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Sunday, May 3, 2026

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We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. - Plato

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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• April 26 - May 3: Tour of Turkey
• April 28 - May 3: Tour de Romandie

Upcoming racing:

• May 8 - 31: Giro d'Italia

Latest completed racing:

• May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt
• April 26: Giro dell'Appennino
• April 23 - 26: Vuelta Asturias
• April 26: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• April 20 - 24: Tour of the Alps
• April 22: La Flèche Wallonne
• April 19: Amstel Gold Race
• April 15 - 19: Tour of Hainan
• April 14 - 18: O Gran Camiño
• April 17: De Brabantse Pijl
• April 19: Tour du Doubs race cancelled
• April 12: Paris-Roubaix
• April 6 - 11: Itzulia Basque Country (Tour of the Basque Country)
• April 7 - 10: Région Pays de la Loire Tour

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Tour de Romandie stage four reports

We posted the report from stage winner & GC leader Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.

Here's the Tour de Romandie stage four report from Team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe:

The queen stage of the Tour de Romandie delivered on its promise – and Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe made one thing clear from the very start: today was about attacking.

The signs were already there in the start area. In early summer temperatures, Tacx smart trainers were lined up in front of the team bus – a clear signal: full gas from kilometer zero.

Because despite being only 150 kilometers long, the stage was brutal. The Jaunpass – climbed three times, starting uphill right from the gun. A stage that offers no rhythm. Perfect terrain for an aggressive strategy.

The tactic: Primož Roglič as the spearhead
The team approached the toughest day of the race with a clear plan – and Primož Roglič was at the center of it.

This stage had been marked in the performance plan long before the race began with one word: attack. To strike here, Primož had deliberately saved energy in recent days – even accepting time losses in the general classification. Everything was built around this moment. The goal: place him in the decisive breakaway.

And the plan worked. Together with six riders, he broke clear, building a gap of three minutes. But the yellow jersey had other ideas – the peloton never allowed the move to fully stick.

On the final ascent of the Jaunpass, Roglič once again showed his class. Together with Paret-Peintre, he rode clear at the front, fighting for every second. Only three kilometers before the summit did the main GC contenders catch them. The race was on again.

Florian Lipowitz steps up – and delivers
From that point on, the focus shifted to the day's second objective: strengthening Florian Lipowitz’s position in the GC. The aim was to solidify second place as a strong base heading into the final stage.

Florian Lipowitz drives for home to earn second place. Sirotti photo

And the young German delivered in style. He was the only rider able to follow Tadej Pogačar’s acceleration. Only in the final kilometer of the climb did he have to let go. Riding at his own pace, he kept the gap small on the descent, holding it to just a few seconds, while significantly increasing his advantage over the riders behind.

The result: second place on the stage – another statement performance.
Florian Lipowitz: “I felt good throughout the day. The plan was to follow Pogačar as long as possible. On the last kilometer of the climb, I was at my limit, then I tried to find my rhythm. I’m super happy with the day – especially with how we raced as a team.”

Conclusion: strength in numbers
Fourth podium in a row – Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe once again confirms its status as one of the defining teams of this year’s Romandie. Thanks to its depth, the team also leads the team classification with confidence. Bold tactics, a clear plan, and strong execution.

Here's the Tour de Romandie report from Valentin Paret-Peintre's and Louis Vervaeke's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

The Wolfpack was on a mission Saturday afternoon: to go on the attack and try to make the most out of the penultimate stage of the race, which took in four classified ascents and over 3500 meters of climbing. As soon as the bunch left behind the short neutral zone, our riders went on the offensive, and even though nothing materialized in the first kilometers, they didn’t give up, and when a breakaway was finally formed, both Valentin Paret-Peintre and Louis Vervaeke were there.

The group numbered just six riders, but they were all committed to the break, and managed to carve out a three-minute advantage. Vervaeke rode a great race for his French teammate, sparing no effort, to give the Mont Ventoux winner a good gap by the time they arrived on Jaunpass, the most brutal climb of this edition, which averaged 8.3% over 8.9 kilometers. On those steep slopes, Paret-Peintre got out of the saddle and launched a big attack that made a selection, as only one other rider could match his pace.

“It helped also that some teams were pulling to set their riders up for an attack, so I just followed when I went and joined the leading group, where I could count on Louis. We rode really hard, there was a good cooperation and we did our maximum in the breakaway. We just couldn’t keep enough of an advantage, and that’s really disappointing, but that’s how it is”, Valentin said about Saturday’s stage.

Soudal Quick-Step riders get their bikes before the stage start. Sirotti photo

Their margin continued to be a promising one, but it melted after the GC men began attacking, which ultimately led to the duo being caught just two kilometers from the top. As Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) soloed to victory, a strong chasing group formed behind the Slovenian, and Junior Lecerf was again there for Soudal Quick-Step to finish eighth in Charmey, a result that helped him crack the top ten overall at the last World Tour race before the Giro d’Italia.

After the stage, Louis took to the podium to be awarded the prize for the most combative rider of the day, a well-deserved recognition for the 32-year-old: “I was happy today with the fact I had a good feeling as soon as we rolled out. The main objective for this stage was to help Valentin win the stage, it’s a role I like and one that I’m used to, as I have a lot of experience. I always do my best for the team, and today was no exception. We tried to give everything out there, but it was really difficult to open a big gap on a bunch who was keen on fighting for the stage victory. It didn’t work out, but we are content with our effort the way we raced.”

And here’s the  Tour de Romandie report from GC fourth-place Jørgen Nordhagen’s Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Jørgen Nordhagen has retained his fourth place in the general classification after another demanding stage in the Tour de Romandie. The young rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike once again delivered a solid performance on a tough day of racing, where the peloton was heavily split on the climbs.

From the very start, the stage was raced aggressively, with multiple attacks and a high pace that quickly thinned out the bunch. On the climbs, the race fully exploded and several groups formed, with the strongest riders moving to the front.

In the finale, Tadej Pogačar took control of the race and rode solo to a convincing stage win. Behind him, the chasing groups tried to limit the damage in a fast and demanding final phase.

Nordhagen spent the closing kilometers in the third group on the road and had to dig deep to stay in contact with the favorites. In the end, he managed to limit his losses and crossed the line together with a reduced group of riders, 1:47 behind the winner. Thanks to this effort, Nordhagen remains well placed in the general classification, holding a strong fourth position.

Tour de Romandie stage 4: The lead group starts the Jaunpass, the day's final climb. Sirotti photo

Sports director Gaëtan Pons was satisfied with the performance of his young rider after the stage. “Jørgen feels really good. The original goal was a top-5 finish, but if he can achieve a podium at this WorldTour level in Romandie, that would be amazing for his young career and it shows a lot of positive things for this team,” he said.

Tomorrow brings the final stage of the Tour de Romandie, featuring a tough finale and a final climb of around 15 kilometers that could still change everything in the overall standings.