The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It was held without interruption until the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 edition.[1]
 2024 Tour de Romandie | |
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | April–May |
| Region | Romandie, Switzerland |
| English name | Tour of Romandy |
| Local name(s) | Tour de Romandie (in French) |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI World Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1947 |
| Editions | 77 (as of 2024) |
| First winner |  Désiré Keteleer (BEL) |
| Most wins |  Stephen Roche (IRL) (3 wins) |
| Most recent |  Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) |
The course of the race usually heads northwards towards the Jura mountains and Alpine mountain ranges of western Switzerland. The race traditionally starts with an individual time trial prologue and ends with an individual time-trial in hilly terrains, often in Lausanne. The final time-trial traditionally starts in the stadium north of Lausanne, goes downhill southwards to Lake Léman (Lake Geneva), and makes its way back uphill to the stadium again. The winner and several of the top-ten finishers are usually excellent time trialists.
Four winners of the Tour de Romandie had gone on to win the Tour de France in the same year; Stephen Roche in 1987, then Cadel Evans, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Tour de Romandie is also usually considered a preparation race for the Giro d'Italia, which starts one week later.
In 2022, the Tour de Romandie Féminin was held for the first time in the UCI Women's World Tour – as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the race.[2]
Winners
edit
Multiple winners
edit| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Stephen Roche (IRL) |
1983 + 1984 + 1987 |
| 2 |  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI) |
1948 + 1951 |
 Jean Forestier (FRA) |
1954 + 1957 | |
| Louis Rostollan (FRA) |
1960 + 1961 | |
 Vittorio Adorni (ITA) |
1965 + 1967 | |
| Gianni Motta (ITA) |
1966 + 1971 | |
| Tony Rominger (SUI) |
1991 + 1995 | |
| Pascal Richard (SUI) |
1993 + 1994 | |
| Dario Frigo (ITA) |
2001 + 2002 | |
 Tyler Hamilton (USA) |
2003 + 2004 | |
 Cadel Evans (AUS) |
2006 + 2011 | |
 Chris Froome (GBR) |
2013 + 2014 | |
 Primož Roglič (SLO) |
2018 + 2019 |
Wins per country
edit| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
13 |
Italy
|
12 |
 Switzerland
|
10 |
France
|
6 |
Belgium
|
5 |
Great Britain Netherlands
|
4 |
Australia
|
3 |
Ireland Slovenia Spain United States
|
2 |
 Colombia Russia Sweden
|
1 |
 Czech Republic Germany Norway
|
Most stage wins
edit| # | Rider | Stage wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Cipollini (ITA) |
12 |
| 2 | Hugo Koblet (SUI) |
8 |
| Ferdinand Kübler (SUI)
| ||
| 4 | Vittorio Adorni (ITA) |
6 |
| Michael Albasini (SUI)
| ||
| Knut Knudsen (NOR)
| ||
| Gianni Motta (ITA)
| ||
| Tony Rominger (SUI)
| ||
| Johan van der Velde (NED)
| ||
| 10 | Laurent Dufaux (SUI) |
5 |
| Urs Freuler (SUI)
| ||
| Pascal Richard (SUI)
| ||
| Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)
| ||
| Paolo Savoldelli (ITA)
|
Media coverage
editThe Tour de Romandie is broadcast throughout Europe and in other areas:
- United Kingdom — Eurosport and Discovery+
- United States — FloBikes[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Farrand, Stephen (16 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Race cancellations expand into late April and May". Cycling News. Future Publishing. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Frattini, Kirsten (2021-09-22). "Three-day Tour de Romandie added to the Women's WorldTour in 2022". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ Alejandro Valverde finished the 2010 edition as winner, but his results were expurgated as a consequence of a retroactive suspension.
- ^ "How to watch the 2024 Tour de Romandie". 23 April 2024.
Notes
edita As of 1 March 2022, the UCI announced that cyclists from Russia and Belarus would no longer compete under the name or flag of those respective countries due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1]
External links
edit
- Official website (in French)
- Tour de Romandie palmares at Cycling Archives (archived)
- ^ "The UCI takes strong measures in the face of the situation in Ukraine" (Press release). UCI. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.