FAVORITES FOR STAGE 2 OF THE TOUR OF ROMANDIE | UPHILL FINALE: AYUSO, VLASOV, BERNAL, AND YATES READY TO CHALLENGE!

Following the ultra-short time trial and the tricky first road stage, Thursday brings a true mountain-top finish in the Tour de Romandie. It's not the toughest test, but the general classification contenders will definitely battle it out here! IDLProCycling.com previews the action!

Route for stage 2 in the Tour of Romandie 2024

So, it’s an uphill finale. Anyone looking at the profile of the second stage will see it's quite challenging. Along the way is the irregular climb to Les Mosses, which, with an average gradient of four percent, doesn’t present a colossal challenge. The final ascent to Les Marécottes is just over seven kilometers long, with an average gradient slightly above seven percent — tough, but not a brutal stage.

However, opportunities for climbers in Romandie are rare, with only one other similar mountain stage waiting on Saturday. Thus, the GC contenders—especially climbers with weaker time-trialing skills—will seize this opportunity to shake things up. Don’t expect huge gaps, but definitely anticipate a showdown among established names!

Climbs

After 115.2 km: Les Mosses (12.8 km at 4.2%)

After 172 km: Salvan Les Marécottes (7.8 km at 7.4%)

Times

Start: 1 PM

Finish: approximately 5:15 PM

Weather for Stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie 2024

Just like Wednesday, and as has often been the case in recent weeks, it's quite chilly in the Alps. Temperatures hover around eight degrees Celsius. However, the riders will enjoy some sunshine. It's not ideal racing weather, but it's also not extremely harsh conditions.

Favorites for Stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie

Even though the 'aliens' are not present in Romandié, nearly the entire climbing sub-elite is in Switzerland. The six-day race is teeming with general classification riders ready to make their mark on Thursday. Juan Ayuso deserves the first mention. The Spaniard is having a solid spring and is in form. Moreover, his team, UAE Team Emirates, which also includes Adam Yates, will play a role in the finale.

Aleksandr Vlasov is perhaps his biggest challenger on paper. Vlasov won a mountain stage in the highly competitive Paris-Nice in March. Egan Bernal has also shown his prowess in stage races. The Colombian rode short general classifications in Catalonia and Paris-Nice and aims to further build his condition in Romandie. The same applies to Lenny Martinez. What can he achieve after his already lengthy spring season? That's another matter to keep an eye on.

Next, we come to a list of climbers who have not yet shown their top form this spring. David Gaudu recently won a French one-day race, but he hasn't achieved significant results against the top riders yet. Nonetheless, he should be able to go far on Thursday. The same is true for Damiano Caruso and Richard Carapaz. Tao Geoghegan Hart is gradually refining his form for the Tour and will want to stretch his legs on the way to Salvan.

Simon Yates returned to competition in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, as did Jai Hindley. Both are among the top climbers in Switzerland. Also, keep an eye on talents like Carlos Rodriguez, Thymen Arensman, and Johannes Staune-Mittet. Other dangerous outsiders, possibly from a breakaway: Giulio Ciccone, Ilan Van Wilder, Alexey Lutsenko, and the ever-reliable Rigoberto Uran.

According to IDLProCycling.com, who are the favorites for the second stage of the Tour de Romandie?

Top favorites: Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA-hansgrohe)

Outsiders: Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers), Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan)

Long shots: Johannes Staune-Mittet (Visma | Lease a Bike), Thymen Arensman and Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step), Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe), Giulio Ciccone and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious)

2024-04-24T17:36:17Z dg43tfdfdgfd