Tour de Romandie 2025 stage 1 preview | A day for punchers and power sprinters

The Tour de Romandie continues Wednesday with a tricky stage. After Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) took the win in Tuesday’s short prologue, it’s time for the first road stage in the Swiss race. It’s a tough one to predict, and In de Leiderstrui is here to guide you through it!

After Watson's prologue win on Tuesday, the riders face their first road stage. And in Switzerland, flat roads are hard to come by. Stage 1 is anything but flat, especially in the middle section. There, the Mont-Crosin (2.3 km at 7.2%), the Col de Pontins (4.5 km at 7.6%), and the brutally steep climb to Chaumont (3 km at 11.9%) await. These are real leg-breakers, with the climb to Chaumont being particularly nasty. However, the summit comes with 80 kilometers still to race, so it is unlikely to cause major damage.

What it will do is make life difficult for the pure sprinters. The finale won’t offer much relief either. As the riders approach Fribourg (after two intermediate sprints), the road will rise and fall constantly. The final kilometers in the finishing town are particularly tricky, with gradients hovering around 6 to 7%. A perfect day for the punchers!

Times
Start: 12:45 p.m.
Finish: 5:15 p.m.

The good weather continues in Switzerland. At the start in Münchenstein, conditions will be mild and dry with plenty of sunshine. Clouds may build slightly as the race approaches Fribourg, but it is expected to stay dry throughout. Temperatures will rise to around 21 degrees Celsius, and the wind should not be a factor. A perfect day for racing!

On paper, the stage looks too tough for the pure sprinters, but several strong climbing sprinters have made the trip to Switzerland. Among them is Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R), although the Italian skipped the prologue due to illness. Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL) should also be able to handle the course, though the Dutch team may place more hopes on Oscar Onley. Fresh off his prologue win, the fast-finishing Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) will be full of confidence.

Still, Wednesday is expected to favor the true attackers and punchers, such as Clément Champoussin (XDS Astana), who has enjoyed a strong spring. Alongside him, Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty), Clément Venturini (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), and Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R) are other French riders who could make an impact.

Home riders Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and Stefan Küng (Groupama FDJ) will also have their eyes on stage 1, as both have a real chance to shine. Lotto will likely put their hopes on Lennert Van Eetvelt, while it remains to be seen how spring revelation Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike) will handle this kind of terrain. Earlier this year, Brennan already showed he is very strong in uphill sprints.

If the big teams decide to push the pace, although that seems unlikely, the race could turn into a real battle. In that less likely scenario, riders like Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick Step), Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers), João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG), Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull BORA hansgrohe), or Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) could come into play.

Top favorites: Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) and Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R)
Outsiders: Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike), Clément Champoussin (XDS Astana) and Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL)
Long-shots: Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty), Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto), Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), Clément Venturini (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Benoit Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R)