Tour de Romandie stage 2 Preview | A 'mini-Liège' tailor-made for Pogačar

The Pogačar train has arrived in Romandie — but it was not quite as dominant as usual in stage one. That opens a few doors for the rest of the week, and Thursday's stage is already a fine opportunity. Not high mountains — but Swiss hills. IDL Pro Cycling runs through the challengers.

Stage two covers 173.1 kilometres between Rue and Vucherens. The riders cross the finish line after 33.8 kilometres, then tackle a local loop of 46.5 kilometres three times. Total elevation: over 2,700 metres, with the road constantly rising and falling throughout the day.

The only classified climb is the Vuillens (3.1 km at 5.4%), which is ascended three times. The final passage comes just 2.2 kilometres from the finish, meaning the climbers and punchers will again be the ones to watch. The final kilometre also rises after a short descent.

Times
Start: 1:20 p.m.
Finish: around 5:15 p.m.

The conditions are favourable again on Thursday — a very light breeze and a temperature of just under 20 degrees Celsius. Everything points to another good day's racing.

When Tadej Pogačar is in the race, you're not so much as pencilling him in as favourite, but rather using a sharpie. And this stage is no different. The world champion has not finished outside the top five this season, and was also the strongest climber in stage one. The question is whether UAE will want to control this one.

If the Emirates squad choose to set pace, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) can also be a contender. The Frenchman was the only rider to follow Pogačar throughout stage one and has been making a strong impression all season. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) also impressed, and has the explosive climber Primož Roglič as a teammate. Roglič overextended himself in stage one, though, and could not stay with the front group. And what about 21-year-old teammate Luke Tuckwell?

At INEOS Grenadiers, the team must reorganise following Oscar Onley's abandonment — but Andrew August is a talent well suited to this kind of stage. These are the names you would expect to see at the Ardennes Classics, and this stage has a similar feel. Max Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step) is another example.

If the favourites battle it out, Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike) and the surprise package Jefferson Cepeda (Movistar) have already caught the eye. This is also precisely the kind of stage that suits Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla). And can Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers) handle this parcours? He can certainly climb — but this might just be a little too much for him on consecutive days.

XDS Astana have options with Sergio Higuita and Clément Champoussin. For Champoussin in particular, a move from the breakaway is very much on the cards. A successful long-range attack is not out of the question on a stage like this — if Pogačar is not interested in the win, the door could open for riders such as Marco Frigo (NSN), Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) or Warren Barguil (Picnic PostNL).

The impressive Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek) should also be capable here, given his strong climbing performance on Wednesday. Keep an eye on Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), too — he could play a tactical game with Martinez. Others who were strong in stage one — Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step) and Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) — may find there are not quite enough climbing kilometres here to suit them.

Top favourite: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates-XRG)

Outsiders: Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)

Long shots: Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Clément Champoussin, Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana), Marco Frigo (NSN), Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step), Andrew August (INEOS Grenadiers)