Dorian Godon has claimed his second victory of the week at the Tour de Romandie. Following a tense chase and a chaotic sprint from a thinned-out peloton, the INEOS Grenadiers rider overpowered Finn Fisher-Black and Valentin Paret-Peintre to win Stage 3. Tadej Pogačar, hunting for his third consecutive win, had to settle for fourth but comfortably retained his overall race lead.
It took roughly 30 kilometers of relentless attacking before a definitive breakaway finally snapped the elastic. Seven riders sailed clear, featuring veteran Damiano Caruso, Belgian Steff Cras, and Georg Steinhauser.
However, Tadej Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates squad never allowed the escapees much breathing room. This tight control was undoubtedly due to Steinhauser's presence in the break, as the German started the day just 2'20" down on Pogačar's yellow jersey.
The race remained relatively quiet until a moment of panic in the breakaway, where several riders slid out on a roundabout and hit the deck. Fortunately, the fallen riders were able to remount and quickly rejoin their companions.
The breakaway hit the base of the Col du Mollendruz—a grinding 9-kilometer climb averaging 6%—with a narrow lead of just under two minutes. Back in the peloton, UAE Team Emirates and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe took command to set a punishing pace.
At the front of the race, the 38-year-old Caruso proved he was the strongest of the escapees. The Italian veteran dropped his breakaway companions and powered over the summit alone, holding a one-minute advantage over the peloton. Behind him, the main group remained intact; no general classification contenders dared to attack, knowing there were still 20 kilometers of descending and 10 flat kilometers to the finish line.
A Thrilling Sprint In Romandie
On the long descent from the Mollendruz, Cras and Steinhauser managed to limit their losses and bridge back across to Caruso. Meanwhile, Godon—who had been dropped earlier—was expertly paced back to the peloton by two dedicated INEOS teammates.
Despite their valiant effort, the leading trio stood little chance against a fully organized, charging peloton. They were finally swallowed up with just over two kilometers remaining, setting the stage for a dramatic sprint.
In the final dash to the line, Godon was simply unmatchable. The French champion launched his sprint, momentarily appeared to stall, but then remarkably found a second gear to surge ahead. He crossed the line ahead of Fisher-Black and Paret-Peintre to book his second stage win of the race, adding to his victory in the prologue.
The stage win tally for the week is now tied at 2-2 between Godon and Pogačar. The Slovenian superstar contested the sprint but proved he is indeed human, finishing fourth and missing out on the hat-trick. He does, however, remain safely in yellow.
The peloton now faces a brutal Stage 4 on Saturday. The heavy mountain route features two Category 1 and two Category 2 climbs, which will undoubtedly shake up the general classification before Sunday's rolling finale crowns the successor to last year's overall winner, João Almeida.