30 Apr 2021
Grenadiers ready for Romandie queen stage
Related riders
Rohan Dennis
Richie Porte
Geraint Thomas
Tour de Romandie - Stage 3 » Estavayer › Estavayer, 168.7km
Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte sit second and third overall ahead of a decisive final weekend at the Tour de Romandie.
The duo finished in a reduced peloton after a soaking wet stage around Estavayer. Overnight leader Rohan Dennis was not so lucky, crashing on the descent off the penultimate climb. The Australian was able to remount and finish the stage, but would relinquish the yellow jersey.
Thomas and Porte now sit 14 seconds back on Marc Soler, who pushed clear to take a solo victory in difficult conditions. Saturday sees a mountainous queen stage, albeit with some questions around the conditions on the day, before Sunday's time trial decider.
The duo finished in a reduced peloton after a soaking wet stage around Estavayer. Overnight leader Rohan Dennis was not so lucky, crashing on the descent off the penultimate climb. The Australian was able to remount and finish the stage, but would relinquish the yellow jersey.
Thomas and Porte now sit 14 seconds back on Marc Soler, who pushed clear to take a solo victory in difficult conditions. Saturday sees a mountainous queen stage, albeit with some questions around the conditions on the day, before Sunday's time trial decider.
Reaction
- Geraint Thomas
"It was a crazy little start. It’s always different when it’s raining because everyone has got black jerseys on and it’s hard to differentiate anyone. We controlled it well, had one climb to go, and then on the descent before that Rohan crashed. I was able to avoid him and stayed upright. I was at the back of the peloton which split a bit on the descent – so I had to make a little effort to get back to the front as we started the climb. Then there were a few attacks, but I got up there as easy as I could, trying not to do too much. It was a solid day for sure.
- Geraint Thomas
"It was a crazy little start. It’s always different when it’s raining because everyone has got black jerseys on and it’s hard to differentiate anyone. We controlled it well, had one climb to go, and then on the descent before that Rohan crashed. I was able to avoid him and stayed upright. I was at the back of the peloton which split a bit on the descent – so I had to make a little effort to get back to the front as we started the climb. Then there were a few attacks, but I got up there as easy as I could, trying not to do too much. It was a solid day for sure.
"Obviously we don’t have to ride tomorrow which is a bonus for the other guys in the team. We’ll leave it to Movistar to control and it will likely come down to the last climb. We’ll see how the legs are there, and obviously we’ve still got me and Richie up there. It’s all to play for."
- Richie Porte
"Rohan as he showed yesterday is a huge team player. If he was there he would have controlled things and he was already doing a job. So it’s a massive shame but it speaks volumes about the guy. G and I were there in the final and everybody was looking at us – I guess that’s just how it is. Today wasn’t a disaster but it could have gone a little bit better. Tomorrow is a new day and I think it suits us well."
- Richie Porte
"Rohan as he showed yesterday is a huge team player. If he was there he would have controlled things and he was already doing a job. So it’s a massive shame but it speaks volumes about the guy. G and I were there in the final and everybody was looking at us – I guess that’s just how it is. Today wasn’t a disaster but it could have gone a little bit better. Tomorrow is a new day and I think it suits us well."
