"All I felt was pain" - Brutal prologue worth it for World Tour victory debutant Samuel Watson

INEOS Grenadiers have found a true talent in Sam Watson who over the first months of the 2025 season has shown a lot of talent on the hilly terrain, classics and sprints. As it turns out, he is a man who can also thrive in the prologues, as he today took the opening victory of the Tour de Romandie - his first at the highest level of the sport, and his first with the British team.

"I really didn’t expect this at all, to be completely honest. Yesterday I was training in Andorra, an hour and a half from home, when I got a call from the team. I had to get to the airport as quickly as I could, because I would be racing in Romandie the next day," he admits in a post-race interview.

In the middle of a fully chaotic day, the Briton thrived, as he managed to take the win in the 3.4-kilometer prologue in Saint-Imier. "Here I am with the victory in my pocket. That is very special". The course was very technical and explosive, so it didn't favour specific riders. Watson was the one who took full advantage of it.

But it certainly was no easy feat, despite the short distances. "All I felt was pain. I didn’t even know I had the fastest time, until the first interview. That was quite a surprise. I really only feel pain at the moment. I think it's not really there yet. F*ck… To say that I have my first WorldTour win, and also my first win with INEOS, is really a dream," he adds.

In the next days, he can also potentially keep the yellow jersey that he took on his shoulders this afternoon: "Today I came out of a pretty tough three-day training block, so today really gave me confidence. We can go into the coming days with confidence, days that should suit me well on paper".