Favorites stage 5 Tour of Romandie 2025 | Evenepoel vs. the rest in a soaking wet time trial

Last year, a 15.5-kilometer time trial was completed in the Tour de Romandie, and this year, a relatively short test has been chosen again. This race against the clock is 17.1 kilometers long but has slightly fewer meters of elevation gain. Nevertheless, we should not underestimate the course, as it still has some nasty climbs. It starts in the center of Geneva, where the road goes up and down and has many bends. So it's not an easy start.

After that annoying start, it's time to push hard along Lac Léman, the famous lake of Geneva. After a few kilometers, you will make two turns and ride in the opposite direction, where the road climbs steeply. According to the official figures, the climb is 1.5 kilometers long with an average gradient of 5%. Still, after the “top,” there is another kilometer of tedious climbing to the halfway point (5 kilometers from the finish line). From there, the route continues back to the Quai Gustave-Ador, where it follows the water in the opposite direction.

Then, the center is approaching again, which means more twists and turns. There are less than in the opening phase, but the road goes up and down a bit. That will hurt the legs enormously. If you still have fresh legs at that point, you can gain a lot of time on your competitors.

Start: 1 PM local time (07:00 AM EDT)
Finish: 4 PM local time (10:00 AM EDT)

Saturday wasn't dry, so showers are expected in Geneva on Sunday. It will rain all day, and the weather will be dreadful in the afternoon. It will be a wet day, with a chance of thunderstorms. The wind will be blowing strongly from the side along the lake, which could also play a role.

He wasn't among the best on Saturday, but Remco Evenepoel held back a little. He chose to help teammate Junior Lecerf and saved his legs a bit. Therefore, the World Time Trial championship will,l start as the top favorite in the final trial. However, local favorite Stefan Küng is eager to stop that. The Swiss rider from Groupama-FDJ already showed that he is in good shape and has a nice breakaway.

However, the battle for the stage is as interesting as the battle for the overall victory. UAE Team Emirates - XRG still has two names in contention with João Almeida and Jay Vine: both riders who can sometimes be very strong in a time trial. They seem to have the best credentials of the GC contenders, but defending champion Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) could also surprise. Apart from that, it's mainly the specialists to watch.

In addition to Küng, Switzerland is also looking to Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R). Groupama-FDJ also has Rémi Cavagna, while EF Education - -EasyPost hopes for a strong performance from Kasper Asgreen. Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) is disappointed in the GC, but he may be able to make up for that with a strong time trial. For Alpecin-Deceuninck, Danish champion Johan Price-Pejtersen has been looking forward to this moment all week. He hopes to be at his best at the right time.

Iván Romeo was agonizingly close to victory in the prologue, but the 21-year-old Spaniard from Movistar fell three seconds short. Normally, he gets better as the distance increases, so who knows what he has left in the tank. Other names to watch out for are Harald Tejada, Raúl Garcia Pierna, and Thibault Guernalec.  

Top favorite: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)
Outsiders: Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Jay Vine, João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Iván Romeo (Movistar)
Long Shots: Johan Price-Pejtersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers), Kasper Asgreen (EF Education - EasyPost), Rémi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ), Harald Tejada (XDS Astana), Raúl Garcia Pierna and Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)