Primoz Roglic is the new leader in the Tour de Romandie. In the first stage, the 28-year-old leader of Team LottoNL-Jumbo crossed the finish line in the peloton in thirteenth position. This was enough to conquer the yellow leader’s jersey.

The stage was marked by a long breakaway of five riders, a scenario that sports director Sierk-Jan de Haan had taken into account. The peloton exploded just ten kilometres before the finish. Subsequently, Roglic kept in the forefront of the thinned peloton as a result of the attentive work of Steven Kruijswijk and Stef Clement.

De Haan looked back at a stage in which his team had shown initiative. “We were able to lead during the final climb of the stage. Before that, Bram Tankink had already been of great value to the team. The final saw a battle between the classification riders, leaving only the best of them in the front of the peloton. Because of this,  we can conclude that Roglic owes his yellow jersey to his performance during yesterday’s prologue.”

Tomorrow, the sports director doesn’t expect an easy stage, but a less heavy one than today’s. “The sprint teams will see an opportunity. We must take control and then see how the course develops. I expect the climb time trial on Friday and the queen stage on Saturday to be decisive.”