Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) has taken a surprise victory in the opening prologue of the Tour de Romandie, with lead favourite Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finishing a full seven seconds behind.
The 29-year-old Frenchman timed his effort perfectly for the short but intense race against the clock round the town of Villars-sur-Glâne, reaching the top of the final 800 metre climb six seconds faster than closest rival Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl – Trek) Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was just a few hundredths of a second slower but had to settle for third.
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Yet two days after his victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège rounded out his stunning Classics campaign, the Slovenian could not come closer than seven seconds on Godon, who celebrated his fourth win of 2026, the 20th of his career, and his first in a time trial since the Boucles de Mayenne prologue way back in 2019.
How it unfolded
Amongst the most notable of the early starters, 2020 Portuguese National TT Champion Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) narrowly outpaced former double overall winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by just over two seconds to set the fastest provisional time of 3:41. Second in the same opening prologue in 2025, Oliveira’s top ride also contrasted sharply with a lowkey performance from Australian contender Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla), who finished 11 seconds down, while another top name, Oscar Onley (Ineos Grenadiers), was a full 18 seconds adrift.
Finally, though, Oliveira was unseated by Ineos Grenadiers allrounder Godon by a hefty six-second margin, reducing the top time to beat…
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