Double Triumph for Rampant Pogačar on Final Day of Romandie

Tadej Pogačar underlined his superiority in the Tour de Romandie Sunday, capturing the uphill finish at Leysin to notch up his fourth victory out of six stages plus the final overall win.

The UAE Emirates-XRG rider controlled attacks by key rival Florian Lipowitz and then leaped clear inside 300 meters to go, unleashing a lung-busting effort to reach the line three seconds ahead.

“It was a tough day,” Pogačar said. “Bahrain came to help us, they wanted to go for the stage as well, I think, and to fight for the GC, for a better spot. It was good for us, a hard pace all day, and the on the climb Florian attacked first and he did a really good job. Luckily I could survive on his wheel.

“He launched the final really early, woah, and it was a fight to the finish line.”

Lipowitz’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Primož Roglič showed improving form in taking third, while Lenny Martinez (Bahrian-Victorious) was sixth.

That plus the win bonus left Pogačar with a 42 second advantage over Lipowitz in the final GC. Martinez was third overall, 2:44 behind.

The Slovenian dominated the points classification, finishing with almost double the points of runner-up Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers), and was second in the mountains classification without targeting it.

His four stage wins equaled the record set by the great Ferdi Kubler back in 1951. It wasn’t clear if he was aware of the statistic but took satisfaction from what he achieved.

“Every win is important. So of course it is important to win and to finish off the job of the team.”

UAE and Bahrain keep breakaway under control

The final stage of the Tour de Romandie also offered the first summit finish of the race, giving Pogačar the perfect platform for another stage win.

However other riders were determined to take something from the race and eight riders went clear with just over 10km covered.

Finn Fisher-Black and his Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Jan Tratnik were the best known of these, as was Lild-Trek’s Jakob Söderqvist.

The UAE Emirates-XRG and Bahrain-Victorious teams of Tadej Pogačar and Lenny Martinez did the chasing behind, keeping the gap to a little over three minutes. Fisher-Black went solo on the concluding climb of Leysin, gaping the others with 13km to go, and had 32 seconds with 10km to go.

However the UAE and Bahrain teams were fully focused on fighting for the stage win with Pogačar and Lenny Martinez respectively, and these hauled the Kiwi back with just over 6.5km to go.

Bahrain-Victorious drove hard into the final five kilometers, with Martinez poised second in line and Pogačar third. Florian Lipowitz was waiting just behind them.

The latter played his hand with 3.3km remaining and did so again 300 meters later after Pogačar marked the first surge. That too was contained and the world champion drove a little at the front without making an all-out acceleration to go solo.

The duo were joined by Primož Roglič just before the sprint, momentarily pitting two Red Bull riders against the race leader, but Pogačar was well in control. He easily distanced his rivals inside the final 300 meters, racing in for his fourth stage win this week plus the final GC victory.

That was a boost to morale, and so too the reception he got from the general public.

“It was really amazing. I think all the kids came through the week out of school,” he smiled. “This was super nice to see and at the weekend also, all the families with the kids.

“There were really nice fans and a lot of signs with my name. So it was a pleasure to ride this week here in Romandie.”