Tour de Romandie 2021 – Stage 2 [FULL STAGE]

April 29, 2021

Tour de Romandie 2021 – Stage 2 – La Neuveville – Saint-Imier : 165,7 km

With the Spring Classics now done and dusted, it’s time to head to the Swiss Alps for the Tour de Romandie and one last stage-racing hurrah before the Grand Tour season officially begins. This year’s route features a record-breaking 12,500m of climbing as well as two individual time trials, making it a perfect warm-up for those riders targeting the Giro d’Italia or Tour de France. After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tour de Romandie is back and will take place just a week before the first Grand Tour of the season – the Giro d’Italia – is set to start. To mark the Tour de Romandie’s return to the calendar, its organisers have concocted a grueling route with over 12,500m of climbing spread across six days of racing. Considering two of these six days are individual time trials, we’re in for some incredibly hilly days in the saddle.

Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) won stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie ahead of Patrick Bevin (Israel Start-Up Nation) in another reduced bunch sprint.

After stage 1 winner Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) had been among the sprinters dropped on the day’s final climb, Colbrelli was the quickest in the sprint, delivering his first victory of the season after a lead-out from two of his Bahrain Victorious teammates.

Rohan Dennis held onto the yellow jersey, after taking it upon himself to neutralise a short-lived attack from Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) on the final climb, setting the pace for teammates Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte.

He continued to set the pace on the descent to the finish, ensuring none of the GC riders made an attack.

That meant the stage was, for a second day running, decided by a sprint finish from a reduced peloton, with Colbrelli going one better this time to win the stage, just pipping Bevin.

Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) was third, with Clement Champoussin (Ag2r Citroen) and Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) rounding off the top five.

Despite a parcours that featured six categorised climbs, serious attacks from the GC favourites did not come into fruition, as Ineos Grenadiers exercised a vice-like grip on the race.

Although a strong breakaway group of potential GC riders went clear at the start of the stage, including Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain Victorious) and Chirs Hamilton (Team BikeExchange), Ineos Grenadiers kept them under the control, and brought them back before the final climb of the day.

On that final climb, there was more interest at the back of the peloton rather than at the front, as one-by-one the sprinters were dropped.

Only around 40 riders remained at the top, and Colbrelli stood out as the superior sprinter. The Italian duly delivered in the finale to sprint for victory, and also moves up to fifth overall as a result of the bonus seconds gained.

How it unfolded

Dark clouds loomed ominously over the second stage of the Tour de Romandie, but the rain mercifully held off.

A six-man breakaway formed on the first of the day’s six climbs, and it featured some quality climbers. Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain Victorious) was the highest of the six on GC at 28 seconds, and was joined by Chris Hamilton (Team BikeExchange), Antwan Tolhoek (Jumbo-Visma), Davide Villella (Movistar), Jonathan Caicedo (Ef Education-Nippo) and Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty Gobert Materiaux).

With such quality in their ranks, and a profile that went up and down all day, the break will have fancied their chances of making it to the finish. But with the GC still so compact this early into the race, and all six riders within a minute of overall leader Rohan Dennis, they were unlikely to be given much freedom.

Even so, the peloton allowed them a fair amount of leeway at first, letting them build a lead of about 2:30. It took until around 70km to go for Ineos Grenadiers to up the pace with domestiques Owain Doull and Andrey Amador, and from then the gap started to plummet, until it had been reduced to 1:15 as they crossed the finish line for the penultimate time 50km from the finish, ahead of the day’s penultimate climb, the category two Les Pontins.

Shortly before the climb, Taarame opened up a small gap over the rest of the break, and continued to press on as the road went uphill. By the top, he was about half a minute ahead of the chasing group, from which Tolhoek had been dropped.

Meanwhile in the peloton, Ineos Grenadiers knocked off the pace on the climb, presumably wanting to keep as many domestiques together as possible, and thus allowed the gap to grow back out again to over two minutes.

They once again upped the pace on the following descent and valley roads, and this time began eating into the gap rapidly, and swallowed up the group about 30km from the finish.

A committed Taarame remained out in front, still with a lead of just under two minutes, but was burning a lot of matches by riding hard on his own.

Eddie Dunbar took over the pace-setting for Ineos Grenadiers at the start of the category one La Vue-des-Alpes, the last and hardest climb of the day, and riders immediately began being spat out of the back of the peloton.

It wasn’t long before Taarame was reeled in, who by now was paying for his earlier effort and had virtually sat up even before the catch was made 21.5km from the finish.

With the race all back together, Ilan Van Wilder (Team DSM) chanced his luck with an attack, and was joined by six other riders. Of those riders, Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) and Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) went clear from the rest, but were unable to make the attack stick and the peloton swallowed them back up.

Interestingly, it was Dennis who set the pace to catch the break for teammates Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte, indicating that, despite wearing the yellow jersey, the Australian’s role was still as a domestique.

Dennis continued to ride tempo all the way to the top, by which time no more than 40 riders remained in the peloton. The Australian even remained at the front on the following descent, making absolutely sure no team took Ineos by surprise with any attacks on the downhill.

He at last got a break when Pernsteiner (despite being in the break earlier) offered some assistance with just over 6km from the finish, working for Bahrain-Victorious teammate Sonny Colbrelli, who was the highest-profile sprinter to still be in the group.

Ben O’Conor (Ag2r Citroen) attempted an attack 2km from the finish, and Dennis and Thomas grabbed onto his wheel, briefly opening up a small gap over the peloton.

It was chased down by Woods, and everything came back together under the 1km to go banner, when Bahrain Victorious began their lead-out and set Colbrelli up for the win.

Results :
1 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 4:21:42
2 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Israel Start-up Nation
3 Marc Hirschi (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
4 Clément Champoussin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
5 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
6 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Team DSM
8 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
9 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
10 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
11 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
12 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
13 Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
14 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
15 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
16 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
17 Damien Howson (Aus) Team BikeExchange
18 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
19 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
20 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
21 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team
22 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
23 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
24 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
25 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Team BikeExchange
26 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
27 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
28 Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM
29 Tejay van Garderen (USA) EF Education-Nippo
30 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
31 Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
32 Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën Team
33 Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
34 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
35 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain Victorious
36 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
37 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:00:43
38 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
39 Matthias Reutimann (Swi) Swiss National Team
40 Sander Armée (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos
41 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
42 Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal
43 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
44 Gijs Leemreize (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
45 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
46 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
47 Mathias Fluckiger (Swi) Swiss National Team
48 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team
49 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
50 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
51 Cristian Camilo Muñoz Lancheros (Col) UAE Team Emirates
52 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo
53 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
54 Magnus Cort (Den) EF Education-Nippo
55 Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu) EF Education-Nippo
56 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
57 Dion Smith (NZl) Team BikeExchange
58 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange
59 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana-Premier Tech
60 Sergio Henao Montoya (Col) Team Qhubeka Assos
61 Felix Gall (Aut) Team DSM
62 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
63 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:02
64 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team 0:01:15
65 Julien El Fares (Fra) EF Education-Nippo 0:03:17
66 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation
67 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
68 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers 0:04:21
69 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
70 Marco Brenner (Ger) Team DSM 0:05:25
71 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
72 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:06:37
73 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:07:01
74 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
75 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
76 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 0:07:02
77 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:07:05
78 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech 0:07:07
79 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis
80 Rob Power (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos
81 Diego Camargo Pineda (Col) EF Education-Nippo
82 Stephen Williams (GBr) Bahrain Victorious 0:07:09
83 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:07:13
84 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team 0:07:32
85 Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis
86 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
87 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
88 Charlie Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo
89 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
90 Chad Haga (USA) Team DSM
91 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Team Qhubeka Assos
92 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal
93 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
94 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
95 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
96 Tony Martin (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
97 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos
98 Josef Cerny (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
99 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
100 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
101 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
102 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
103 Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
104 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-up Nation
105 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo 0:09:47
106 Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto Soudal
107 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:12:57
108 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:14:11
109 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:15:21
110 Joab Schneiter (Swi) Swiss National Team
111 Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal
112 Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
113 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers
114 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis 0:17:08
115 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
116 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Team BikeExchange
117 Johan Jacobs (Swi) Movistar Team
118 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
119 Mathias Norsgaard (Den) Movistar Team
120 Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
121 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
122 Cyrille Thiery (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:18:27
123 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
124 Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
125 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
126 Nico Denz (Ger) Team DSM
127 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
128 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
129 Tom Bohli (Swi) Cofidis
130 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
131 Jordi Meeus (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe
132 Claudio Imhof (Swi) Swiss National Team
133 Joel Suter (Swi) Swiss National Team
134 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team

General Classification after Stage 2 :
1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers 8:39:48
2 Patrick Bevin (NZl) Israel Start-up Nation 0:00:08
3 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:09
4 Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
5 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
6 Marc Hirschi (Swi) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:11
7 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis 0:00:14
8 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:15
9 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:16
10 Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Team DSM
11 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
12 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:19
13 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team
14 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
15 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:21
16 Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM
17 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:22
18 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:23
19 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:24
20 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:25
21 Michael Woods (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
22 Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën Team
23 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:27
24 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
25 Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
26 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
27 Clément Champoussin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:00:28
28 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain Victorious
29 Damien Howson (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:00:29
30 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
31 Lucas Hamilton (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:00:30
32 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:31
33 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
34 Tejay van Garderen (USA) EF Education-Nippo 0:00:32
35 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:00:37
36 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
37 Magnus Cort (Den) EF Education-Nippo 0:01:00
38 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:07
39 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:08
40 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis 0:01:10
41 Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal
42 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:01:13
43 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo
44 Sergio Henao Montoya (Col) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:01:17
45 Kobe Goossens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:19
46 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
47 Gijs Leemreize (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
48 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:20
49 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange
50 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:01:22
51 Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu) EF Education-Nippo 0:01:24
52 Dion Smith (NZl) Team BikeExchange 0:01:25
53 Cristian Camilo Muñoz Lancheros (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:29
54 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange 0:01:30
55 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team 0:01:32
56 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team 0:01:49
57 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation 0:03:47
58 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 0:04:36
59 Felix Gall (Aut) Team DSM 0:04:42
60 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana-Premier Tech 0:04:43
61 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers 0:04:57
62 Sander Armée (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:05:01
63 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:05:09
64 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:05:10
65 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team 0:05:58
66 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:07:11
67 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 0:07:14
68 Julien El Fares (Fra) EF Education-Nippo 0:07:26
69 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma 0:07:32
70 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 0:07:36
71 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:07:38
72 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:07:43
73 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:07:44
74 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:07:50
75 Chad Haga (USA) Team DSM 0:07:53
76 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:07:58
77 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:07:59
78 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:08:03
79 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:08:10
80 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:08:24
81 Matthias Reutimann (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:08:54
82 Marco Brenner (Ger) Team DSM 0:09:31
83 Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto Soudal 0:10:18
84 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech 0:11:03
85 Stephen Williams (GBr) Bahrain Victorious 0:11:09
86 Diego Camargo Pineda (Col) EF Education-Nippo 0:11:16
87 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis 0:11:26
88 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:11:29
89 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:11:32
90 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:11:43
91 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
92 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team 0:11:46
93 Mathias Fluckiger (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:11:52
94 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal 0:11:55
95 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:12:01
96 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:12:03
97 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo 0:13:32
98 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:14:31
99 Rob Power (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:15:01
100 Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis 0:15:31
101 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:15:50
102 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:16:51
103 Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ 0:17:43
104 Josef Cerny (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:18:26
105 Tony Martin (Ger) Jumbo-Visma 0:18:28
106 Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:18:29
107 Charlie Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo 0:18:38
108 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-up Nation
109 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers 0:19:27
110 Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal 0:19:34
111 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:19:46
112 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:21:18
113 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:21:24
114 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates 0:21:28
115 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:22:07
116 Tom Bohli (Swi) Cofidis 0:22:26
117 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech 0:22:34
118 Joel Suter (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:22:45
119 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis 0:22:52
120 Joab Schneiter (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:23:42
121 Nico Denz (Ger) Team DSM 0:26:15
122 Cyrille Thiery (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:26:17
123 Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:26:27
124 Johan Jacobs (Swi) Movistar Team 0:28:17
125 Mathias Norsgaard (Den) Movistar Team 0:28:23
126 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:28:37
127 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis 0:28:53
128 Jordi Meeus (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:29:28
129 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious 0:29:39
130 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:29:40
131 Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:29:46
132 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:29:50
133 Claudio Imhof (Swi) Swiss National Team 0:35:10
134 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:35:49