Tour de Romandie 2026 stage 1 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - Will Tadej Pogacar take a solo win on the first mountain stage?

The 2026 Tour de Romandie will take place from the 28th of April to the 3rd of May and will make for Tadej Pogacar's debut in a stage-race this year. The Swiss race provides the final big test ahead of the Giro d'Italia whilst also following the spring classics, a period where many are looking to save their campaign. We preview stage 1, which is estimated to start and finish at 13:30 and 17:30CET.

The race was first held in 1947 with Belgian Désiré Keteleer taking the first win. Taking part in the French part of Switzerland, it is a race that has had a very international list of winners, from several generations and also different types of riders. But many of the greats have marked their name on it such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Thévenet, Bernard Hinault, Stephen Roche and Laurent Jalabert.

Alrrady this century we've had Cadel Evans, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome use Romandie ahead of their maiden Tour de France wins; whilst huge names such as Nairo Quintana, Richie Porte, Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas have also won the GC on what is considered to be one of the seven big non Grand-Tour stage-races.

Adam Yates won it in 2023, Carlos Rodríguez in 2024; and in 2025 it was João Almeida who won the race on the final day after dethroning Lenny Martínez from the yellow jersey.

The race moves into the Rhône valley for a stage with a profile that is typical of the region. That is because the riders have a beautiful region with roads extending through the massive valley, whilst the valley slopes are packed with steep climbs. These can be short, or they can be long, into the towns that are scattered over the mountains.

With the profile put into context, the riders will first take on a circuit just north of Martigny which on three occasions will have have the peloton tackle a 2.5-kilometer long climb at 8.5%. This will serve as a warm-up before the riders head east towards the main climb of the day.

And this is a brutal one, where we should see massive W/Kg displays. The climb to Ovronnaz is on the menu and it is the most difficult of the race, with 8.9 kilometers in distance and 9.8% average gradient. The riders should arrive at the bottom relatively fresh.

The climb is going to split the race to bits with its gradient and switchbacks, ending with 35.5 kilometers to go. The descent is very tactical and the riders head back to Martigny through the pan-flat valley once again for the finish.

Tadej Pogacar - The man to beat, and I don't really think anything can be done about it. The climb to Ovronnaz is extremely steep and so there won't really be any tactics at play. The stage will be easy until then, so it will only be necessary to have a couple riders control the stage until then, and on the 10% climb Pogacar can ride at his own pace and take the race lead. Unless he is on a very bad day, he will win solo. He should take control of the race from Wednesday forward.

Florian Lipowitz - Number two on the list will be Florian Lipowitz, leader of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe. Publicly he won't be said to be the leader here, as the team have Primoz Roglic and Daniel Martínez, but the German is the strongest climber - there isn't really any doubt over it. Luckily for the team's egos, the climb is so steep and the stage is simple until then, which means they will each do their own race up the climb. At the summit they then decide what to do, if any is close to each other. Lipowitz does have a point to prove however, as he wants the most support possible for the Tour de France. A second place behind Pogacar would help that.

Lenny Martínez is the face of Bahrain - Victorious in this race and will also have Antonio Tiberi with him, the Frenchman could do really well in the ultra-steep climb which favours him quite a lot. At the same time, we have the race's leaders INEOS Grenadiers who should protect Oscar Onley the most, a strong podium contender for this week, whilst Carlos Rodríguez is also an option.

As this is the first mountain stage of the race and it is one which is easy until the base, we can consider Luke Plapp for sure, he is a specialist in this sort of day, and was second at the UAE Tour; whilst David Gaudu could also perform, not having yet the fatigue which will come in the following days.

Valentin Paret-Peintre is also a perfect fit for this climb taking into consideration his featherweight build, and how he performed already at the recent Volta a Catalunya. Jorgen Nordhagen, Georg Steinhauser, George Bennett, Marco Brenner, Pablo Castrillo, Nairo Quintana and the Astana trio (Lorenzo Fortunato, Cristián Rodríguez and Clément Champoussin) will also be men to consider, aiming for a good overall classification.

*** Tadej Pogacar

** Florian Lipowitz, Oscar Onley, Lenny Martínez

* Primoz Roglic, Daniel Martínez, Georg Steinhauser, Carlos Rodríguez, Antonio Tiberi, Luke Plapp, Valentin Paret-Peintre

Pick: Tadej Pogacar

How: Solo win