The second road stage of the Tour de Romandie looked to be the first chance for the sprinters in the peloton. The course took the peloton from Le Locle over 174 km to Morges, where after two local laps a fast bunch sprint was expected. But as always, the riders decided how hard a race is. Right from the beginning, under pouring rain, the riders started the second stage but it didn’t stop the six escapees from extending a gap over the peloton. The break established a solid lead of five minutes, when BORA – hansgrohe started pulling in the bunch for their sprinter Sam Bennett. Especially Christoph Pfingsten did a tremendous job. However, in the final lap of the day the gap was still hovering around two minutes. With 15 kilometers to go, Küng dropped all his breakaway companions, while BORA – hansgrohe found not enough cooperation in the bunch to bring Küng back. Fully committed to take the win on home soil, Küng showed his class and took an impressive solo victory. Behind him, it was Sam Bennett who took the sprint for second, beating Colbrelli by more than two bike length. There were no changes in the GC.
Results
01 S. Küng 4:10:59
02 S. Bennett +0:59
03 S. Colbrelli +0:59
From the Finish Line
“That was a tough day in the saddle today. It was raining all day long and we knew that it will be difficult to close the gap due to the wet roads. But congrats to Küng, he rode a smart race. I gave my best to win the sprint out of the bunch and I am satisfied that it worked out. That was more or less the only chance for the sprinters here at the Tour de Romandie, but I will support my teammates in the upcoming stages.” – Sam Bennett
“What can we say about today’s stage, first of all: congrats to Küng, he was the strongest today and earns that stage win. We tried until the last kilometers to close the gap, pulled with all riders of our team at the front, but the wet roads and rain made it difficult. After we knew, that the victory was gone we fought for the second place and Sam won the sprint out of a reduced bunch. However, let’s see if tomorrow will bring another surprise.” – Steffen Radochla, Sports Director
