Surprise victory for INEOS! Samuel Watson takes incredibly tight victory at Tour de Romandie prologue
Cycling
INEOS Grenadiers came to the Tour de Romandie with a strong squad, however very few would've expected it to be Samuel Watson to bring the team it's first victory on Swiss soil. The Briton was the fastest in the opening prologue, winning with a gap of less than a second.
Watson put in a time of 4:33 in the 3.4-kilometer tricky prologue in Saint-Imier, a time that would earn him the victory only 0.3 seconds faster than Ivo Oliveira, who himself is on stupendous form after his two victories at the recent Giro d'Abruzzo.
Remco Evenepoel, Stefan Küng and last year's prologue winner Maikel Zijlaard were all amongst the riders who set strong times, but it was truly a course designed for surprises and Watson took full advantage of it, taking the leader's jersey alongside him. Iván Romeo finished the day in third place.
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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.
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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)...
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