Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-hansgrohe) has claimed the final stage and the overall at Tour de Romandie after race leader Rohan Dennis (Jumbo Visma) badly faltered in the uphill TT.
Vlasov emerged best in the 15.84km TT up to Villars, beating runner-up Simon Geschke (Cofidis) by 31 seconds, with Gino Mäder (Bahrain-Victorious) in 3rd at 36 seconds.
Dennis went into the stage as race leader with 15 seconds in hand on 19-year-old Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) and Russian TT champion Vlasov in 3rd at 18 seconds. Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën Team) was 4th at 25 seconds and Lucas Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) as 5th, some 30 seconds off fellow Australian Dennis in the race leader's jersey.
However, while Dennis has won the TT world title twice during his career, is a very good climber and had looked really strong in recent days, he laboured up the the climb today, with the road rising for the final 11.5km.
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By the finish Dennis had lost 2:12 to stage winner, Vlasov, finishing in 22nd place on the day and slipping from the top of the general standings to 8th overall.
"I'm absolutely spent," Dennis said at the finish, adding he was "sorry" for his performance. "I had absolutely nothing left in the final half of that climb and it was just a fight. I think the week has taken its toll."
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Mäder's 3rd place on the stage today was enough to move him up into 2nd overall in the final general classification, 50 seconds behind Vlasov. Geschke, who put in the ride of his life today, move up to 3rd overall at 55 seconds, nudging teenager Ayuso off the final podium; the Spanish rider 4th overall at 1:22.
Ireland's Ben Healy of EF Education-EasyPost was 44th today, at 3:16, and finished in 44th overall.
More to come.
