The short sharp effort over just 4km and on a mostly flat course was never going to be to Dan Martin's liking.
Michael Matthews wins Tour de Romandie prologue TT
Michael Matthews is the leader of the Tour de Romandie after winning the opening stage in Fribourg today.
Dan Martin is the only Irish rider in the race and finished in 33rd, losing some 19 seconds to the flying Matthews.
While it's not a result to write home about for Martin, the UAE Team Emirates man is not built for all-out 4km efforts.
And while the test ended with a small climb at the finish, the mostly flat and technical course was never going to suit Dan Martin.
He can be relatively content at having limited his losses. However, some of those fancied in the mountains to come were ahead of him.
Advertisement
Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo), for example, was 3rd at just one second.
BMC rider Tom Bohli separated Roglic and Matthews and very nearly pulled off a surprise home win.
Of the other GC men apart from Roglic, Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) was 6th at five seconds.
His team mates Diego Rosa and Egan Bernal were 8th at eight seconds and 11th at eleven seconds. And last year’s winner Richie Porte (BMC) was in 18th place at 14 seconds.
Related News
Michael Matthews in full flow on his way to the TT victory and first leader's jersey at Tour de Romandie.
It was an excellent win by Michael Matthews, who fractured his shoulder at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
He went on to take 7th at Milan-Sanremo. And his 5th place at Flèche Wallonne last Wednesday, climbing so well up the Mur de Huy, was a clear sign post to top form.
And the 27-year-old Sunweb rider has now converted into his first win of the year.
Tomorrow’s stage is a hilly 166km from Fribourg to Delémont. And with an uncategorised climb crested just 10km from the finish it may be an interesting finale.
Thursday’s stage 2 from Delémont to Yverdon-les-Bains is a relatively flat 173.9km.
And on Friday stage 3 is an uphill 10km test from Ollon to Villars that would normally suit Dan Martin.
Saturday’s penultimate stage is 149km starting and finish in Sion. However, there are five mountains including two cat 1 ascents.
The second of those cat 1 climbs is the final climb of the day, peaking out some 27km, of mainly descending, from the finish.
Sunday’s final stage is 182km from Mont-sur-Rolle to Genève. And while there are three third category climbs in the first half of the stage the parcours is undulating rather than mountainous.
Topics
