The peloton speed through the Swiss countryside on stage 5(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
A cow watches the action in Romandie(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Egan Bernal on domestique duty on the climbs(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) leads a late breakaway(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Fernando Gaviria sprinted to glory on the final stage of the Tour de Romandie, launching a long sprint to the line to take his second win in Movistar colours in Geneva.
The Colombian beat out Nikias Arndt (Bahrain Victorious) and Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) to the line, leading from the front after starting his sprint a massive 300 metres from the finish.
Gaviria led the way around the final bend, surging clear to take two bike lengths on Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny). As he eased to the win ahead of the rest, Arndt passed Menten on the right with Hayter jumping on the left.
The pair passed the Belgian fastman, but couldn't get close to Gaviria, who had time to sit up and celebrate as he crossed the line.
"Really hard stage because in the climb we went up really fast," Gaviria said after the finish, having earlier come back to the peloton after finding himself among the sprinters dropped on the main climb of the day.
"I dropped but the team did an amazing job and waited on the climbs. We came back and did our best and it's really nice to get this victory for the team.
"I just stayed focussed, and waited for my moment. I started the sprint and had really good legs at the end. This race is really important for me because I bring a lot for the Giro d'Italia and now I'm ready for that."
Away from the drama of the dash for the line, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) finished safely in the peloton back in 25th place to confirm his overall victory.
The Briton, whose victory was built with a solo triumph atop Thyon 2000 on Saturday, finished the week 19 seconds clear of Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), while Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) rounded out the podium at 27 seconds.
"First of all, I want to say a big thanks to the guys," Yates said after the stage. "We controlled the race perfectly today. I didn't really do much so it's thanks to them that we won this race.
"It's been a perfect week for us. We have two stage wins and the overall so we can't ask for much more."
How it unfolded
The final stage of the Tour de Romandie took the peloton over 170km from Vufflens-la-Ville to Geneva, with hilly ground along the way including second- and third-category climbs. With a flat run to the finish, however, it looked set to be another day for the sprinters following stage 4's summit finish.
A breakaway group of five riders went clear inside the opening 10km, with Thomas Gloag (Jumbo-Visma) and Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) joined out front by Paul Lapeira (AG2R Citroën), Alexander Kamp (Tudor Pro Cycling), and Antoine Aebi (Switzerland).
Back in the peloton, UAE Team Emirates settled into a final day of work for race leader Adam Yates. Along with Ineos Grenadiers, they worked to hold the advantage of the break to a maximum of four minutes.
After 90km of racing, the first-category climb of Grand Fuey (5.8km at 7.6%) would provide the toughest test of the stage. The break hit the climb just 2:30 up on the peloton, though Aebi would soon drop back, getting reabsorbed by the peloton before the top.
The pace in the peloton spat several stage contenders out the rear, with stage 1 winner Ethan Vernon (Soudal-QuickStep) dropping along with Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-Samsic).
They'd make it back before the third-category climb at Le Molard (3.3km at 6.8%) 55km out, though they fell back once more on the way up along with Lotto-Dstny fastman Milan Menten.
Following that climb and descent, a flat run of 40km lay ahead of the riders, with 30 seconds separating the reduced main peloton and the chasing sprinters. Vernon, meanwhile, lay a minute down.
Up in the break, the remaining quartet wouldn't survive to contest the race's final intermediate sprint at La Violette. Their adventure came to an end 34km from the finish as the charging peloton swept them up.
Two kilometres later, the main chase group got back on, bringing the likes of Gaviria, Menten, and Mozzato back into the fold as Vernon and several teammates continued to chase.
Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) gave it a go off the front with 28km to go, with Tudor duo Sébastien Reichenbach and Arthur Kluckers setting off in pursuit and bridging across the 15-second gap over the next 5km. At the rear of the race, Vernon's group got back on soon after, meaning there would be a full selection of sprinters for the finish.
Movistar, Lotto and UAE would lead the chase on the run-in, with Bouchard and the Tudor pair gaining 25 seconds on the flat roads. They held it at 20 seconds heading into the final 10km, but that advantage only slimmed as the kilometres rolled by.
The breakaway trio were finally brought back with just over 2km left to run, at which point Ineos Grenadiers and Bahrain Victorious took over the pacemaking.
There was no real overall control at the front as the peloton raced into the final kilometre. Ineos, Bahrain, and EF Education-EasyPost were the most prominent presences, however.
In the end it was Gaviria who got the jump on those teams and his sprint rivals, jumping from Magnus Cort's wheel and moving clear at the front, where he had no equals in the final burst to the line.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
