Florian Lipowitz has passed the first mountain test against cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de Romandie. The 25-year-old finished second on the 171.2 kilometre first stage with start and finish in Martigny as part of a four-man lead group. The Slovenian Pogacar secured victory in the sprint. Frenchman Lenny Martinez came third ahead of Norwegian Jörgen Nordhagen.
Pogacar took the lead in the overall standings of the tour through western Switzerland. The world champion is seven seconds ahead of Lipowitz. Martinez is third, 16 seconds behind Pogacar. "That wasn't planned, but it's nice to have taken the win. There was a headwind for the last 22 kilometres, so I was happy not to be alone," said Pogacar, who is racing in Romandie for the first time.
Steeper than Alpe d'Huez
The pros only had to tackle one long climb on the largely flat stage - but it was a tough one. The almost nine-kilometre route to Ovronnaz had an average gradient of 9.8 per cent, significantly higher than legendary Tour climbs such as Alpe d'Huez. As expected, Pogacar attacked on the climb, followed initially only by Martinez.
Lipowitz gradually picked up his pace and closed the gap. Last year's Tour bronze medallist rode over the pass with Pogacar and Martinez. In the valley, Nordhagen caught up with the trio and a sprint had to decide the day's victory.
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