PREVIEW | Tour de Romandie 2023 stage 2

Preview. 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.

Stage two from Morteau to La Chaux-de-Fonds is a traditional day in Romandie, in which the race will be very open. The climbers have their first opportunity to strike, however it is a day where the puncheurs should have the advantage, whilst the sprinters can't be discounted aswell taking into consideration how the race is ran. Aggressive racing is expected and many riders can succeed.

Estimated start and finish times for Tour de Romandie stage 2: 13:25 - 17:25CET

Three categorized climbs once the second half of the stage starts will make it difficult. The first half of the day is mostly flat, but then in quick succession we have 6.7Km at 6%, 1.5Km at 8.1% and 4.8%. Those will be a warm-up however, the major challenges will come afterwards.

The Col de la Tourne is the toughest climb of the day and summits with 25.5 kilometers to go. It's 4.4 kilometers long at over 7%, featuring gradients of 9% for a whole kilometer towards the end. It is still decently far away from the finish and this early on in the race it shouldn't see the GC fight open up, but it will burn through the peloton and provide a launchpad for attacks.

A third category, the most important climb of the day is likely Le Communal. Those who race Romandie frequently will know it, it's 1.5 kilometers long at 8.1% which is relatively constant. An explosive climb where gaps can certainly appear. It ends with 11.5Km to go and sees afterwards a very fast descent. Right after comes another hilltop which won't let the race settle much, new attacks could come with a whole kilometer at 6%.

It's not brutal but a launchpad, with no descent all the way into the finish. What follows is a pan-flat straightforward finale into La Chaux-de-Fonds for the final 5,5 kilometers.

A slight breeze from the southwest and normal temperatures. It'll be typical spring weather, nothing out of the ordinary.

The GC fight could set off, it's a hilly day and the prologue will have some differences however. Pure climbers or punchy climbers such as Adam Yates, Michael Woods and Lenny Martínez could be some of those looking to take advantage of the terrain. Other more complete stage-racers who are expected to be near the front will be Matteo Jorgenson, Gino Mäder, Ion Izagirre and Kévin Vauquelin.

Some of the climbers have strong sprints. Sergio Higuita and Thibaut Pinot are some of those who have in the past shown the speed in flat sprints. Romain Bardet finished fourth today in the reduced bunch sprint and would also be a strong possibility.

It's quite an open finale, and one where the riders make the race. If the GC riders go all out in the ascents and then keep going it will be a difficult one, but let's not overestimate the difficulty of it. Some puncheurs and sprinters who can climb can surely hang close to the front and remaining in groups or having group support could see them return to the front in the final kilometers. The toughness also ensures that if that's the case there won't be much leadout dispute.

Magnus Cort Nielsen, Ethan Hayter and Milan Menten could then become some of the big favourites if there is a more conservative approach to the line. The likes of Thibau Nys - second today, Alexander Kamp, Quinten Hermans, Dion Smith and Casper Pedersen would also be outsiders in this case.

As for riders who aren't expected to fight for the GC and could hence find freedom to succeed in a late attack you'd have to fear the likes of Rémi Cavagna or Matteo Sobrero who are stupendous time-trialists, as is Tobias Foss albeit he might be more covered due to his GC placing. Jesús Herrada would be another dangerous one for the final kilometers.

*** Sergio Higuita, Magnus Cort Nielsen
** Matteo Jorgenson, Romain Bardet, Thibau Nys
* Adam Yates, Michael Woods, Ion Izagirre, Kévin Vauquelin, Thibaut Pinot, Ethan Hayter, Milan Menten, Quinten Hermans, Rémi Cavagna, Matteo Sobrero

Pick: Magnus Cort Nielsen