Listen, the climbing hasn’t exactly been shy this week, but Saturday’s stage in the Tour de Romandie turns the dial all the way up. It’s a relentless mountain test, stacking multiple long climbs through the day before a final ascent that comes close enough to the finish to really matter.
Stage 4 starts tough, ends tougher
The early part of the stage already asks plenty of the boys in Switzerland. There two steep climbs coming in quick succession to wear things down. There’s a brief breather after that, but it’s more reset than recovery. Once the race hits the final phase, the road rises again for a sustained climb that should force the contenders into the open.
That’s where UAE’s Tadej Pogačar could make it count. I mean, not that he doesn’t make it count every day, but Saturday could see him extend his lead big time.
With only a short run to Charmey after the summit, any move here has a real chance to decide the race.
Pogi’s run
He’s already taken two wins in the Swiss stage race. Actually, wanna hear something wild? The world champion has raced nine times this year. Of those, he’s six of them. Paris-Roubiax, he could only manage second. The lowest he’s been was sixth in the prologue at Romandie–which is his first go at the discipline. Bear in mind, he had just raced (and won) the brutally hard Liège-Bastogne-Liège 48 hours earlier. At Romandie, he won in the mountains, as well in a sprint out of a four-man breakaway.
Even yesterday, during a proper bunch sprint, he took fourth.
Oakville, Ont.’s Michael Leonard is currently sitting 23rd overall. Saturday is the penultimate stage of the Tour of Romandie. Sunday’s stage isn’t actually easy either. It’s no flat run on the final day of racing. Stage 5 goes from Lucens to Leysin for a total of 178.2km and finishes on a nasty 10km summit.
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