Gino Mäder is ready to lead a strong Bahrain Victorious lineup at the Tour de Romandie.
The last stage race on the road to Giro d’Italia is the Tour de Romandie, running from Tuesday to Sunday on the roads of the francophone area of western Switzerland for a total of 690km et 12,900 m of elevation gain.
The six-day UCI WorldTour stage race will open with a traditional prologue, followed by five stages that offer chances to shine for every kind of rider: sprinters, time trialists, and climbers. Those with a good mix of these characteristics will likely be the GC winner at the end of the week.
Inside Bahrain Victorious’ lineup is a rider that meets those skills in Mäder. The Swiss rider was second overall in last year’s edition, and is ready to be the team’s leader on his home roads.
“Obviously, I am super excited to return to this race where I did so well last year, and I’d happily prove last year’s performance. I am always proud to lead a team, especially in a home race. It won’t be easy, but it will surely be an enjoyable week,” he said.
“Gino will be our leader for the GC, said Bahrain Victorious sports director Neil Stephens. “His focus will be right on the pan-flat prologue, then the time trial for puncher on stage 3 and the Queen stage with the finish atop Thyon 2000 on the penultimate day, a 162km course featuring three long climbs and twisty descents, for a total of 4,133m of difference in altitude, where the best riders in the TT will probably be those who will fight for the final podium on this day.
“We wish that, besides Gino, we will also have Damiano Caruso as a contender for the stage win and a good GC place in his role of co-leader. He will also focus on the prologue and the ITT stage.”
“The remaining stages will most probably be sprinters’ days, although the courses are bumpy. In particular, stages 1 and 5 should suit the fast men to end the week with a bunch sprint in Genève.
“The fastest guy in our lineup for the Tour de Romandie is Dusan Rajovic,” Stephens said.
“For sure, he will go for the win on stage 1 and probably on stage 5, but we have to consider how the week goes. Stage 2 is harder, and it suits Nikias Arndt more, who will also be our road captain. In this race, we will have objectives for a stage result each day with a few different riders.
“While we work day by day for stage results, we will always keep in mind the GC. We will be focused from the beginning, as we want to start the week well with a good prologue from all riders. And we have quite skilled guys at TT. Besides these, I’m expecting a good performance from Johan Price-Pejtersen and Filip Maciejuk. Both will also have the role of general support alongside Rainer Kepplinger. Our goal for the Tour de Romandie is to achieve at least one stage win and a top 5 result or better, a podium in the General Classification.”