PREVIEW | Tour de Romandie 2023 Prologue

Preview prologue. From the 25th to 30th April 2023 the peloton will tackle the Swiss roads at the Tour de Romandie, on the French-speaking portion of the central European nation. It is a race that features opportunities for the time-trialists, sprinters, puncheurs and climbers, positioned between the spring classics and the Giro d'Italia.

The race starts off with a short prologue in the town of Port-Valais of just under seven kilometers. It won't create big differences, however it will set some order in the GC and provide a fair fight for the first lead of the race.

Estimated start and finish times for Tour de Romandie prologue: 14:50 - 17:30CET

The course is perfect for the powerhouse riders. There are two corners in the route where the riders will stop pedaling. Likely they won't need to use the brakes, it's a flat-out effort where pure speed is all that matters.

The Weather

The prologue isn't technical but the weather could seriously affect it. There is forecast of rain through the morning and early afternoon. It is quite possible that the roads will be wet from start to finish, but there is also the possibility that it will stop in some occasions. The Swiss weather also sees abrupt weather changes occasionally, it could come down to luck.

The Favourites

Tobias Foss - The reigning World champion. Will he be the man to beat however? I'd say the Norwegian would be better suited to the long time-trials, but also those with climbing involved. This prologue features none, and when it comes to pure power there will be riders above. Still, looking for his first win in the rainbow jersey, he could surprise.

Ethan Hayter - Hayter won the opening stage of the Volta a Catalunya, finally showing some form. He will need it here, he'll have opportunities to take stage wins but with the modest TT field he could also win the prologue. The short and pan-flat effort will suit the track specialist quite a lot.

Rémi Cavagna - Cavagna has ridden some secondary races this spring but has succeeded quite a bit. He's carrying good form this spring, although the question of whether he still carries it or not is a fair one. He's finished second in the Volta ao Algarve time-trial but has won in the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali's individual challenge, he could very well do the same here.

Matteo Sobrero - The Italian is an inconsistent time-trialist, but on a good day he can fly. He won the final Giro TT last year in strong fashion, but I believe he will be better suited to the second time-trial in Romandie. Here with pan-flat roads and short distances it may be too sharp for him, however simultaneously he has been on quite strong form in recent weeks and could have the highest of ambitions.

The effort is short however, surprises could happen and it wouldn't be too shocking, as the weather can also switch and favour a few. A single second could decide the race and in such distances for sure many riders will be separated by those. Magnus Cort Nielsen, Lawson Craddock and Nelson Oliveira are riders who would be in the first line of attack in this scenario.

Other outsiders could emerge in the likes of GC contenders Simon Yates, Ion Izagirre, Kévin Vauquelin or Matteo Jorgenson. The GC will start to unfold here, and although the few seconds may not mean much in the end of the race, this will dictate the order into the first hilly stage which could see different attitudes from different riders.

Whilst at the same time, some rouleurs or other decent time-trialists could benefit from a good day and some luck. These would have Josef Cerny, Nikias Arndt, Ethan Vernon, Mikkel Bjerg, Will Barta and Johan Price-Pejtersen would be good options.

Prediction Tour de Romandie 2023 prologue:

*** Ethan Hayter, Rémi Cavagna
** Tobias Foss, Matteo Sobrero, Magnus Cort Nielsen
* Lawson Craddock, Nelson Oliveira, Ion Izagirre, Mikkel Bjerg, Kévin Vauquelin

Pick: Ethan Hayter