After a six-man lead group rode to the front for a long time on stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie, there was a bunch sprint at the end. Dorian Godon took the stage win ahead of his team-mate Andrea Vendrame (both Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), with third place going to Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Five of the day's six mountain classifications were won by the German Juri Hollmann (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who will wear the mountain jersey on stage 2.
Godon wins without resistance
Early on the finishing straight, Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was in first position, but he lost contact with his sprinter Gianni Vermeersch and therefore slowed down. Simone Consonni (Lidl-Trek) then came to the front, with Dorian Godon on his rear wheel. As the Italian quickly ran out of energy, Godon broke away with a short but powerful attack and crossed the finish line safely in first place. Behind him, no rider made a serious attempt to put the Frenchman under pressure, meaning that Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale took the double victory. Godon is thus also the new leader of the overall classification, displacing Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) from his place in the sun, who had won the prologue the day before.
Tour de Romandie 2024: Results - the top 10 of stage 1
- Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) 3:49:58
- Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0:00
- Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny) +0:00
- Kasper Asgreen (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:00
- Matevz Govekar (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:00
- Alex Aranburu (Movistar) +0:00
- Clement Venturini (Areka-B&B Hotels) +0:00
- Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ) +0:00
- Kobe Goossens (Intermarche-Wanty) +0:00
The current standings in the overall standings
- Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) 3:52:46
- Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:06
- Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:09
- Tim van Dijke (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:10
- Alex Aranburu (Movistar) +0:11
- Antoine Aebi (Swiss Cycling) +0:11
- Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) +0:11
- Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:11
- Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0:12
- Matevz Govekar (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:12
How the 1st stage of the Tour de Romandie went
On the 166 kilometre long 1st stage from Chateau d'Oex to Fribourg, the riders immediately got down to business with six mountain classifications. After a few kilometres, Fausto Masnada (Soudal - Quick Step) broke away from the peloton and took five more riders with him: German Juri Hollmann (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Rune Herregodts (Intermache-Wanty) and Patrick Gamper (Bora-Hansgrohe) were among those in the day's leading group.
The race situation quickly stabilised and the six breakaway riders had a maximum lead of almost four minutes. Meanwhile, the Lidl-Trek and EF Education-EasyPost teams were doing the chasing in the peloton. As the race progressed, the teams increased the pace more and more in order to reduce the gap. Now Movistar and Visma | Lease a Bike also appeared at the front and put the pressure on.
Peloton ups the pace
Due to the increased pace, the winner of the previous day's prologue, which consisted of a 2.3 kilometre individual time trial, Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) ran into problems 76 kilometres from the finish and had to leave the peloton. He buried his hopes of another day in the overall leader's jersey.
Hollmann takes the mountain jersey
At the front of the race, Juri Hollmann was alert and lively in the mountain classifications. He scored 31 out of a possible 35 mountain points on this 1st stage of the Tour de Romandie and can therefore start the 2nd stage with the mountain jersey.
With 9 kilometres to go, the peloton caught up with the breakaway, so that the signs were now pointing to a bunch sprint. Although Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal - Quick Step), Andreas Kron (Loto Dstny) and Patrick Gamper repeatedly pushed the pace and tried to escape the peloton, the latter parried all attacks.
In the end, it came down to a bunch sprint, which Dorian Godon won and was able to celebrate a double victory together with team-mate Andrea Vendrame.
