Stage 4 of the Tour de Romandie is without a doubt the hardest of the week. With a lot of climbing on the menu and a summit finish atop a long ascent, UAE Team Emirates will be tasked with defending Juan Ayuso's race lead.
The queen stage perhaps? That argument definitely holds up when we see the amount of climbing on the menu. A small hilltop at the start, but perhaps the most difficult feature of the day is the first categorized ascent ascent to Ovronnaz. It is 9.1 kilometers at 9.5%; a brutal climb where a breakaway may be formed, attacks may come or a team may put on the pressure and break the race into pieces. Everything is possible, but it is still quite early in the day.
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Stage 4: Saillon - Leysin, 151.3 kilometers
The 3500 climbing meters on the day come from a string of ascents that come later on the day. 2.1Km at 8.6% (72.5Km to go), 9.6Km at 5.4% (51Km to go) and 4.1Km at 8.2% (44Km to go). These are unlikely to see attacks, but will continue to create damage in the peloton. A very technical descent follows.
But the attacks are expected in the final ascent to Leysin. A known finale, but a more difficult one than normal. It's 15 kilometers at 5.9%, with some tough gradients close to the finish. The final kilometers are it's toughest; and the final kilometer features some technical and tight streets which should make for spectacular footage.
The Weather
Map Tour de Romandie 2024 stage 4
The temperatures do finally rise, so it won't be such a cold and snowy day like the previous mountain stage. The wind will blow stronger however. It will be a tailwind in the first big climb of the day, in Leysin it will come as a tailwind throughout most of it (from two different directions).
The Favourites
Juan Ayuso - UAE has this race under a little bit of control. Ayuso used the time-trials and rode into the race lead. However due to the rain, the differences made in both TT's are small against a few rivals. But UAE does have the lead and he will have Adam Yates riding in his support. Add today's winner Brandon McNulty, Pavel Sivakov, Felix Grossschartner and Jan Christen, it will be hard to put UAE under pressure if Ayuso has a strong day and it means the attacks should only come in the final climb.
Carlos Rodríguez - I expect INEOS to be the team who will try the hardest to make it a hard race. Rodríguez is only 11 seconds from the race lead of Ayuso and was the rider who matched him at Itzulia Basque Country. The Spaniard can absolutely win this race and is in great form. The team has Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman who can attack the day early on to put pressure on UAE, or most likely push the pace up the final climb.
Lenny Martínez - The leader of Groupama had his flaw in the TT's. Both have passed and he's in fifth place, 23 seconds away from Juan Ayuso. Even in the complicated situation currently, the youngster can still win this race actually. David Gaudu will certainly look to play a support role, it will be interesting to see if this will work.
BORA - BORA have to put down the pressure in some way, either by attacking or pacing. Jai Hindley has lost over a minute on these days and doesn't look his sharpest, which means that he will be willing to risk in order to try and make an impact on the race. Aleksandr Vlasov sits third, 10 seconds from the race lead, and could do something special. Additionally the team have a motivated Florian Lipowitz sitting in sixth place, quite impressively, and the German could also finish quite high here if he has another good day.
Ilan van Wilder - The Belgian is the second placed figure in the overall classification. Quick-Step do not have a team to push the pace here, van Wilder has to wait for others to make the race. This doesn't mean he can't win however. A great climber on his day, the 7 seconds he's got behind Ayuso are a very small gap that can be cut in a matter of a sprint or bonus seconds.
Jayco took over the responsibility in the previous mountain stage and Luke Plapp took time on the competition. On a day like this however it'll be much harder, as it's better suited to the pure climbers. He can still race well however, both he and Simon Yates can attack the race and chase a stage win. Damiano Caruso and Yannis Voisard already sit inside the Top10 and will want to keep this position, they will race on the defensive.
The likes of Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz are also expected to try and attack to climb up the GC. Add to the mix Tao Geoghegan Hart, Harold Tejada, Koen Bouwman, Guillaume Martin, Harm Vanhoucke and Cristián Rodríguez into the mix and we'll have a strong day of racing.
Prediction Tour de Romandie 2024 stage 4:
*** Juan Ayuso, Lenny Martínez, Carlos Rodríguez
** Adam Yates, Aleksandr Vlasov, Simon Yates
* Egan Bernal, Ilan van Wilder, Jai Hindley, Florian Lipowitz, David Gaudu, Luke Plapp, Enric Mas, Guillaume Martin
** Adam Yates, Aleksandr Vlasov, Simon Yates
* Egan Bernal, Ilan van Wilder, Jai Hindley, Florian Lipowitz, David Gaudu, Luke Plapp, Enric Mas, Guillaume Martin
Pick: Lenny Martínez
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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- Hmmm, you seem to have a very convenient black and white view of things. Perhaps you haven’t been around much to discover how complex problems can become over time with people who know how to control, manipulate (or worse) others so gradually or subtly that you arrive at an irresolvable situation before you realise. This is how many inconveniences get introduced to the young, naïve, passionate or “desperate”, knowing they are not armed, protected or strong enough to defend themselves once it’s too late. Why do you think omerta culture is so widespread, why do you think so many people continue to go through so many awful things in life that others can’t understand anyone getting into? Life may be far more jolly for you but you would do well to understand (or reflect more on) the real world to refrain from being so quick to criticise those in a hard spot that may have genuine reason for speaking out.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
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Découvrez la cartes du parcours du #TDR2024, dévoilée ce matin à Vernier (GE). Concentré et nerveux comme un "espresso", ce Tour de Romandie!
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