Stage win and overall lead for Roglic in first stage Tour de Romandie

Stage win and overall lead for Roglic in first stage Tour de Romandie

Primoz Roglic has taken a double victory in the first stage of the Tour de Romandie. The Slovenian souvereignly sprinted to the stage victory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. By doing so, he took over the overall lead of his compatriot and friend Jan Tratnik. Steven Kruijswijk moved up to seventh overall.

For Roglic, it is his fourth victory of the season after having won the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this year. For Team Jumbo-Visma, it is the tenth victory.

A large leading group, including Team Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard, coloured the stage. They got a maximum of three minutes, but were caught in the final. During the race, the attacks kept coming from the GC riders, but they couldn’t avoid a sprint. Roglic started the sprint and managed to hold on.

“I didn’t expect to win here”, Roglic explained. “After Tirreno-Adriatico, I went on an altitude camp in preparation for my main goal, the Giro. I recently came back from it. Then you have to wait and see how things will go. It was a tough day with a lot of climbing. It’s a nice feeling that I was able to win, especially in a sprint. It surprised me, because normally there is always someone who is faster. Winning in Romandie always is a special feeling. I love to race here. In Steven, we have a pawn who can go for the GC. He rode very well today, just like the rest of the team. We will continue to keep doing our best.”

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