“When he kicks with a heavy gear, he’s long gone” - Tadej Pogacar denied Romandie clean sweep as INEOS' Dorian Godon powers to sprint victory

Tadej Pogacar saw his hopes of a perfect run at the Tour de Romandie come to an end on stage 3, as Dorian Godon proved fastest in a reduced bunch sprint after a long day of control and late tension.

Having won the opening two road stages, the race leader was once again in contention in Orbe, crossing the line fourth after contesting the sprint, but this time he was forced to concede to a more explosive finish from the INEOS Grenadiers rider.

Speaking after the stage in conversation with Cycling Pro Net, Pogacar made clear that chasing a third consecutive win had not been the priority. “We kept it under control until the climb. We wanted to pace ourselves over the climb. But one team had other ideas, which was also good for us to go all out on the climb,” he said, referencing the tempo set by Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe on the Col du Mollendruz.

That effort reshaped the race, reducing the group and ensuring the early breakaway would ultimately be caught in the closing kilometres. “In the end the breakaway was caught, with a really good chase and also a strong breakaway. So yeah, it was a good day for us,” Pogacar added, underlining the controlled nature of the stage from his team’s perspective.

With tougher tests still to come, energy conservation had been part of the plan. “We have two quite hard stages coming up, so it was about saving the legs for tomorrow and the day after.”

Even so, once the race came back together inside the final kilometres, Pogacar was still present at the front and able to contest the finish.

On this occasion, however, the difference came in the final acceleration. “When he kicks with a heavy gear, he’s long gone,” Pogacar said of Godon’s sprint, acknowledging the decisive nature of the Frenchman’s effort. “It was not like yesterday. He waited for the final and it was a faster finish, so he could make a big difference compared to me. I still did a pretty solid sprint, so yeah, it was a nice finish.”

The contrast to the previous day’s uphill sprint was clear, with the flatter run-in to Orbe favouring a more traditional fast finisher.

While the stage win slipped away, the broader picture remains firmly in Pogacar’s favour. The UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader continues to lead the general classification and has so far shown complete control across a variety of race scenarios, from climbing attacks to sprint finishes.

With the decisive mountain stages still ahead, the emphasis now shifts fully towards defending the yellow jersey rather than chasing individual stage victories. “First keep the jersey, and then we see if we can win the stage. If not, it’s not the end of the world,” Pogacar said when asked about the upcoming queen stage.

After two wins and a near miss, the message was clear. The clean sweep may be gone, but the bigger objective remains very much intact.