The Tour de Romandie is celebrating this year. For 75 years, the Romandie loop has crisscrossed the roads of this corner of the country and has ensured the arrival towns, sometimes even certain villages, a welcome little fame. Before the kick-off of this anniversary edition, RTSport proposes to stop for a moment on the localities which found themselves under the spotlight.
The Tour de Romandie 2022 will start on Tuesday in Lausanne. The Olympic capital is an essential city in the history of the event. Only Geneva does better in the ranking of places having organized the most arrivals since 1947 (see the graph below). The city of Calvin has often been the scene of the prologue or the last stage. Many half stages also ended at the end of the lake.
Absent from the route this year, the Jura Arc occupies a prominent place among the TdR destinations with several finishes which took place in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Porrentruy, Delémont, Le Locle and Neuchâtel. Not surprisingly, we can note that on average one stage in four ends in a locality of the canton of Vaud. In addition, the main cities of French-speaking Switzerland are well represented. On the Röstigraben border, Biel has only once hosted a finish of the Tour de Romandie (1952).
With the help of archives, let’s take a look at a few finishes that sum up the DNA of the Tour de Romandie. A clever mix of terroir, proximity to the public, whims of the weather and sporting suspense.
Ferdi Kübler, king of the stadium in Freiburg
After 1948, Ferdi Kübler won the Tour de Romandie for the second time in his career in 1951. The Zurich native, winner of the Tour de France a year earlier, was at the top of his game. During the last stage, he won in Friborg on the track of the Saint-Léonard stadium in front of a crowd won over to his cause.
Deliverance following 273km
The 4th stage of the 1956 TdR scheduled between Boncourt and Geneva should have been the longest in the history of the Tour de Romandie with 285km. But as the riders were staying in Porrentruy, “the race director ordered that the start be given in this city instead of Boncourt“, we learned from the press at the time. The race was thus shortened by 12km. The longest stage of the TdR remains to this day that linking Montana to Porrentruy in 1948 (281km). 8h51’25” of effort.
The TdR stops in the middle of the campaign
Among the places that have welcomed an arrival of the Tour de Romandie, there is one that challenges. In 1982, the race stopped in Ecoteaux following leaving Meyrin. The Vaudois village, located not far from Palézieux, had barely 200 inhabitants at the time and did not enjoy any particular reputation. He owes this “gift” to a promoter who wishes to develop a leisure center (hotel, swimming pool, bowling, mini-golf) next to the village restaurant. Disconnected from local reality and undermined by opposition, the project was abandoned.
The resounding return of winter to Leysin
The Sierre-Leysin stage of May 4, 2002 marks the followers. Ascent to the Col des Planches and passage to Villars canceled due to the weather, the favorites only have the ascent to Leysin to explain themselves. The snow then decides to make its appearance and offers dantesque conditions for the finish.
Sebastien Schorderet, Laurent Guignard and David Egger
