Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) endured a frustrating start to his Tour de Romandie campaign in Switzerland yesterday when a wardrobe malfunction caused him stress just as he should have been focused on his effort.
The Irish rider - reigning national road race champion - appeared to have an issue with his race radio as he lined up on the start ramp for the final countdown to commence the prologue TT.
And while a team staff member jumped in to try and help Rafferty and hurry things along, they ran out of time and the Irishman had to push off and get his TT underway.
He was trying to close his zip as he rolled down the ramp onto the road, with the panic meaning he wasn't fully clipped him when he hit the road. To add to his problems, his aero suit wasn't zipped up when he got underway because part of the radio apparatus appeared to be blocking it.
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It was a nightmare start for him, especially in a TT of just 3.44km when any time loss was going to be significant for the stage result. However, the gaps through the field were relatively modest and are unlikely to significantly influence the final general classification result.
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Rafferty eventually finished the TT in Saint-Imier in 59th place, some 16 seconds down on stage winner Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers).
Though Irish rider Rafferty is very strong against the watch, and would have wanted a clearer chance to gauge himself against the opposition, he will have another opportunity on the final day of the race.
Tour de Romandie ends with a 17.1km TT in Geneva, with a climb in the middle, and which should suit him better than yesterday's prologue.
?? "¡Le ha pillado el toro, le ha pillado el toro!"
Los problemas de Darren Rafferty en la salida del @TourdeRomandie y el asombro de @albertocontador #LaCasaDelCiclismo | #TDR2025 pic.twitter.com/dS9qKpZBJs
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) April 29, 2025
