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Giro and Tour de France favourites meet in Tour de Romandie

April 25, 2016
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With Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the books, the UCI WorldTour takes a three-month long break from one day races to concentrate on stage races. Starting Tuesday, the six-stage 70th Tour de Romandie is the last race before the Giro d’Italia, which begins May 6, and the first of two WorldTour stage races set in Switzerland in the upcoming months.

The Tour de Romandie has a balanced parcours, with a tilt towards the climbers, only because the 4-km prologue time trial and 15.1-km Stage 3 chrono both have hills smack-dab in their middles.

Sprinters like Marcel Kittel (Germany/Etixx-QuickStep) get their chance to shine on Stages 2 and 5, though they’ll have to make it over some climbs to do so.

The climbers will have their days on Stages 2 and 4. On Thursday, the riders have a Cat. 2 and Cat. 1 to ascend in the final 20-km, while Saturday’s fourth stage features three Cat. 1’s, including the summit finish at Villars.

The weather might be atrocious.


Though Giro favourites like Vincenzo Nibali, Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde are absent, there are plenty of Giro competitors rolling the Tour de Romandie. Tom Dumoulin (The Netherlands/Giant-Alpecin) might find the time trials to his liking. Reigning champion Ilnur Zakarin (Russia) and Simon Spilak (Slovenia), 2010 winner and runner-up over the last three editions, line up for Katusha.

Cannondale’s Rigoberto Uran (Colombia) hopes to tweak his form before the Giro–he hasn’t raced in April at all. Rafal Majka (Poland/Tinkoff) was third in last year’s Vuelta a España.

There are plenty of Tour de France heavy hitters on the startlist, beginning with two-time Romandie winner Chris Froome (Great Britain/Sky). He’ll have Tour de France podium threat compatriot Geraint Thomas for support. So far this season, Froome’s schedule has been light, with only 13 racing days.

Nairo Quintana (Colombia/Movistar) has had a win and two 3rd place results in three stage races in 2016. He’ll bring a squad powerful enough to challenge Sky.

BMC’s one-two punch of Richie Porte (Australia) and Tejay Van Garderen (USA) will be among those who have to contend with France’s great hopes for its home tour, Romain Bardet (AG2R), who hasn’t placed below 9th in four stage races this year, and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), also on a hot streak.

Swiss riders of whom the favourites should be wary are Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge), runner-up in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Matthias Frank (IAM), who was 4th in Romandie and runner-up in the Tour de Suisse in 2014.

This is also Ryder Hesjedal‘s last warm-up before his seventh Giro. Hesjedal placed 24th in last year’s Romandie. Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge) is the other Canadian lining up in La Chaux-de-Fonds on Tuesday.

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