PREVIEW | Tour de Romandie 2025 - Will Remco Evenepoel win his first stage-race of the season?

The Tour de Romandie will be the final stage-race of the spring period, and the last before the Giro d'Italia. The Swiss race every year attracts some of the best stage-racers in the world for it's climbing and time-trial tests, and this year will be no exception. We preview the race ahead.

The race opens up with a short and explosive prologue in Saint-Imier. It's not so usual nowadays to have such a small time-trial at World Tour level, but the Swiss race retains it's tradition and it will open up some gaps into the coming days.

Stage 1 is just about one of the most unusual days in the World Tour calendar this year, but it could make for very exciting racing. The stage starts with a 1.7-kilometer climb at 10%, and in it's first two thirds there are several short and steep climbs (the final one being 3 kilometers at 12%). The final kilometers will then be rolling, before a hilltop finish in Fribourg.

Stage 2 is another very hard day in it's start with two quite steep climbs, these ones longer however and better suited to the climbers. The riders will face the ascent to Chaumont once again where the overall classification can be split to bits not too far from the flat finish in Saint-Aubin Sauges.

Stage 3 is perhaps the easiest non time-trial stage of the race, but it will still be a potential day for differences. All day long the riders go up and down, but without a meaningful ascent. But then they climb up to the line in Cossonay which will be 2.2 kilometers at 5.7%.

The queen stage, without a doubt. There will be 4100 meters of climbing packed in a mere 128 kilometers. Four categorized climbs will warm things up, but without a doubt it's in the mythical ascent to Thyon 2000 (20.2 kilometers at 7%) that the stage (and race perhaps) will be decided.

The same way it's started, the race ends with a time-trial. This one is 16.9 kilometers in length and has true potential to make meaningful differences. However, it's certainly not a flat one, featuring a very technical and uphill start in Genève and a 3-kilometer long climb during the course.

Remco Evenepoel - The Belgian is on paper the man to beat, but his form will be a question mark. At Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold Race he looked very strong and close to his best form, but since he's struggled in the last Ardennes. His form will always be enough for him to be a contender for a top result, but obviously the expectations from most fans will be of a victory. If he is consistent, this will always be possible because in the time-trial he can do serious damage.

João Almeida - UAE are a team of many leaders but I think the hierarchy here, unlike most races without Pogacar, is clear. João Almeida is off the back of an impressive double stage and GC win at Itzulia Basque Country and there's nothing to point towards bad form at this moment of the spring. In the time-trials he defends himself very well against even the very best, and climbing wise recently he's put put terrific numbers. With Jan Christen and Jay Vine backing him up UAE will also not be in disadvantage against rival teams.

INEOS - INEOS are the defending champions in this race as Carlos Rodríguez had a very strong race - in between others just as impressive ones - but this year hasn't been the best thus far as he suffered a fractured collarbone at the UAE Tour and only returned to racing at Liège. Still his performance there was good enough to argue his form may be on point, and with Laurens de Plus as a co-leader the British team definitely have the cards to play in the hard stages.

Lenny Martinez - During the Ardennes the Frenchman's form began to show up once again, and although in the time-trials he will inevitably lose a lot of time and perhaps the overall victory too, a podium is absolutely possible because his climbing skills are superb and he has also shown good consistency this season already. Bahrain will be backing him up fully, no second cards, and in the leadership he may win as he's done at Paris-Nice.

We've got a Lennert van Eetvelt who's riding with a broken foot, David Gaudu and Aleksandr Vlasov who on paper, in their best form, would be contenders for overall victory but they are very much all a question mark until we reach the mountains. Overall we've got a lot of secondary GC riders who've got a good opportunity to capture a strong World Tour result - or UCI points - and it will actually make for a very interesting race, with many faces that we aren't used to seeing in the top.

Talking of UCI points, Astana brings Clément Champoussin, Harold Tejada and Lorenzo Fortunato who've all got good climbing legs and could have quite a good result in the race; the Movistar wonder duo Pablo Castrillo and Iván Romeo who could also do quite well, specially as we've got two time-trials; and then many more such as Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Juan Pedro López, Luke Plapp, Oscar Onley and Cristián Rodríguez.

*** Remco Evenepoel, João Almeida
** Laurens de Plus, Carlos Rodríguez, Aleksandr Vlasov
* Lenny Martínez, Luke Plapp, Aleksandr Vlasov, Oscar Onley, Clément Champoussin, Harold Tejada, Lorenzo Fortunato, Pablo Castrillo, Iván Romeo, David Gaudu, Lennert van Eetvelt, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Juan Pedro López

Pick: João Almeida