'Youngsters' hang on to Pogačar's wheel. World champion talks us through Tour de Romandie stage 1

Tadej Pogačar won his fifth race in seven racing days this season, but the UAE Emirates-XRG rider was not as dominant as expected. In the Tour de Romandie, he faced significant resistance — though he still had plenty in the tank for the sprint. Was it a question of not having the legs, or was there more to it?

Pogačar attacked on the Ovronnaz climb — a move that seemed tailor-made for him. Yet he could not shake Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) or Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), and after the descent Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike) bridged across too. It made for an unusually competitive day — even if the Slovenian was comfortably the strongest in the sprint in Martigny.

After the Ovronnaz summit, there were still 34 kilometres to the finish. Was that why he kept his rivals around him — or could he simply not drop them? "I don't know, I didn't plan anything," he said in his flash interview. "But it's nice to take a win against the youngsters. It was a beautiful race, a fast day. I'm happy with the win in a sprint of four."

More clarity followed from the winner, who hinted that there was a tactical element to his decision. "There was a headwind in the last 22 kilometres. To try something there would have been pretty stupid. I was happy to have two young, hungry men with me who were contributing. They rode very well and were super strong. We stayed at the front, which was quite difficult with three — and one man sitting in [Lipowitz]. But we can be proud of that."

It is Pogačar's first stage win at the Tour de Romandie, a race he is entering for the first time this year — which makes the victory a little more meaningful. "Every win is important, but this is my first stage win in a stage race this season. To do it here in Romandie, with a beautiful course and a beautiful country — I enjoy that."

With the yellow jersey on his shoulders, he is in a comfortable position, though Lipowitz sits just seven seconds back in the classification. Martinez and Nordhagen are also close. "It was all on us today. The team did great, and now we'll try to defend the jersey, stage by stage. Sometimes attack is the best defence. We have a tough week ahead, but I think we have the team to defend yellow."