Adam Yates back to defend Tour de Romandie Title

Two summit finishes at Les Marécottes and Leysin will also prove crucial in the battle for overall victory. Bernal, Hindley, Ayuso and Vlasov ready to dethrone the British Champion.

The 77th Tour de Romandie starts Tuesday April 23rd to Sunday April 28th. The Swiss race dates back to 1947. This year’s route includes two races against the clock, while two mountain top finishes up the battle in the GC. Stage 2 finishes in Les Marécottes after an 8 kilometres climb at 7.3% and stage 4 ends with a 4 kilometres climb at 7.2% to Leysin.

Adam Yates won last year’s edition of the Tour de Romandie ahead of Matteo Jorgenson and Damiano Caruso. 

This year's Tour de Romandie route is 45.5km shorter than 2023, but still provides more than 11,000 metres of climbing. The Prologue in 2024 will take place in Payerne on the east side of Neuchâtel Lake.

For a second consecutive year a mid-race individual time trial will break up the action in the mountains, this one 15.5km loop around Oron. The Queen stage on Saturday will be a 151km route to the Vaud Alps resort village of Leysin, with the overall finish on Sunday at Vernier, to the west of Geneva. The two summit finishes at Les Marécottes and Leysin will also prove crucial in the battle for overall victory.

Favourites for the 2024 race include Spanish wonderkid Juan Ayuso, former Tour de France champion Egan Bernal, and Bora-Hansgrohe’s double threat of Jai Hindley and Sasha Vlasov. Plus defending champion Adam Yates, Robert Gesink and Bryan Coquard are down on the start list.

Prologue: Tuesday 23rd April, Payerne, 2.28km

With a prologue just longer than 2 kilometres, the opening day of racing in Switzerland will be short and sweet. So short that most riders will complete the course within the time length of most commercial pop songs. That said, there will be plenty of corners and road furniture that could take the riders out of their rhythm.

Stage 1 - Wednesday 24th April, Château d’Oex – Fribourg, 165.7km

The first road stage will take the riders out of the chocolate box mountains briefly. Some small bumps along the way will test the peloton, but a routine sprint approach to the line in Fribourg, a town which sits on the eastern frontier of Switzerland’s French-speaking region.

Stage 2 - Thursday 25th April, Fribourg – Salvan/Les Marécottes, 171.0km

The much-anticipated Swiss Alps will make an appearance on stage 2. With two substantial climbs on the menu here in Les Mosses (12.9km at 4.1%) and the finsihing climb of Les Marécottes (10km at 7.3%). The mountain-top challenge will take the riders onto slopes maxing out at 14% in gradient.

Stage 3 - Friday 26th April, Oron – Oron, ITT, 15.5km 

The summit-finish sequel offers a much tougher Toblerone-like profile. Two Alpine tests will preface the final climb at Leysin. Over 10 kilometres in length and at an average gradient of 5.9%, this stage will offer a last-chance saloon for anyone to make necessary time gaps ahead of the Tour de Romandie’s conclusion the next day.

Stage 4 - Saturday 27th April, Saillon – Leysin, 151.7km

The summit-finish sequel offers a much tougher Toblerone-like profile. Two Alpine tests will preface the final climb at Leysin. Over 10 kilometres in length and at an average gradient of 5.9%, this stage will offer a last-chance saloon for anyone to make necessary time gaps ahead of the Tour de Romandie’s conclusion the next day.

Stage 5 - Sunday 28th April, Vernier – Vernier, 150.8km

This stage is not as challenging as it presents itself to be. The short kicker of Dardagny (2km at 4.4%) provides a small opportunity for gaps to be made, but in reality, this should be one for the sprinters or a breakaway effort.