Dorian Godon seizes rare chance to beat Pogačar: 'There aren't 50,000 chances to beat him'

It is not every day that Tadej Pogačar fails to win — and on the days that he does, you still have to find a way to beat him. That is exactly what Dorian Godon managed on Tuesday, in the Tour de Romandie prologue. The INEOS Grenadiers rider was in no doubt afterwards about how rare an opportunity he had seized.

The 29-year-old from Vitry-sur-Seine has been winning races for years. From 2018 to 2023, his victories came exclusively on French soil, but the targets have grown considerably since then. He took his first WorldTour win at the Tour de Romandie in 2024, and has since added stage wins at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya to his palmarès.

Tuesday's prologue added another. "Two years ago I finished fourth in this prologue," Godon said in his post-race flash interview. "I really love this kind of effort. I think it's important to experience this type of intensity — it shows a different side of the sport. There are so many time trials of 20 or 30 kilometres. Punchy efforts like this are something I genuinely enjoy."

Beating Pogačar is, by definition, a rare event — and Godon knew it. "I went absolutely flat out and took some risks. You don't just beat him. There aren't 50,000 chances to do it. I think he took fewer risks than I did," he said. "With Sam Watson winning here last year, INEOS have always loved this kind of effort. I'm absolutely delighted."

The Frenchman faced a long wait in the hot seat after his early start time. "I kept focused on myself all day and just had to wait until the end. Everyone had the same conditions, which was good. It was the same for everyone," he said of the weather.

As for the rest of the week, Godon is already thinking about the next opportunity. "The goal was to try to win a stage somewhere. The course is very tough this year. We'll see what we can do. It's already happened and I'm really happy to be wearing the leader's jersey. I've worn it at the Volta a Catalunya too, so it really has been a superb year so far. Winning the team time trial at Paris-Nice, two stages at Catalunya, and now here... for now, it's fantastic."