“I was not the strongest today, I had to fight” – INEOS Grenadiers drag Dorian Godon back into contention before sprint win in Romandie

Dorian Godon completed a remarkable turnaround on stage 3 of the Tour de Romandie, converting a day that looked to be slipping away into victory after being distanced on the decisive climb and then brought back into contention by his INEOS Grenadiers teammates.

It marked a third standout result in as many days for the Frenchman, who had already opened the race by winning the prologue before finishing second behind Tadej Pogacar in the stage 2 sprint. This time, the result flipped.

Speaking in conversation with Cycling Pro Net after the finish, Godon admitted the stage had not initially played out in his favour. “I had no pressure at all today. We didn’t take control of the race. If it worked, it worked,” he said, explaining the more conservative approach taken by INEOS Grenadiers despite his strong start to the race. “I was not good at all at the beginning of the stage, but it came around after the effort from yesterday. I was dropped quite early on the climb.”

At that moment, the race appeared to be moving away from him. But rather than accept the situation, INEOS committed to bringing him back. “Bob rode for about four kilometres, then AJ August did the last two. We brought Laurens De Plus back, Ben Swift positioned me at the bottom, Carlos gave me the lead-out,” Godon said, outlining the collective effort that reshaped the finale. “Honestly, this is one of my best victories because the whole team gave everything for me. We really went and took this win with heart.”

Even over the top, the deficit was significant, but the belief remained intact. “We couldn’t really see the peloton anymore at the end, so I think at least 40 seconds. Even I was taking turns with Laurens De Plus and August. They did an incredible job. I was so confident in the wheel. I thought we would come back at the top. Even if it had been a minute, I think we would have made it back.”

That confidence proved justified as the race came back together in the closing kilometres, setting up a reduced sprint. There, Godon found himself heavily marked, a reflection of both his prologue win and near-miss the previous day. “I can feel that I’m much more marked now since the start of the season, so everyone wants to be on my wheel,” he said. “It was a bit strange and tactical. I tried to wait. Fisher-Black came with a lot of speed, it was very close at the end.”

With the race on the line and the work of his team behind him, the decisive moment came late. “In the last 50 metres I told myself I couldn’t let it go after all the work the team had done, so I found a bit extra.”

That final effort delivered the stage win, completing a day that had required resilience rather than dominance. “I was not the strongest today, I had to fight,” Godon reiterated, underlining the nature of the victory.

The result also reinforced his growing status within the peloton, something he acknowledged himself. “Everyone wants to be on my wheel now,” he said, before adding that such situations demand more than just raw speed. “I was probably the fastest on paper, but after a long climb at full gas things change. In the end it’s not always the fastest who wins, it’s the freshest.”

For Godon, that freshness had been made possible by the riders around him. “The whole team gave 200 percent for me. They know I can finish it off, and that makes this even more special.”

The victory continues an already strong run of form across different race types. “I think it’s six wins now if you include the team time trial, across different types of races. I’m improving in different areas,” he said. “Even today, I didn’t expect much on a 20-minute climb with this level of climbers. But I fought, and the whole team pushed me all the way, even on the radio on the final climb.”

That combination of resilience and collective execution ultimately proved decisive.

On a day when he was dropped and forced to chase, it was not strength alone that delivered the win, but belief, organisation and a team unwilling to let the opportunity slip.