Serge Pauwels was part of a select group of less than 50 riders who made it to the final sprint at the end of the Stage 1, 130km Tour de Romandie on Wednesday.
Pauwels took 7th in a bunch sprint won by Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling), but was in good position to contest for the win after making what was left of a front peloton split in the final kilometers. Dario Cataldo was also in the front group, and finished 31st. Attack after attack was chased down in the final kilometers, shattering the front split of the peloton.
Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) took 2nd in the sprint, and Paolo Tirolongo (Astana) was 3rd.
