After six days of racing in Switzerland, Carlos Rodríguez emerged victorious at the Tour de Romandie, as he used his time trialling prowess and climbing ability in the mountains to beat some of the best riders in the world and take the first overall victory of his career.
Two mountaintop finishes and two individual time trials meant that the route for this year’s race was well-suited to the young Spaniard’s attributes, but with several other strong riders on the start list, it was always going to be a hard-fought battle for the general classification.
Having already finished in the top-10 at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in his career, the 23-year-old was a recognised talent prior to this season and he has continued to go from strength to strength in 2024.
With Geraint Thomas set to race the Giro d’Italia ahead of the Tour de France and Egan Bernal focusing solely on the Vuelta a España, Rodríguez has certainly staked his claim to lead Ineos Grenadiers at La Grande Boucle this summer.
RACE SUMMARY
The Tour de Romandie started with its traditional opening prologue. The stage was short and sharp, with the winner Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling) flying around the 2.28km-long course in under three minutes to take the biggest win of his career so far.
Stage 1 eased the riders into the race with a bunch sprint, which was won by Dorian Godon in a 1-2 victory for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, as Andrea Vendrame finished second behind his teammate after they moved up late in the finale following several attempts from other riders to go clear.
The first mountaintop finish of the race came on stage 2, with the final ascent being a Cat-2 climb to Les Marécottes ski resort in the town of Salvan. It was an unexpected winner on the day, as Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) took his maiden WorldTour victory in his first race of the season following a prolonged break after the cyclocross season.
Vendrame took another runner-up spot on the stage in a shock result for the Italian rider, whilst Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) propelled himself up the overall standings with a third place finish on the stage, after he bridged across to the leading duo from the peloton in the final 2.5km.
There still was not much between the favourites in the overall standings though, as they went into the 15.5km-long individual time trial around Oron on stage 3, where Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) made it an American 1-2, with McNulty getting the better of his countryman by 12 seconds.
McNulty’s teammates Felix Großschartner and Juan Ayuso finished third and fourth respectively on the stage, with Ayuso going into the overall lead of the race, whilst Rodríguez, Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) were the other general classification contenders that managed to crack the top-10.
Stage 4 marked the queen stage of the race with a Cat-1 summit finish to the town of Leysin, where we saw the favourites go on the attack for the first time in the race, as Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) set the tempo on the front of the main group for Rodríguez, before Florian Lipowitz (Bora-Hansgrohe) went on the attack with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) in his wheel.
Rodríguez managed to bridge across to them, with Ayuso distanced behind and the overall lead suddenly up for grabs. Carapaz then attacked again and went solo at the head of the race, as he looked to guarantee himself the stage win.
The Ecuadorian rider held off a late surge from Lipowitz to take the victory, whilst Rodríguez limited his losses to just ten seconds to move himself into the lead of the general classification by just seven seconds over Vlasov, who finished in fifth place on the stage. Lipowitz also moved himself up into a podium position in third place, a further two seconds behind his teammate.
The riders faced torrid weather on the final stage, but with no major climbs on the profile it posed very little threat to the general classification. In the end, the stage resulted in a bunch sprint, where Godon took his second stage win at the race, which also gave him the victory in the points classification, whilst Rodríguez finished safely in the peloton to seal his overall victory.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION - TOUR DE ROMANDIE 2024
1. Carlos Rodríguez (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers, in 15:44:46
2. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe, +7s
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, +9s
4. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +21s
5. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates, +27s
6. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, +38s
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +49s
8. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +52s
9. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Lidl-Trek, +1:02
10. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:23
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