Tour de Romandie 2022 – Stage 4
The big climbing day. In the GC preview I mentioned it should be raining tomorrow, if it will, it will be even harder. The big question is, how early will we see fireworks? We have 4160 climbing meters.


The climbs.
Over 4000 of those climbing meters will be within the last 128 km. It is simply an insane amount of climbing meters.

They start off with Nax with 128 km left. It is 10.2 km at 7.8%. You can call it the morning climb, but the breakaway should have been established beforehand. I think it is likely a few riders will try to bridge to get in the break.
The second is the Sierre – Saint-Luc. A long and steady climb. The domestiques will slowly decrease for everyone. Following is 40 km of mostly flat. Here it will be about saving energy and recovering strength.

Last is Sierre-Grimentz. Two cat-1 climbs, the first being 7.3 km at 7.5% and the second part being 6.2 km at 7.1%. From the top, there is 8 km left.

The last meters of climbing, and the finish is at the top of the climb below.

Weather
I am pleased to inform you, Romandie-weather is back. The wind will not play a big part in the mountains but the temperature will. Around 3 degrees C and rain showers in the afternoon which will make you even colder. Only the strongest will still be challenging for the win tomorrow.
How will the stage unfold?
Jumbo-Visma, will look to defend the jersey. It will not be their job to pressure the other teams, but they will need to keep the break in check through the day. The flat start makes it easier for them to control.
Bora-Hansgrohe, Vlasov is the big favorite. If I were them, just push it as early as possible. Isolate Dennis, G, O’Connor and the rest of the favorites, unlikely going to isolate Caruso. Keep the pace high for Vlasov.
Bahrain-Victorious, with Teuns, Mäder and Caruso. I would opt for protecting Caruso. They do not need to spend any energy. Perhaps get LLS in the breakaway to make sure they have him after the first climb.
INEOS, well – I think they would love to get in the break! I think it will be about a stage win for G. I will be very keen to see how well Hayter will be climbing. I think they will wait too.
Israel – PT, Woods could go well here – the same goes for Fuglsang. Bevin might even be the strongest of the three. They will likely control just a bit.
All in all, the big teams have a bigger interest in a GC-battle/stage-win-battle than going for the breakaway.
Contenders
I think this stage suits the endurance climbers. It is about how long you can keep the engine going and not have fast you go from 0–>100. Furthermore, you will have to hate the rain less than your rivals.
Vlasov – is the big favorite. Unfortunately for him, he will not win as we have climbs longer than 20 minutes… Jokes aside, he is still in good form. The big question for me is, how well he will do in the cold and the rain. I imagine quite well, he finished fourth in the Giro d’Italia last year. He has a strong team around him too. The problem is, they will look at him when they have to chase someone down – not something he is used to.
Caruso – the Italian is a good contender tomorrow. He has a big engine and a few very strong helpers. I think he is one of the riders who will benefit the most from the cold and the rain, just think back to last year’s Giro d’Italia in the last week. He is close to top-form, he will be very hard to beat.
O’Connor – can do another O’Connor special. Attacking when everyone is looking at each other. He do like a mountain-marathon day and last year he won a TDF stage on Tignes and wet weather conditions. If the stage opens up early, he is likely alone – not something optimal.
Thomas – did well here on the Queen stage before he crashed. He is Welsh, he does not mind a bit of rain. He has a strong team who likely will opt for a stage win with him. Or perhaps put Hayter in the breakaway, who knows. The form is clearly good and I think the diesel over acceleration tomorrow is good for him.
Woods – will likely be up there to sprint for the stage win. I am happy the form is looking better, his results here do not match his current level. If they bring him to the line, he will beat most contenders here in an uphill sprint. I think Fuglsang is here to support him. The big question is, how far will Bevin get? I think 4000 climbing meters is too much.
Izagirre – part of a crash earlier this week. We will see how he has recovered, he poses no threat in the GC. Is is a man who is better in the rain.
McNulty – first race after a long break. The first real challenge for him, we will see how he goes.
Who will win?
A battle between O’Connor, Vlasov and Caruso. Before the prologue, I knew I would go for Caruso. He has a strong team, can manage the rain and is in good shape.