The 31-year-old, who is making his last appearance before the Giro d’Italia, got off to an impressive start.

The prestigious Swiss race returned to Payerne after seven years, this time not for a road stage but for a prologue held on its twisty streets. The opening day of the 74th Tour de Romandie was a short and explosive one, the 2.2km course comprising a dozen corners, a tricky chicane, an undulating part close to the finish and even some cobbles.

Julian Alaphilippe was one of the few riders to like this demanding route, and the Frenchman – whose palmares features a couple of resounding time trial victories – produced a strong and fast ride that helped him stop the clock in 2:57, just two seconds off Maikel Zijlaard’s (Tudor Pro Cycling) time, who took the win Tuesday afternoon.

Making just his second outing at the Tour de Romandie after the one of 2015, Alaphilippe eventually concluded in third place, scoring his 54th World Tour podium and a result that augurs well for the upcoming stages, the first of which will be the hilly one from Château d’Oex to Fribourg. Julian wasn’t the only Soudal Quick-Step rider to put in a solid effort in Payerne, Ilan Van Wilder – who is targeting a good GC result this week – finishing only four seconds from the winner, in 12th place.

“I am happy to be on the podium of the prologue, it feels good to return to racing and start with such a nice result here. We have a strong team and we hope to take a win, I believe we can do it. I’m looking forward to the next stages and the opportunities we’ll have. It’s an important week before the Giro and I’m really motivated to do my best”, Julian explained.

 

Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images

Race details

1 Maikel Zijlaard
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
2:55
2 Cameron Scott
Bahrain - Victorious
0:01
3 Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
0:02
4 Dorian Godon
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
0:03
5 Ivo Oliveira
UAE Team Emirates
0:03
6 Tim van Dijke
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
0:03
7 Gianni Vermeersch
Alpecin - Deceuninck
0:03
8 Nikias Arndt
Bahrain - Victorious
0:04
9 Alex Aranburu Deba
Movistar Team
0:04
10 Antoine Aebi
Swiss Cycling
0:04
12 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
0:04
14 Josef Černý
Soudal Quick-Step
0:05
54 Pepijn Reinderink
Soudal Quick-Step
0:09
82 Kasper Asgreen
Soudal Quick-Step
0:12
87 Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal Quick-Step
0:12
136 Fausto Masnada
Soudal Quick-Step
0:19
1 Maikel Zijlaard
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
2:55
2 Cameron Scott
Bahrain - Victorious
0:01
3 Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
0:02
4 Dorian Godon
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
0:03
5 Ivo Oliveira
UAE Team Emirates
0:03
6 Tim van Dijke
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
0:03
7 Gianni Vermeersch
Alpecin - Deceuninck
0:03
8 Nikias Arndt
Bahrain - Victorious
0:04
9 Alex Aranburu Deba
Movistar Team
0:04
10 Antoine Aebi
Swiss Cycling
0:04
12 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
0:04
14 Josef Černý
Soudal Quick-Step
0:05
54 Pepijn Reinderink
Soudal Quick-Step
0:09
82 Kasper Asgreen
Soudal Quick-Step
0:12
88 Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal Quick-Step
0:12
136 Fausto Masnada
Soudal Quick-Step
0:19
1 Maikel Zijlaard
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
30 pt
2 Cameron Scott
Bahrain - Victorious
25 pt
3 Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
22 pt
4 Dorian Godon
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
19 pt
5 Ivo Oliveira
UAE Team Emirates
17 pt
6 Tim van Dijke
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
15 pt
7 Gianni Vermeersch
Alpecin - Deceuninck
13 pt
8 Nikias Arndt
Bahrain - Victorious
11 pt
9 Alex Aranburu Deba
Movistar Team
9 pt
10 Antoine Aebi
Swiss Cycling
7 pt
12 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
5 pt
14 Josef Černý
Soudal Quick-Step
3 pt
1 Tim van Dijke
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
2:58
2 Jan Christen
UAE Team Emirates
0:01
3 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal Quick-Step
0:01
4 Matevž Govekar
Bahrain - Victorious
0:02
5 Jan Sommer
Swiss Cycling
0:02
6 Thibau Nys
Lidl - Trek
0:02
7 Félix Stehli
Swiss Cycling
0:03
8 Pavel Bittner
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
0:03
9 Darren Rafferty
EF Education - EasyPost
0:03
10 Lenny Martinez
Groupama - FDJ
0:03
20 Pepijn Reinderink
Soudal Quick-Step
0:06
1 Bahrain - Victorious 8:55
2 Soudal Quick-Step 0:01
3 UAE Team Emirates 0:03
4 Swiss Cycling 0:05
5 Alpecin - Deceuninck 0:06
6 Movistar Team 0:06
7 Tudor Pro Cycling Team 0:06
8 Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 0:07
9 Team Visma | Lease a Bike 0:10
10 Groupama - FDJ 0:11

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