Movistar have taken an important win to open up the year. Stage 3 of the Tour Down Under has seen Javier Romo take a solo victory that propels him into the race lead, after an all-out battle on the climb led to a downhill attack deciding the outcome of the day.
KOM classification leader Fergus Browning and Geoffrey Bouchard attacked on the uphill start to the day forming the breakaway, the latter would be the last survivor of the day, getting caught with just over 30 kilometers to go. It wouldn't be a very calm day in the peloton with a crash affecting defending champion Stephen Williams, whilst Ide Schelling also had a bad fall... The likes of Sam Welsford amd Phil Bauhaus were dropped in the penultimate ascent of Knotts Hill.
On the first ascent Juan Pedro López was again looking to make a move but with no success this time around, this would then be left to the final lap. INEOS Grenadiers entered the climb well after a very technical climb, and right from the base we saw Jay Vine hit the front as the main favourites faced off.
With 7.4 kilometers to go Michal Kwiatkowski attacked off the front with Rémi Rochas following, Caught with 7.1 to go, it was Afonso Eulálio who moved in the Jayco-led group... Rochas would go on the attack again with 5.8 kilometers to go, going over the top of the climb alone, but was caught over the summit.
With 4.8 to go Javier Romo attacked and got a dangerous gap, as just as it was warned, an attack in the downhill would be almost impossible to close with a reduced group. Despite having five riders, Lidl-Trek did not fully commit to chase the lone Spaniard; attacks from Chris Harper and Oscar Onley saw Romo come close to getting caught but the Movistar Team rider had the legs to finish it off, taking a brilliant victory and the race lead as a consequence.
Jhonatan Narváez sprinted to second place, obtaining important bonus seconds, whilst Finn Fisher-Black sprinted to 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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- 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
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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