The ITT World Champion was our highest-ranked rider on the opening day of the Swiss race.
the Tour de Romandie – the last major stage race before the Giro d’Italia – got underway. The short parcours was a technical one, featuring nine corners, a tricky chicane just before the final kilometer, and some uphill sections which spiced things up Tuesday afternoon.
One of the last Soudal Quick-Step riders to roll down the start ramp, Remco raced with the prestigious rainbow jersey on his shoulders for the first time this year and managed to put together a nice time trial, despite the route not being one tailored to him. A time of 4:37, thanks to an average speed of 44.9km/h, helped the Belgian take his fourth top ten in just five days of racing this season, at the end of the prologue won by Samuel Watson (Ineos-Grenadiers).
The race continues on Wednesday with a hilly stage to Fribourg – the city located on the cultural border between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland – where after almost 200 kilometers, the puncheurs should be in the spotlight.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
