Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Thursday 01 May 2025 at 6.25 p.m.
While Alex Baudin seized the leader’s leader of the Tour de Romandie, Lorenzo Fortunato was able to play his card at the right time to win the 2nd stage at the Grande Béroche.
Alex Baudin did not go far from a double blow. Trying his luck with the red flame, Lorenzo Fortunato was right for his escaped friends to win the 2nd stage of the Romandie Tour. Contested over 157 kilometers around the Grande Béroche, this third day of competition quickly saw the candidates for the breakaway showing off. It must be said that the first slopes of the Col de la Tourne quickly arrived. A quartet formed by Silvan Dillier, Ben Zwiehoff, Luke Plapp and Roland Thalmann quickly detached before Stefan Küng in turn left the peloton. The Swiss was then imitated by Michael Leonard and Archie Ryan. If the Irishman was able to make the junction, this was not the case with the Canadian. The result was the formation of a group of six runners when tackling the first difficulty of the day. Upon time, Julien Bernard and Raul Garcia Pierna tried to join them but the peloton did not let it go, causing a general regrouping. While the wearer of the yellow jersey of leader Sam Watson was quickly put in difficulty, the skirmishes multiplied.
Baudin to the offensive
One of them was on the initiative of Remco Evenepoel himself. Movements which finally made it possible to form a breakaway which obtained the green light from the peloton. Julien Bernard was able to find a place there alongside Ben Zwiehoff, Hugh Carthy, Welay Berhe and Raul Garcia Pierna. The gap then oscillated for a long time between one and two minutes with the Sudal-Quick Step team at the maneuver to control it. In the ascent of the skyscrapers, the tricolor was able to take a better rhythm, which only Hugh Carthy was able to follow. The other three runners present at the front were then absorbed by the peloton at the start of the last 60 kilometers. The ascent of Chaumont saw the race change with first Hugh Carthy who put in difficulty Julien Bernard, who was ultimately irreparably won, when Junior Lecerf rocked the peloton with Remco Evenepoel in his wheel. What melted the peloton to form a group of only twenty runners hunting behind Hugh Carthy. After passing the summit, the latter was caught up by this group of favorites in which there was no agreement.
Fortunato was the clearest
Juan Pedro Lopez and Jay Vine attacked just like Remco Evenepoel and Ed Dunbar. Alex Baudin then tried his luck 30 kilometers from the goal. The runner of the EF Education-Easypost team was hunted by Junior Lecerf and Juan Pedro Lopez then by Lorenzo Fortunato and Lennert Van Eetvelt. This made it possible to form a group of five runners with almost a minute ahead of the favorite group. The collaboration at the top of the race has thus made it possible to maintain this gap for the stage victory. The harmony was broken with the red flame when Lorenzo Fortunato placed a dazzling start that turned out to be decisive. The reaction was too late to prevent him from flying towards stage victory, his first success for almost two years. Alex Baudin then settled the sprint of the rest of the breakaway to take second place in front of Junior Lecerf and, at the Bonifications Game, the French seizes the leader’s leader of the Tour de Romandie. But the differences remain tenuous while the hardest is to come before the final time trial in Geneva.
Cycling – UCI World Tour / Romandie Tour
2nd stage – La Grande Béroche -La Grande Béroche (157km) – Thursday May 1, 2025
1- Lorenzo Fortunato (ITA/XDS-Astana) EN 3H54’40 ”
2- Alex bustdin (wife / ef Education Easypost) à 2 ”
3- Junior Lecerf (Bel/Sudal-Quick Step) at 2 ”
4- Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel/Lotto) at 2 ”
5- Juan Pedro Lopez (ESP/Lidl-Trek) to
6- Remco Evenepoel (call/soudal-quick Step) à 56 ”
7- Harold Tejada (Col/XDS-Astana) at 56 ”
8- Javier Romo (ESP/Movistar) at 56 ”
9- Cristian Rodriguez.
10- Ed Dunbar (IRL/Jayco-AlUla) à 56”
…
General classification after 3 steps (out of 6)
1- Alex Baudin (Fra/ef Education-Easypost) en 8h41’53’
2- Junior Lecerf (Bel/Sudal-Quick Step) at 5 ”
3- Lennert van Eetvelt (Bel/Lotto) à 6 ”
4- Lorenzo Fortunate (ita / xds-Astana) to 17 ”
5- Juan Pedro Lopez (ESP/Lidl-Trek) to
6- Remco Evenepoel (call/soudal-quick Step) à 52 ”
7- Jay Vine (Aus/Uae Team Emirates-XRG) at 53 ”
8- João Almeida (by/uae Team Emirates-XRG) at 53 ”
9- Lenny Martinez (Fra/Bahrain Victorious) at 56 ”
10- Harold Tejada (Col/XDS-Astana) at 56 ”
…
