Support from her lover Pogacar pays off in Switzerland: Zigart grabs the lead in Romandie, Chabbey wins the stage

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.

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.