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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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