In addition, a new UCI regulation for 2026 has unintentionally hurt the race’s prestige and television value. Under this rule, WorldTour teams can use a “joker” to skip one WorldTour race per season (excluding Grand Tours and Monuments). As a result, four major teams – Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Alpecin–Premier Tech, Lotto Intermarché and Uno-X Mobility – all chose to skip the race this year, resulting in a reduced peloton of only 15 teams. Because of the sponsor loss, the organizers couldn’t afford to invite more ProTeams to fill the gaps, leading to a “thinner” race that is less attractive to broadcasters.
Pogačar’s mere presence – because of his global star appeal and his renown as one of the greatest riders of all time – must certainly have attracted TV viewers and on-site spectators, because on some of the climbs people packed the roadsides as if it were a Grand Tour. This seemed to me the most likely reason for his being there. But it doesn’t explain why he is also riding in the upcoming Tour de Suisse.
‘The Cannibal’ eats another race
Perhaps Pogačar has reached a stage in his career where he is motivated by winning races he has never won – or even entered – before and that his 2026 program specifically included both the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse because these are prestigious week-long WorldTour races currently missing from his trophy cabinet. If that’s true, then it was a perfect marriage of needs between race and rider.
And the world champion did not disappoint (actually, he never does). He was active throughout, won four of six stages, which included a prologue, and even outsprinted the excellent in-form sprinter Dorian Godon (INEOS Grenadiers) at the end of stage 2. Why did he do that? Because he could.
But Godon got his own back one day later, when teammates helped bring him back to the peloton after he’d been dropped on a difficult climb on stage 3. He then outsprinted the world champion and everyone else to take his second stage win, after impressively winning the short prologue. He already has six victories this year and INEOS have 19, as they continue their impressive comeback from a couple of lean years.
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Pogačar easily bagged the yellow jersey by 42 seconds over the very good Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe), with Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) finishing third, at 2:44, which is a large gap in a six-day race. But, despite the certainty of the outcome, it was far from an uninteresting race, because of the sprinting and because the only possible rival to the Slovenian’s ultimate victory, Lipowitz, was in fine form.
Though on Saturday’s “queen stage” he was eventually dropped by Pogačar 1 km from the top of the Category 1 Jaunpass climb (8.1km @ 8.3%), the 24-year-old German lost no time to the Great One on the subsequent descent and long, flat run-in to the line, finishing only 14 seconds behind him – and around 1:30 ahead of the rest of the peloton, with Movistar’s Pablo Castrillo finishing third, at 1:42.
A similar scenario played out on Sunday’s stage 5, on the final climb of the race, and its only summit finish, the Leysin (14.3km @ 5.9%). But this time it was Lipowitz who attacked first, about 3km from the top of the climb. Eventually, both the German and Pogačar again ended up together, taking turns at the front, ahead of a small leading group and gradually pulling away.
They slowed tactically on the uphill run-in to the finish. But when the world champion accelerated about 600 meters from the line, Lipowitz had no answer. His teammate Primož Roglič burst away from the chasers to complete the final-stage podium, 7 seconds behind the winner.
Lipowitz looks ahead to the Tour
“On the climb Florian attacked first and did a really good job, but luckily I could survive in his wheel,” Pogačar said generously. “He launched pretty early in the finale and it was a fight to the finish line.”
Despite his inability to win a stage, Lipowitz was justifiably delighted with his showing. “I think I can be very happy and proud of how this week has gone,” he said. “Chapeau to the team. We really had a good race and I’m happy with today.” He went on to say, “I definitely think I’ve taken a step forward compared to last year. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing… I’m looking forward to getting some rest. After that we’ll build towards the Tour. These three podium finishes give me a lot of confidence.”
Lipowitz finished a surprising third in last year’s Tour de France. He will need to have improved a lot to finish ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike) this year. And if 19-year old Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) enters the race, that will be another formidable rival for the podium. And then there is the question of who Red Bull’s designated GC rider will be for the Tour, Lipowitz or Remco Evenepoel.
In any case, by winning four of the six stages and claiming victory in another race he had not won before, Pogačar has proven once again that he is the Cannibal of our era.
Final Results 2026 Tour de Romandie
- Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates–XRG 20:05:42
- Florian Lipowitz, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe +0:42
- Lenny Martinez, Bahrain-Victorious +2:44
- Jorgen Nordhagen, Visma–Lease a Bike +2:51
- Luke Plapp, Jayco AlUla +3:15
- Luke Tuckwell, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe +3:16
- Jefferson Cepeda, Movistar +3:18
- Albert Withen Pihlipsen +3:20
- Lorenzo Fortunato, XDS Astana +3:24
- Junior Lecerf, Soudal Quick-Step +3:32
