Tour de Romandie stage 3preview: Pogačar must work even harder to get away

When one rider stands so far above the rest, you ask yourself every day: how is he going to do it this time? Tadej Pogačar struck in a similar stage on day two of the Tour de Romandie and looks well placed to add another stage win in Switzerland on Friday.

The third stage is, in essence, built around a single climb. Over 176.6 kilometres — starting and finishing in Orbe — the third and final categorised ascent of the day will be the one that matters.

The early skirmishes begin quickly, with mountain points on offer on a short climb to Suchy after just 7.5 kilometres. The day's breakaway riders will hope to contest points again at Oulens-sur-Echallens — another gentle ramp — before the peloton fires up in earnest. A fast descent drops the race straight to the foot of the Col du Mollendruz. There is an intermediate sprint in Moiry, but the road is already rising by then. The climb runs for 9 kilometres at an average of 6.1%.

Don't be misled by that average, though. The first 6 kilometres are the hardest, with gradients ranging between 6.1% and 8.1%. Plenty of room to make a difference — especially knowing that after the summit, it is a fast descent and then 10 kilometres to the line.

Times
Start: 1:45 p.m.
Finish: around 5:43 p.m.

Fine conditions in Switzerland on Friday. Sun at start and finish, temperatures reaching 22°C, with a light north-easterly breeze.

Friday's profile resembles Wednesday's, when Pogačar outsprinted a small group of young riders. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG man can again expect resistance from Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike).

Because the finishing climb is slightly easier, other riders may also survive — and the trio above may not be willing to commit fully to chasing Pogačar again. On Wednesday, a large group finished 21 seconds down, and several of those names could feature more prominently on Friday.

Red Bull brought two explosive options in Primož Roglič and Luke Tuckwell, while XDS Astana were well represented through Sergio Higuita and Lorenzo Fortunato. It was Lidl-Trek's Albert Withen Philipsen who won the sprint for the lower placings on Thursday, ahead of Higuita, the fast-finishing Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step), Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) and Jefferson Cepeda (Movistar).

Since the finish will likely come down to a reduced bunch sprint, we won't list everyone — though Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) is a name of genuine quality. His teammate AJ August might try from the break, as could Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Mattia Gaffuri (Picnic PostNL) and Michael Leonard (EF Education-EasyPost).

And if the race stays together? Who stops Dorian Godon — who finished second on Thursday — for INEOS Grenadiers? Itamar Einhorn (NSN), Axel Zingle (Visma) and possibly UAE's Ivo Oliveira would all fancy that scenario too. Finn Fischer-Black (Red Bull) and Clément Champoussin (Astana) also showed punch on Thursday.

Top favorite: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Outsiders: Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers)
Long shots:Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike), Primoz Roglic, Luke Tuckwell, Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Sergio Higuita, Clément Champoussin (Astana), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Andrew August (INEOS Grenadiers),Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Mattia Gaffuri (Picnic PostNL), Michael Leonard (EF Education-EasyPost), Itamar Einhorn (NSN), Axel Zingle (Visma) and Ivo Oliveira (UAE)