Wearing the yellow jersey and riding solo, Tadej Pogacar claimed victory in the queen stage of the Tour de Romandie on Saturday. The Slovenian world champion, 27, conquered the demanding 149.6 km route from Broc to Charmey in the heart of the Fribourg Alps, adding another win to his already stellar 2026 season—now seven victories in just ten race days.
In his unmistakable style, Pogacar broke away alone after his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad neutralized the day’s breakaway. He launched his attack on the final ascent of the Col du Jaun (8.1 km at 8.3% average gradient), 20 km from the finish, closely tracked by his three main general classification rivals.
“This is a true team victory. There were seven of us at the foot of the penultimate climb. I want to acknowledge everyone for the work they did,” said the four-time Tour de France winner, delighted to “reward the effort” of his teammates.
Unlike the first major climb on Wednesday in Ovronnaz, where the favorite seemed to control the pace, this time Pogacar dropped French rider Lenny Martinez and Dane Jorgen Nordhagen in two moves, then German Florian Lipowitz, before launching his solo descent to the line.
“There are very strong rivals here”
After two sprint wins and a loss to Frenchman Godon on Friday, Pogacar faced a headwind as he crossed the finish line alone, extending his overall lead to 35 seconds over Lipowitz, who finished second on the stage.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Pogacar clarified after the win, correcting the impression of absolute dominance. “In the Tour de Romandie, there are very strong rivals. As you saw, it was difficult to shake off Florian Lipowitz in the end.”
Without a traditional time trial, the 79th edition concludes on Sunday with a 178.2 km stage from Lucens to Leysin, featuring a long final climb of 14.3 km at 5.9% average gradient—an unprecedented effort for Tadej this season after a classics campaign dominated by short, steep climbs.