On the eve of a decisive weekend in the mountains, New Zealander Patrick Bevin (Israel) won the sprint in Valbroye during the 3rd stage of the Tour de Romandie. Rohan Dennis always in green.
The route offered a drop of 2700 m. But one day before the queen stage of Zinal, no one really wanted to take any risks. Only a long breakaway from the trio Remi Cavagna (FRA), Nans Peter (FRA) and Kris Neiland (LAT) animated the day.
Starting at the 18th kilometer, the trio had a maximum lead of 4’43”. Like every day, following a reaction from the Jumbos of leader Dennis and the Ineos, the advantage melted and the three riders were caught 19 km from the line following a journey of 128 km.
While there remained the climbs of Dompierre and Sédeilles, skirmishes were rare. The Spaniard Carlos Verona, the Bernese Marc Hirschi and the Estonian Rein Taaramae tried their luck, but without success. Ineos had removed the exit vouchers to promote a third success for the Ethan Hayter phenomenon.
This one nevertheless found opposition with Bevin, who occupied 7th place in the general classification. The sprinter from the antipodes did not miss his job this time, unlike Echallens the day before.
Balm to the heart
The success of Patrick Bevin brings a little balm to the Israel – Premier Tech team, which has not won much since it appears in the World Tour with the commitment of Chris Froome, which constituted a flop monumental. The New Zealander had just won the general classification of the Tour of Turkey. “But a victory on the World Tour circuit like today, has much more value”, noted the victorious sprinter.
The weekend will be that of the truth. On Saturday, the main stage between Aigle and Zinal includes the ascent of four 1st category difficulties: Nax (1295 m), Les Pontis (1052 m), St-Luc (1564 m) and Grimentz (1563 m) before the arrival at Zinal (1666 m). Sunday, the race will be played on the slopes of the time trial between Aigle (World Cycling Center) and Villars. After 5.5 km of flat, the route will rise until the finish at 1263 or almost 8% over 10 km.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats