In the final classification, 42 seconds separated the German from the Slovenian dominator. The German ultimately had a lead of more than two minutes on third-placed Lenny Martinez (Bahrain - Victorious). The picture that Lipowitz is clearly the second force in the course of the tour through western Switzerland was reinforced on the final day. On the final climb to Leysin, it was the 25-year-old who launched the first attack just over three kilometres before the finish line. Only Pogacar was able to follow.

Two years ago, Lipowitz made his breakthrough on that very mountain finish. He also finished second on the day and finished the Romandie on the podium - just as he has done in every one-week WorldTour race he has tackled since, with the exception of the 2025 Tour of the Basque Country, where he finished fourth. What he still lacks, however, is a victory at the highest level.

Pogacar praises Lipowitz

Pogacar has already celebrated nine of these this year alone. He only needed eleven race days to do so. "I didn't know what to expect," said the Slovenian, looking back on his first tour of the year. "That's why I'm very happy with how it went." With regard to the final day, Pogacar also had praise for Lipowitz: "The pace was high all day and Florian was the first to attack on the last climb. He did a great job, but luckily I was able to survive on his rear wheel. Then he pulled away very early in the finale and it was a tough fight to the finish line." On stage 1, he had criticised the Swabian for not taking the lead in a joint front group.

Both Pogacar and Lipowitz will now have a month and a half without racing. While the Slovenian will return to the Tour de Suisse, Lipowitz will start in Pogacar's home tour of Slovenia. Then the preparation for the Tour de France begins.

In Switzerland, on the other hand, the organisers of the battered stage race can probably draw a satisfied conclusion. The top star dominated the race, in which there was only one other winner besides him in Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers). The Frenchman won two days. The mountain jersey also went to a Swiss rider who rides for a team from Switzerland. Roland Thalmann was unable to collect any more points on the final day, but was still able to secure his jersey after breakaways had decided the first mountain classification of the day amongst themselves.

Tour de Romandie 2026 - Results of the 5th stage

>> Tour de Romandie 2026: All information about the race

>> Tour de Romandie 2026: Tadej Pogačar - and then?

This is how the 5th stage of the Tour de Romandie went

After Jakob Söderqvist (Lidl - Trek) and Lorenzo Germani (Groupama - FDJ United) went on the offensive right after the start, the Swedish-Italian duo were soon joined by six other riders. Jan Tratnik and Finn Fisher-Black for Red Bull were among them, as was the Austrian Marco Schrettl (XDS Astana Team). By the middle of the race, the eight-man lead group had built up a lead of just over three minutes.

The gap decreased over the slight ups and downs as the race progressed. And when the final climb began in Aigle, where the UCI is based, the escapees had just under a minute left for the last climb. Fisher-Black, who had broken away from his companions at the start of the climb and continued as a lone rider, was the last remaining rider to be dropped seven kilometres before the finish. Bahrain-Victorious in particular continued to set the pace.

Lipowitz opened the finale with an attack 3.2 kilometres before the finish. Once again, only Pogacar was able to follow. But the German didn't go all out and Pogacar wasn't interested either. As a result, the gap to the chasers remained small and they came back. But at the moment when Roglic, among others, had docked again, Pogacar pressed the accelerator - there were still 400 metres to go. Neither Roglic nor Lipowitz were able to counter. Behind Pogacar, the Red Bull duo finished second and third.