photo credits @ WTFK
Ethan Vernon (Soudal Quick-Step) claimed stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie today, beating Thibau Nys (Trek-Segafredo) in a sprint finish in Vallée de Joux, while Milan Menton (Lotto Dstny) rounded out the podium in third.
However, today’s 170.9 kilometer stage wasn’t without chaos, as half of the peloton got lost after steering off course, ultimately losing upwards of five minutes on the leaders.
But, back up front, Vernon proved to be the fastest rider, benefitting from a perfect lead-out by his teammate Casper Pedersen to seize the victory ahead of his Belgian rival, who was seen pounding his handlebar in disappointment.
As a result of his victory, Vernon moved up into the overall race lead, defrocking his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Josef Cerny of the yellow jersey, who won yesterday’s opening prologue, while Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) now sits in third place, just one second behind.
Earlier action, saw Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo), Michael Schär (AG2R-Citroen), and Dario Dillo (Q36.5 Continental Team) form the day’s first breakaway effort, subsequently opening up a small advantage over the peloton, before being reined in along the climb of Maurborget.
The meantime, both Cerny and Magnus Cort (EF Education–EasyPost) saw themselves get dropped along the Mauborget. But, the Czech rider managed to quickly regained contact with the peloton.
Meanwhile, Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) and Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) both abandoned the stage.
The Tour de Romandie continues tomorrow, with a 162.7 kilometer stage from Morteau to La Chaux-de-Fonds, which features a couple of short but steep climbs that could complicate things for the pure sprinters.
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