Tour de Romandie 2023: Surprise winner Cerny wins the opening stage after a thriller - Denz fourth

Cerny needed 7:25 minutes from the team Soudal - Quick Step in the 6.82-kilometre time trial along the Rhone and Lake Geneva, delivering an average speed of 55 km/h. He was also beaten by his favoured rivals, but still had to admit defeat. "I'm happy to be the lucky one," said the 29-year-old at the finish, while the beaten world champion Foss said: "It's always stupid when you lose so narrowly."

For a long time, Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) was on course for a podium finish in Le Bouveret. The German set an early best time, which remained untouched for a long time and was only topped by the eventual winner. In the end, the 29-year-old finished fourth. "I drove as fast as I could and had nothing to lose," said Denz after his race. "I'm under no pressure to get a result here, but I know that I'm in very good shape at the moment. I just wanted to enjoy the time trial." The scenery along the Rhone and Lake Geneva certainly offered opportunities to do just that.

Favourites for the overall standings close together

As expected, the prologue had little influence on the battle for the overall standings. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) proved to be the best of the contenders fighting for the yellow jersey. The Frenchman was 16 seconds slower than Cerny, but three faster than Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and four as his twin brother Simon (Team Jayco-AlUla).

At 26 seconds behind Cerny, the gap to Bora's ace Sergio Higuita was also limited, Jumbo-Visma captain Steven Kruijswijk was on the same time. At 35 seconds behind, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team) just like Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) recorded the largest minus.

>> Stages, start list & TV coverage: All information about the Tour de Romandie

Wednesday's stage 1 is the longest stage of the tour. The almost 171 kilometres should normally be an affair for the sprinters. Only five seconds behind Cerny in the overall standings, British rider Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) has the chance to take the yellow jersey with a stage win and the bonus seconds that come with it.

Tour de Romandie 2023: Prologue results

1. Josef Cerny (Soudal - Quick Step) 7:25
2. Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) +0:01
3. Remi Cavagna (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:01
4. Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:04
5. Joel Suter (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) +0:05
6. Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:05
7. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) +0:09
8. Matteo Sobrero (Team Jayco-AlUla) +0:09
9. Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) +0:09
10. Ethan Vernon (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:10