Four and a half months after the men finished the Romandie Tour, it is now the women’s turn. Racing in the French-speaking part of Switzerland is also part of the World Tour for them, but the race only lasts three days. The first of these stages was a 144km mountain stage in and around Yverdon-les-Bains.
American cyclo-cross rider Clara Hunsinger (EF Education-Tibco) colored the stage with a solo attack, but when she was caught, new attack attempts fell flat in the grueling final. The last of these, from Austrian champion Karina Schrempf to Belgian Fenix Desoninck, seems to guarantee success.
But a head turn from Tour winner Demi Woellering brought the weakened peloton close behind Schrempf in the final hectometers. She began celebrating her first WorldTour win at the finish, but still saw runner Bertizzolo’s front wheel pass by. The 26-year-old Bertizzolo won ahead of Schrempf and Dutchwoman Misha Bredewald, who is also the first in the classification.
The queen stage of the women’s version of the Tour de Romandie awaits us on Saturday. It is then completed at the top of the 10.6 km climb to Torgon. World champion Lotte Kopecky did not start in Romandie as planned.
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