing sprint victory on stage 1 of the Swiss race, after a great lead-out of Casper Pedersen, who placed him in a perfect position with 300 meters to go. A winner of three races in the first couple of weeks of the season, Ethan remained calm in a hectic finale, before launching down the middle of the road and stomping his sprinting authority in Vallée de Joux.

“It’s the second World Tour success of my career after the one in the Volta a Catalunya last year, and just like back then, it feels great to win at this level”, said one of the youngest riders to take a Tour de Romandie stage victory this century.

The day contained three classified climbs, but a flawless teamwork of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates helped the Brit make it over the stage’s difficulties, where many of the other sprinters got dropped. Dries Devenyns did a fabulous job, keeping things together for most of the stage, before Rémi Cavagna and even overall leader Josef Cerny took over in the closing kilometres, making sure Vernon remained well-positioned under the flamme rouge.

Following this victory and the bonus seconds it brought, the 22-year-old went straight to the top of the general classification, ahead of Josef, and will sport the yellow jersey on the hilly stage to La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Ethan Vernon will start stage two in yellow. Sirotti photo

“It was difficult on the climbs, as some teams upped the tempo and pushed hard, but I survived thanks to the boys. I am grateful to them, not just for their help there, but also for the mammoth work they put in the entire day. I already had three victories this season before today, but the last of these came two months ago, so it feels good to win again. Leading this race is a bonus, and I will enjoy wearing yellow on Thursday”, added Ethan after Soudal Quick-Step’s 21st victory of the year.

170.9 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.756 km/hr

177.7 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 42.145 km/hr

Stage 1 map & profile:

Stage 1 ma p

Stage 1 profile

Tuesday, April 25: Le Bouveret prologue 6.82 km individual time trial

Prologue time trial map | Photos

Josef Cerny on his way to winning the prologue. Sirotti photo

Weather at the race city of Le Bouveret at 1:50 PM, local time: 9C (48F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the north at 8 km/hr (5 mph). During the afternoon there is a 24% chance of rain.

The race: First rider scheduled to roll off is Jonathan Bogli (Swiss Cycling) at 2:50 PM.

Here's the report from stage winner Josef Cerny's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Josef Cerny became the tenth different Soudal Quick-Step rider to put his name on the winners’ list of this season, after an impressive display of strength on the 6.8km flat course around Le Bouveret. The 30-year-old came at the start of the longest Tour de Romandie prologue in a decade with the hope of racking up a top 10 finish, but he exceeded any expectations beating a host of specialists to net Soudal Quick-Step’s 20th victory of the year.

Multiple national champion of the discipline, Cerny averaged a whooping 55.17km/h despite the wet roads, setting a time of 7:25, which put him in the hot seat, where he remained for the slimmest of margins, only three tenths of a seconds separating him from runner-up Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma). Another Soudal Quick-Step rider, Rémi Cavagna, also came very close, concluding just a second behind his teammate. Our team had three men in the top 10 at the end of the day, after Ethan Vernon – making his first appearance in a month – produced a solid effort to take the best young rider jersey.

Cerny, now the first Czech rider in 14 years to win a stage and wear the Tour de Romandie yellow jersey, was over the moon with his victory: “It was a fast course, but I gave everything and did a good prologue. It was very close, but in the end I was the lucky one. I worked hard in the time trial, had good legs and a very good bike, and now I’m happy with this win. I wasn’t the favourite. I was hoping for a top 10 or a top 5, so to get the victory is just fantastic. It was a fast course, I did a good prologue, I was very close, but in the end I was the lucky one and I’m happy with this victory.”

Josef Cerny will start stage one in yellow. Sirotti photo

“I worked hard in the time trial, had good legs today and a very good bike. I knew I wasn’t the favourite, I was more hoping for a top 10 or top 5, so to win is fantastic. It gives me a lot of joy to have the yellow jersey in such a prestigious race”, said Josef, who also leads the points and KOM classification.

More photos

6.82 kilometeres raced at an average speed of 55.173 km/hr

Prologue map:

More Prologue photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

Lilian Calmejane

Elia Viviani

Robert Gesink

Chris Harper

Alexey Lutsenko

Start list with back numbers, April 24, 2022:

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Tour de Romandie stage 5: Fernando Gaviria wins last stage, Adam Yates takes GC title over Matteo Jorgenson

Follow all the action as bernal, cavendish, jorgenson and more spar in six day swiss race..

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Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) claimed his second victory of the season on the final stage of the Tour de Romandie in Geneva.

Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) finished safely in the bunch to win the overall title after taking victory on the race’s queen stage, with Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) securing second place in the GC.

Gaviria had a clear margin on the rest of the pack going around the final corner, just under 300m to the line, after being set up perfectly by his Movistar squad.

The Colombian held his advantage all the way to the line to take the win by around two bikes’ length. Nikias Arndt (Bahrain-Victorious) crossed the line for second place ahead of stage 2 winner Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers).

Yates held onto his 19-second advantage over Jorgenson by staying within the bunch to take the GC win in his first attempt at the Tour de Romandie.

“First of all, I wanted to say a big thanks to the guys. We controlled the race perfectly today, I didn’t really do much. It’s thanks to them that we won today,” Yates said afterward. “It’s been a perfect week for us, we’ve got two stage wins and the overall so we can’t ask for much more.”

There was a raft of non-starters for the fifth stage and final with illness and injury continuing to take its toll on the peloton. The day took the riders from Vlufflens-la-Ville to Geneva, bringing them over two classified climbs along the way.

A group of three riders got up the road after just a few kilometers of racing with two more eventually bridging over. The day’s move consisted of Thomas Gloag (Jumbo-Visma), Paul Lapeira (AG2R-Citroën), Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Antoine Aebi (Switzerland), and Alexander Kamp (Tudor).

The five riders built up an advantage of close to five minutes at one point but the peloton was not going to allow them to stay clear and chased hard to bring them back with over 30km to go. The fast pace dropped several riders, including Gaviria, but the long run from the final climb allowed many to come back.

A second breakaway got up the road with three riders in it, but it too would eventually be brought back with Movistar and Ineos Grenadiers both working hard on the front to bring it home for a sprint.

Gaviria was at the front of the bunch as it approached the last corner and came out of it with a significant lead over the rest and did not slow until he knew he had the job done.

Results powered by FirstCycling.com

S4: Adam Yates attacks into lead ahead of Matteo Jorgenson

Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) doubled up Saturday to win the decisive mountaintop finale and stopped Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) from overtaking the race lead at the Tour de Romandie.

Overnight leader Juan Ayuso was gapped on the lower flanks for the decisive 20km climb through fog and rain, putting Jorgenson into the virtual lead.

Yates surged with just under 4km to go to win the stage and keep the leader’s jersey within UAE Team Emirates going into Sunday’s finale.

“I tried and pushed it all the way to the line,” Yates said. “We tried to help Juan because he deserved our support. He’s such a big talent, for sure he can win some big races in the future. He said to me 4-5km to go that I should go for the win.

“All week we’ve been riding well, so hopefully we can keep it tomorrow,” Yates said. “It’s nice to win, and I had some bad luck in the last few races. I had a bad crash at Catalunya, and I needed some time off to recovery.”

With the jersey in play, the American marked the attacks to defend his GC hopes when Yates jumped with less than 4km with a surge that no one could answer.

Jorgenson finished fifth out of the time bonuses to miss out on the chance to take over the race leader’s jersey, with Yates winning ahead of the chasing Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ).

“I did everything I could. Adam was the better climber and he won the race, so he deserves it,” Jorgenson said. “He’s really punchy, and when he went, at a certain point I couldn’t follow and I knew if I kept going I would blow up. I did the rest of the climb at my rhythm, with those guys on my wheel. It was close, but he deserves it.”

With one stage left to go, Yates moves into the lead, with Jorgenson remaining second, now at 19 seconds back, with Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) slotting into third.

An early break featuring Lawson Craddock (Jayco AlUla) featured in the day’s main escape before being caught on the lower flanks of the long summit to Thyon 2000. Mike Woods (Israel Premier Tech), who won here in 2021, crashed just at the base of the climb.

The lead bunch inevitably shrunk under the pressure of the steep slopes. Overnight leader Ayuso was gapped with about 8.5km to go, putting Jorgenson into the virtual lead.

The young Spanish star, who won Friday’s time trial to take over the lead, knew he’d be struggling in the mountains in his first race since finishing third in last year’s Vuelta a España.

“It was tough. I had no legs and I exploded,” Ayuso said. “When I knew I was out of the podium, I went easy because I was on the limit. I knew that I am still not in shape, because I am coming back from a hard injury. Yesterday was a surprise, and I think what happened today is normal when you consider how I arrived.”

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) put in a solid ride with eighth at 54 seconds back in one of his best high-mountain performances in his comeback season so far in 2023.

The race concludes Sunday with the 170.8km final stage from Vufflens-la-Ville to Genève. Two short but steep climbs animate the middle of the stage in what should deliver a reduced bunch sprint.

Stage 3: Juan Ayuso blitzes to comeback victory in hilly TT, takes GC lead

Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates) edged out U.S. star Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) to win the hilly time trial into Châtel-Saint-Denis in stage 3 of the Tour de Romandie.

Ayuso’s five-second victory was good to move him into the leader’s jersey ahead of Saturday’s grueling high-altitude summit finish on Thyon 2000. Jorgenson moves to second overall, 18 seconds back.

Victory on a tough hilly course makes for a huge landmark for Ayuso in what was his first race since he finished third at the 2022 Vuelta a España.

The Spanish 20-year-old spent the off-season struggling with tendinitis and only returned to racing in Romandie’s opening prologue this week.

“I am getting better but the legs are feeling worse every day,” Ayuso said after his ride.  “I am starting to suffer a lot and I feel like my form is still not there, but if I keep improving in the race I’ll be very happy.”

The 19km Swiss course was dominated by a long grinding climb before a long, fast descent toward the finishline.

U.S. racer Will Barta (Movistar) saw some time in the race leader’s hotseat before his countryman and teammate Jorgenson went faster and took the lead.

Jorgenson remained the rider to beat all the way through to the final flurry of GC contenders rolled down the ramp.

Ayuso’s blitzing climb and wild final kilometer at the very close of the stage was good to oust Jorgenson and mark an extra-successful comeback from the Spainiard’s long layoff with injury.

Stage 2: Ethan Hayter sprints to win, takes race lead

Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) took a sprint win from a reduced bunch sprint on stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie into La Chaux-de-Fonds, taking the race lead in the process.

Hayter had a clear margin over Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) in second place with Romain Bardet (Team DSM) taking third.

The bunch had been thinned out over a series of climbs inside the last 30 kilometers and a frenetic finale followed with several of the GC riders attempting to go on the attack as the line loomed into sight.

“Maybe the sprint wasn’t so close, but to get there was the hard part. It was a pretty hard stage and Jumbo made a good pace on all of the last climbs and there were a lot of attacks in the last part. I survived and did a good sprint,” Hayter said afterward.

“My team got to the front at the perfect time. We had to go a little bit early but I think it was best with all of the roundabouts to stay out of trouble and then I was just waiting for the guys to come from behind. I saw someone coming and then I started the wind up for the sprint.”

Illness has played havoc with the peloton already this week and James Knox (Soudal Quick-Step) was the next rider forced to leave due to sickness. U.S. rider Sean Quinn (EF Education-EastPost) also didn’t make the start Thursday morning.

It took around 25km of racing before a small three-rider breakaway made it up the road. Gleb Brussenskiy (Astana-Qazaqstan), Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafred), and Tom Bohli (Tudor) formed the move. The trio gained almost five minutes at one stage, but the peloton wasn’t content with the break taking the win and began pulling the group back in the second half of the stage.

Brussenskiy was the last of the attackers to hold off the inevitable, but he was eventually caught inside the final 30km.

While the terrain was far from the toughest that will be seen at the race, Jumbo-Visma set a stern pace for overnight leader Tobias Foss that gradually whittled down the bunch on the penultimate climb of the Col de la Tourne, a second-category ascent. However, there was still a sizeable number in the main group when the climb was completed with 25km to go.

The race exploded briefly on the final climb of Le Communal with Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) trying to get away, but the third-category ascent wasn’t long wough to do too significant damage. From the top, there was a short descent before an uncategorized rise inside the final 10km and a flat finale.

A series of attacks on the flat roads to the finish strung out the bunch into the final kilometer. Ineos Grenadiers took control and launched Hayter to the win.

Stage 1: Ethan Vernon wins after half the peloton loses its way

Ethan Vernon (Soudal Quick-Step) powered to victory in stage 1 at the Tour de Romandie in a stage marked by the back half of the peloton getting lost on course.

The bunch split on a steep climb with about one hour to go, and the leaders roared into the finish to contest for the sprint.

The laggards, however, seemed to get mixed up and steered off-course when the gap was about 5 minutes to the leaders.

The lost group was seen pedaling back toward the finish line with oncoming traffic on the course in what was a rolling closure at the week-long Swiss race.

It was not immediately clear what caused the misdirection. The group rolled in about 10 minutes back, but well within any risk of missing the time cut.

At the front of the race, Vernon was fastest in the reduced bunch, with Thibau Nys (Trek-Segafredo), son of CX legend Sven Nys,  pounding his handlebar after finishing second and just missing his first WorldTour win. Milan Menton (Lotto Dstny) crossed the line third.

“The group split with about 45km to go, so I knew it was all-in for the sprint. The nerves started to set in a bit when you know the stage is there. I didn’t see anyone behind me,” Vernon said. “I don’t think there’s much time to enjoy tomorrow, but it looks quite hard.”

Soudal Quick-Step played hot potato with the leader’s jersey, with Vernon also taking over the top spot on GC from teammate Josef Cerny, who won the opening prologue Tuesday.

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) and Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) both did not finish.

The race continues Thursday with the 162.7km second stage from Morteau to La Chaux-de-Fonds. A couple of short but steep climbs could complicate things for the pure sprinters.

Prologue: Josef Černý blitzes to slim GC lead

Josef Černý topped the prologue podium Tuesday and secured the leader’s jersey at the Tour de Romandie.

The Czech landed Soudal-Quick-Step’s 20th win of the season by topping world TT champion Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) and Quick-Step teammate Rémi Cavagna in a lightning-fast 6.8km race around Port Valais.

Černý won by just one second with his 55.1kph ride around Port Valais.

“It was really tight, I’m super happy I was the lucky one today and could enjoy the win,” he said after the race.

“I work hard, so I was not super surprised [by the result]. I was not really the favorite today, but I was very confident and thought I could be top-10 or top-5. But victory is really nice for me.”

Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) landed in the hotseat early on Tuesday and lasted there for some time until Černý bettered his time by four seconds.

The 29-year-old’s ride was good enough to fend off challenges from pre-stage favorites Foss, Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers), and Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates).

Returning GC stars Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates) finished 26 and 12 seconds back respectively. Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) was the fastest U.S. racer with a time that put him 33rd, 19 seconds behind Černý.

Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) saw a horror start to his tour.

The former world champ was derailed in the first meters of the race when his chainring ripped away from his frame as he stamped out of the start ramp.

Costa was forced to complete the TT on his road bike while nursing what looked to be an injured knee. He finished five minutes down but appears to have survived the time cut.

Disaster for Rui Costa in Switzerland #TourdeRomandie pic.twitter.com/uOJtkN44uB — Mark Contador (@MarkContador80) April 25, 2023

Racing kick starts proper Wednesday with a long hilly day into Valée de Joux.

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Tour de Romandie Standings 2023

PREVIEW | Tour de Romandie 2023 stage 4 - Queen stage to decide GC, Juan Ayuso faces tough competition

Preview . Stage 4 of the Tour de Romandie is the queen stage. High in the Alps the riders will tackle a brutal stage and an incredibly difficult summit finish which should decide the outcome of the overall classification.

Whilst specific details are yet to be given, stage four of the race will be the queen stage. It is a classic aswell at the Swiss race, as the riders tackle the Rhône valley's many ascents, in a stage that culminates on the Thyon 2000 climb, where big gaps are expected. There is a total of over 4300 meters of climbing, and unlike last year the gaps will be made outside of the time-trials - on a day like this there is no hiding.

Estimated start and finish times for Tour de Romandie stage 4: 10:55 - 15:50CET

Juan Ayuso continues impressive return to racing by winning the stage 3 time-trial at the Tour de Romandie

There is a 2-kilometer climb at over 7% near the start where the breakaway will likely get away. It needs to be a group of strong climbers if there is any ambition of surviving, as the riders will take on three long and difficult climbs within the Rhône valley. The first of which is Anzère, 14.6 kilometers at 7% that end with 117 kilometers to go. Another small ascent quickly follows, but the riders will then prepare for the second main climb.

Suen is another difficult challenge. Officially it's 14Km at 6.6% however the details of the climb hide an uglier truth, which is that it's last three kilometers are almost flat. Most of the ascent is in fact at a constant 8% and sees many hairpins. This one will end with 43 kilometers to go, however the difficulties that are still to come mean most will try to approach it conservatively.

TV Guide - Where and When to watch Tour de Romandie 2023

The descent is split into two, however riders will be fighting for positioning into the second one, as it is quite technical and directly leads into the base of the final ascent. The riders have no time to calm down and prepare for Thyon 2000 in the valley, they immediately start climbing up it. However threats of an attack at the base aren't high as it's an effort of over 50 minutes.

The climb in total is 20.9 kilometers at 7.9% and is rather constant, the first half being mostly between 5 and 7%, but the second half featuring three tiny flat sections. The gradients will be higher however overall, exceeding 10% in some sections. The ascent goes all the way into 2090 meters of altitude, it's a proper high-mountain challenge and the gaps created at it's summit could prove decisive for the outcome of the race.

"My legs feel worse every day" - Juan Ayuso modest after stunningly taking first career World Tour win following lengthy injury lay-off

The Weather

The riders should avoid the rain once again, and the wind also won't be taking much effect. Temperatures won't be high however, the descents can be quite dangerous as wet spots in the corners are likely and all are very technical.

2023 Tour de Romandie Race Center - TV, Startlist, Profile & Previews

The Favourites

UAE - Juan Ayuso is now in the lead of the race. It's a strong start to the season after a very long injury and he's immediately in the right place. He's talked of fatigue and I do believe his form is not at it's best, however I wouldn't be surprised if he can defend it - I certainly believe he's close to taking the step to join the likes of Evenepoel and Pogacar when it comes to climbing prowess. However UAE rarely race with a set leader when Pogacar is not around, and with Adam Yates sitting third it's likely that he'll be given freedom. It's UAE's race to lose I reckon.

Matteo Jorgenson - The American has been racing stupendously this spring. There's no doubt he can climb at a very high level, but he is a heavier rider than most around him and I think he'll have a hard time. With this said for sure he can hold on to a podium, I think it's both realistic and already a terrific result if he would achieve it.

Groupama - FDJ - How well could Thibaut Pinot do? He's looking sharp, the GC now seems to be impossible to win but that wasn't likely his goal. The more explosive climbs would suit him better but he's a card, whilst the brutal ascent may favour Lenny Martínez more.

Romain Bardet - Sitting over 1 minute behind Ayuso after the time-trials puts Bardet in a complicated position, where aiming for a first World Tour stage-race win is almost unattainable. However a stage win is possible, he should deal well with this kind of day and will be in search of a win.

2023 Giro d'Italia Race Center - TV, Startlist, Profile & Previews

Bahrain - Gino Mäder was on the attack in the hilly day, providing good signs. He sits 12th in the overall classification and Damiano Caruso sits 6th, both have the opportunity to ride into a podium position and won't have the pressure to put on the chasing. Additionally, their number may help with tactical moves - although this is a final climb where tactics won't honestly matter much.

Some outsiders will also be looking for a result. Out of those who can ambition a stage win I'd only put Michael Woods , although I am aware the shorter ascents would be better for him. The likes of Cian Uijtdebroeks , Simon Carr and Geoffrey Bouchard could be interesting outsiders, having shown impressive climbing prowess over these last months. Egan Bernal will be interesting to keep an eye on having finished 36th today and featuring in the GC fight - I wouldn't put him as a contender but the day suits him well and it will be good to see how well he does.

Tobias Foss at his best could also feature within the Top10 but I think it'll be a tough ask. There is room for surprises on this stage for climbers to show themselves in the World Tour. There are more experienced figures such as Louis Meintjes and Rein Taaramäe , young guns such as Oscar Onley , Max Poole and Harold Tejada and local climbers Yannis Voisard and Sebastien Reichenbach . Fausto Masnada , Kenny Elissonde and Thomas Gloag should also be in the mix.

TV Guide - Where and When to watch Giro d'Italia 2023

Prediction Tour de Romandie 2023 stage 4:

*** Adam Yates, Romain Bardet ** Juan Ayuso, Matteo Jorgenson, Lenny Martínez * Thibaut Pinot, Gino Mäder, Damiano Caruso, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Michael Woods

Pick : Adam Yates

Preliminary startlist Giro d'Italia with Evenepoel, Roglic, Ganna, Cavendish, Almeida, Carthy, Vlasov, Thomas and Ciccone

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• Date: 28 April 2023
• Start time: 14:11
• Avg. speed winner: 44.554 km/h
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 18.75 km
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Tour de Romandie 2023 Route stage 2: Morteau - La Chaux-de-Fonds

The finale looks promising for the puncheurs. Three editions ago Primoz Roglic powered to victory on the same finish in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The Slovene outgunned David Gaudu and Rui Costa.

At an elevation of 992 meters, La Chaux-de-Fonds is the second highest located town of Switzerland. Small wonder the route is far from flat.

With almost 50 kilometres remaining the riders reach the summit of the Col de la Vue des Alpes after 5.1 kilometres of climbing at 4.8%. The route then descends into the valley to continue for some 10 kilometers on the flat before the Col de Tourne begins. The 4.2 kilometres climb at 7.2% peaks out with 25 kilometres to go.

The finale includes a 1.5 kilometres climb at 8.1%. Right after the descent the riders tackle a 1 kilometre climb at 6% to enter the last 5.5 kilometres on the flat.

The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 2 2023 Tour de Romandie.

Another interesting read: results 2nd stage 2023 Tour de Romandie.

Tour de Romandie 2023 – stage 2: route, profile, more

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