Tadej Pogačar Loses In a Discipline He’s Never Raced as Tour de Romandie Fights for Survival

Tadej Pogačar did not win Tuesday’s opening prologue at the Tour de Romandie in what’s a curious footnote in his otherwise near-flawless 2026 campaign.

Somewhat surprisingly, it was Pogačar’s first prologue as a professional to open the six-day Romandie tour that’s financially on the ropes.

“First prologue in my professional career,” Pogačar said as he cooled down after the 3.2km effort. “That was hard on the legs.”

The world No. 1 — not racing in his road world champion stripes in the effort against the clock — clearly was not taking chances Tuesday on the short, damp, and technical course.

The GC is what Pogačar is aiming for, and there are plenty of chances in the rolling profile from here to Sunday for him to blast away.

Wednesday’s stage 1 features a Cat. 1 climb of 8.9km at 9.8 percent in the final hour of the route, so the UAE king could bound away to take control of one of the few stage races missing on his palmarès.

For Pogačar, Tuesday’s sixth place was only the second race day he’s “lost” in 2026.

His other was second to Wout van Aert at an apocalyptic edition of Paris-Roubaix. He is otherwise near-perfect this season, with massive victories at Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Also Tuesday, Pogačar rolled out a new time trial setup, debuting a prototype of a TT2 bike expected to be raced at the Tour de France, HLN reported.

The Italian brand said the new configuration is 550 grams lighter, proof that Pogačar is very much shifting the focus toward what would be a record-tying fifth yellow jersey if he wins in July.

Prologues a dying breed

Dorian Godon (Ineos Grenadiers) won the rare prologue to secure a leader’s jersey without a title sponsor.

“Time trials of 20, 30, or 40 kilometers shouldn’t be the only ones. I really love these kinds of explosive efforts. I took the corners flat out and took some risks,” the Frenchman told L’Equipe. “Also, I am very happy to wear the yellow jersey. It has been a super year for me so far.”

Prologues were once a staple of stage racing, but have largely disappeared from the WorldTour calendar.

That’s why Pogačar never raced one as a pro.

The Tour de France abandoned them about a decade ago as ASO shifted toward traditional road stages to award the first yellow jersey.

The 13.2km individual time trial to open the 2022 Tour in Copenhagen was as close to a prologue as the Tour’s come in a while. Anything above 8km is usually classified as an individual time trial.

Tour’s last old school, short-distance prologue was 2012 in Liège, won by Fabian Cancellara at 6.4km.

This year’s grand départ in Barcelona opens with a team time trial, another rarity, but there is little indication the classic prologue format is set for a broader return.

Romandie on the ropes

Pogačar’s presence this week will give the beleaguered Tour de Romandie a boost.

The long-running Swiss race — dating back to the 1940s — is facing a financial crunch.

There’s no paying sponsor for its yellow jersey this week, and though there is money in the bank to run the 2027 edition, there’s some fear about the future of one of Europe’s historical stage races.

The race starts this week on life support just as the Tour de Suisse — long considered cycling’s “fourth grand tour” — is being trimmed from eight to five stages in June.

Only 15 teams are at the start line this week after four WorldTour teams opted out of starting, as UCI rules allow. Decathlon-CMA CGM, Alpecin-Premier Tech, Lotto-Intermarché and Uno-X did not start.

NSN and EF Education-EasyPost each started with only six riders each, and the entire peloton is a threadbare 103 racers.

The presence of Pogačar will have the race a boost. He’s racing here and at the Tour de Suisse this summer as he streamlined his 2026 racing calendar to put a heavy emphasis on the spring monument season.

Along with riders like Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-Quick Step), and Florian Lipowitz and Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), the Romandie star power is actually greater than what the Giro d’Italia will likely see next month.

Americans have had success here, with Tyler Hamilton winning it twice, Matteo Jorgenson second in 2023, and Andrew Hampsten a winner in 1992.

This week, Andrew August (Ineos Grenadiers), Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost) are racing.

Dating back to 1947, such luminaries as Gino Bartali, Hugo Koblet, Bernard Hinault, Stephen Roche, and Eddy Merckx have won it.

Results: Tour de Romandie prologue