Primoz Roglic has successfully defended his overall lead in the queen stage of the Tour of Romandie. The 28-year-old team captain of Team LottoNL-Jumbo countered all attacks with ease and sprinted to the second place in the stage, his third podium this week. With tomorrow’s final stage left on the menu, Roglic defends a lead of eight seconds on his closest opponent. 

The stage through the Alps counted no less than five major climbs and eventually became a true battlefield. It took a long time before a breakaway was established. Team LottoNL-Jumbo controlled the stage and brought leader Roglic in an ideal position to the final climb.

Sports director Sierk-Jan de Haan had seen his team controlling the stage very well. “Today, we had four strong riders with Primoz, Steven, Stef and Bram”, he said. “Especially Stef and Bram did a lot of work and controlled the race for a very long time. They proved to be of great importance. Thanks to them, the leading group never gained an advantage of more than two and a half minutes. Behind them, Primoz and Steven were well-positioned in the Team Sky train. Bernal tried it five, six times, but Primoz never got into trouble.” 

In the final, the later stage winner Fuglsang attacked. “That was an ideal scenario for us”, De Haan continued. “From then on, Primoz only had to think about the bonification seconds and that’s what he did. Due to his second place he has extended his lead with two seconds. We never got into trouble today and we are confident that everything will turn out OK tomorrow. The danger is always there, but we have to rely on our strength and power as we have done all week.”