Support from her lover Pogacar pays off in Switzerland: Zigart grabs the lead in Romandie, Chabbey wins the stage
CyclingSaturday, 16 August 2025 at 15:31
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Follow us on GoogleStage 2 of the women’s Tour de Romandie was won by Elise Chabbey of FDJ-Suez. On a tough summit finish in French-speaking Switzerland, she proved to be the strongest climber. Meanwhile, Urska Zigart (AG Insurance–Soudal Quick-Step) took over the lead in the general classification.
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During the opening stage of the Tour de Romandie, the race itself barely took center stage. No fewer than five teams, including Visma | Lease a Bike and Picnic PostNL, were disqualified after a dispute over the mandatory use of GPS trackers. The teams refused to install the devices and were consequently not allowed to start the prologue, which was won by Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ).
Still, the race moved on, and the queen stage was up next. And on that decisive day, a familiar face appeared roadside: world champion Tadej Pogacar. He was there to cheer on his partner Zigart, who had taken second place the day before, and the race organizers captured the moment on camera.
Read on below the video!
Brutal final climb decides the stage on La Tzoumaz
After a flat run-in, the stage was set to finish on the brutal climb to La Tzoumaz. The smooth roads beforehand didn’t suit breakaway riders, though Claire Steels (Movistar) still gave it a go. Meanwhile, Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) was quietly picking up some mountain points from the peloton.
Steels hit the base of the final climb with a 1-minute-15-second lead. But with an average gradient of 8.1%, the British rider quickly hit her limit and was caught just three kilometers into the ascent. That left it to the GC riders to battle it out.
Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez), one of the pre-race favorites, cracked with eight kilometers to go. Mavi Garcia, stage winner at the Tour de France Femmes, also couldn’t follow the pace. Soon after, race leader Paula Blasi was dropped too, prompting AG Insurance–Soudal Quick-Step to up the tempo.
That whittled the lead group down to Urska Zigart, Yara Kastelijn, Steffi Häberlin (SD Worx), Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), and workhorse Maia Benito. With 5.5 kilometers remaining, Zigart launched her attack. Only Chabbey could respond. Zigart, unfazed, kept driving the pace, while Kastelijn held on just behind, fighting hard for a potential podium.
Meanwhile, the two front-runners did not give each other an inch, but the showdown had to come in the final meters. Zigart led into the finish, but Chabbey clearly had the more explosive legs.
Results stage 2 Tour of Romandie 2025, women
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Wout taking the sting out of late attacks was massive. That’s leadership. Brennan calm as you like—chapeau, lads. Qué etapa, magnifique teamwork!jennifer1928-08-2026
- Not sure I buy the “clear-cut” call on a flat sprint. Other teams looked strong and Wout could easily have been the protected rider. Feels a bit like the article glosses over that debate.raceready728-08-2026
- Really enjoyed this piece. Wynants keeping a lid on the hype is smart. Brennan’s Kuurne win showed he can handle bad weather and positioning—Flanders talk isn’t crazy, just not for tomorrow.patriciaw28-08-2026
- Quick question: when they say “lead-out,” is that just the last teammate pulling before the finish, or is it a whole sequence of riders lining up? Still getting my head round how they time it so precisely.velodromevirtuoso128-08-2026
- That was a clinic from Visma | Lease a Bike. Van Aert and Laporte did the dirty work perfectly and Brennan finished it off like a seasoned sprinter. Textbook indeed.pedalpowe2928-08-2026
- - Grande Remco! Two etapas y segundo en la general, muy fuerte. Pero tácticas un poco tímidas, no?patriciaw28-08-2026
- - This piece feels a tad harsh on Sven tbh. Predicting Pog to win in July isn’t heresy; the guy had a 3-minute cushion by Stage 6 and controlled every descent. You can’t rewrite the Tourmalet.robert6528-08-2026
- - Quick question: why didn’t Evenepoel try earlier long-range moves in the second week when Pogacar looked a touch isolated? Is it because the team didn’t trust his third-week durability, or was it just stage design?andrewf28-08-2026
- - Not sure I buy the idea that BORA never believed in Remco. If Del Toro needed protecting and Pog was on a mission, when exactly were they supposed to launch? Plateau de Solaison was great, but the GC gap was already baked in.sprocketspiny28-08-2026
- - Loved the insight from Van Hooydonck. He’s got that racer’s mentality—better to blow up going for yellow than quietly settle for second. Remco’s two stage wins show the legs were there; the strategy felt a bit too conservative early doors.pedalpowe2928-08-2026
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