Preview. After the mountains comes an easier finale to the race. Stage 5 of the Tour de Romandie is far from a simple day, however the sprinters will have the opportunity to succeed as the GC riders take a step back.
The final day of the race sees the most suiting day for the fast men. From Vufflens-la-Ville to Genève, the peloton will tackle a day that features two categorized climbs, however they should not be too hard or close enough to the finish to deal serious damage.
Estimated start and finish times for Tour de Romandie stage 5: 11:55 - 15:55CET
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Stage 5: Vufflens-la-Ville - Genève, 170 kilometers
There is a hilltop right at the start of the day where those looking to succeed off a breakaway will try to escape right away and build a strong group. The profile is very suited for an escapee move, featuring these two ascents. Grand Fuey is the first of which, 5.8Km at 7.5% ending with 75 kilometers to the finish, which precede a long and steep descent.
Le Molard: 3.3Km; 6.8%; 51Km to go
Right as the descent ends, the riders take on the final climb of the day - and the race - which is Le Molard. It's 3.3 kilometers at 6.8%, not something to shrug off. The summit comes with 51 kilometers to the finish line but the summit of the climb is in theory a few kilometers after, as there will be some rolling terrain following.
The final 45 kilometers have a mostly downhill trend, descending 400 meters in altitude. They will be very fast and it'll be hard to bring back a group out front. However the roads won't be technical, and will lead into the center of Genéve. The finale will be fast, mainly with a tricky right-hander with 250 meters to go making it a sprint where being in the first positions is incredibly crucial.
Stage 5 Finale
The Weather
Map Tour de Romandie 2023 stage 5
A slight northeastern breeze, but not strong enough to influence the day. The skies will be grey but it appears as if the rain will spare the riders on this occasion.
The Favourites
Ethan Vernon - Winner of the only true bunch sprint so far, Vernon is in a good place. Benefiting from the lack of pure sprinters here he can perform, he's shown to be able to climb decently well and Soudal - Quick-Step have done quite good leadout work. With Casper Pedersen leading him out he can surely be in prime position and he can jump into the win.
Ethan Hayter - A question point. The team have Elia Viviani who is a pure sprinter but at this point would even struggle against this kind of competition. INEOS will likely try to support Ethan Hayter who is also in the lead of the points jersey, however if he continues to struggle with positioning this will be a difficult one to manage.
Fernando Gaviria - Likely the fastest sprinter in the race, but this stage is more than that. Positioning will be tricky and Movistar don't exactly have a prime leadout here. Additionally he has struggled climbing on the past sprint stage which is not a good sign. Still, the Colombian ends up having here his only chance to sprint in this race.
Magnus Cort Nielsen - He isn't at his best form, but the Dane has good speed. The day features some climbs which will still favour him against several others, he will be looking to get a good one before travelling to the Giro d'Italia.
When it comes to the more pure sprinters you could see outsiders pop up such as Niccolò Bonifazio, Clément Venturini, Giacomo Nizzolo, Lionel Taminiaux and Luca Mozzato.
As for other riders who have a fast finish and could favour from a strong day there would be Thibau Nys, Milan Menten, Quinten Hermans, Nikias Arndt, Alexander Kamp and Kristian Sbaragli.
Breakaways could also be threatening to the stage result, although they have rarely resulted this season the chances exist, the explosive start and hilly profile will see some action for sure. Here riders such as Rémi Cavagna, Nikias Arndt, Matteo Sobrero, Lawson Craddock, Chris Juul-Jensen, Nans Peters, Jesús Herrada and Thomas de Gendt could find their way into the front and in the fight for the win.
Prediction Tour de Romandie 2023 stage 5:
*** Ethan Vernon, Fernando Gaviria
** Ethan Hater, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Niccolò Bonifazio
* Elia Viviani, Lionel Taminiaux, Luca Mozzato, Giacomo Nizzolo, Thibau Nys, Milan Menten, Rémi Cavagna, Thomas de Gendt
** Ethan Hater, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Niccolò Bonifazio
* Elia Viviani, Lionel Taminiaux, Luca Mozzato, Giacomo Nizzolo, Thibau Nys, Milan Menten, Rémi Cavagna, Thomas de Gendt
Pick: Ethan Vernon
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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