Profile stage 1 : Martigny – Martigny
Martigny – Martigny, 170.9 kilometers
The race moves into the Rhône valley for a stage with a profile that is typical of the region. That is because the riders have a beautiful region with roads extending through the massive valley, whilst the valley slopes are packed with steep climbs. These can be short, or they can be long, into the towns that are scattered over the mountains.
With the profile put into context, the riders will first take on a circuit just north of Martigny which on three occasions will have have the peloton tackle a 2.5-kilometer long climb at 8.5%. This will serve as a warm-up before the riders head east towards the main climb of the day.
And this is a brutal one, where we should see massive W/Kg displays. The climb to Ovronnaz is on the menu and it is the most difficult of the race, with 8.9 kilometers in distance and 9.8% average gradient. The riders should arrive at the bottom relatively fresh.
The climb is going to split the race to bits with its gradient and switchbacks, ending with 35.5 kilometers to go. The descent is very tactical and the riders head back to Martigny through the pan-flat valley once again for the finish.
The Favourites
Tadej Pogacar – The man to beat, and I don’t really think anything can be done about it. The climb to Ovronnaz is extremely steep and so there won’t really be any tactics at play. The stage will be easy until then, so it will only be necessary to have a couple riders control the stage until then, and on the 10% climb Pogacar can ride at his own pace and take the race lead. Unless he is on a very bad day, he will win solo. He should take control of the race from Wednesday forward.
As this is the first mountain stage of the race and it is one which is easy until the base, we can consider Luke Plapp for sure, he is a specialist in this sort of day, and was second at the UAE Tour; whilst David Gaudu could also perform, not having yet the fatigue which will come in the following days.
Valentin Paret-Peintre is also a perfect fit for this climb taking into consideration his featherweight build, and how he performed already at the recent Volta a Catalunya. Jorgen Nordhagen, Georg Steinhauser, George Bennett, Marco Brenner, Pablo Castrillo, Nairo Quintana and the Astana trio (Lorenzo Fortunato, Cristián Rodríguez and Clément Champoussin) will also be men to consider, aiming for a good overall classification.
Prediction Tour de Romandie 2026 stage 1:
*** Tadej Pogacar
** Florian Lipowitz, Oscar Onley, Lenny Martínez
* Primoz Roglic, Daniel Martínez, Georg Steinhauser, Carlos Rodríguez, Antonio Tiberi, Luke Plapp, Valentin Paret-Peintre
Pick: Tadej Pogacar
How: Solo win
Original: Rúben Silva