The first road stage of the race came down to a bunch sprint.
One of Europe’s most beautiful medieval cities, founded almost 900 years ago and ruled by the Habsburgs for more than five centuries, Freiburg hosted a stage finish at the Tour de Romandie for the fourth time in the last decade. The peloton arrived there after a 194km journey that saw them take on four classified ascents before, the last of which was summited with more than 70 kilometers to go.
A five-man breakaway, from where two riders attacked in the final two hours of the race, animated the day, but the bunch did their homework and easily reeled in the attackers around 25 kilometers from the finish. Things began heating up before a short but punchy climb that came just before the flamme rouge, as more teams made their way to the front.
Soudal Quick-Step made sure that Remco Evenepoel was at all times well positioned, and the Olympic Champion safely concluded in the peloton the stage won by Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) from a bunch sprint. In the general classification, where there were a couple of changes as a result of the finish line bonus seconds, Remco remained in the top ten.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
