At kilometre 40 the riders tackle the first climb – 2.3 kilometres at 6.3% – and some 20 kilometres onwards a similar hill appears. This one climbs to the village of Ollon – 2.8 kilometres at 6.8%. A drop and a false flat down run to the the base of the next climb leading to Vex. It’s a regular ascent of 8.9 kilometres that is averaging 6.8%. At the top the riders have almost 80 kilometres to race.
The second half of the race begins with a more or less flat section. Then, with almost 30 kilometres remaining, a 2 kilometres ascent at 8% ushers in the finale. Following the drop the course runs in some 10 kilometres to the foot of the closing climb up to Champéry. At 14.4 kilometres, it’s by far the longest climb of the day. The average gradient is 4.4%, while the toughest sectors account for 8%. Halfway up the climb the riders will find some relief on a plateau of around 1 kilometre.
Arrival place Champéry is a Walhalla for hikers, skiers and cyclists.
The intermediate sprints give no bonus seconds, but the first three riders on the line take a bonus of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Results/race report 1st stage of the 2017 Tour de Romandie.
Tour de Romandie 2017 stage 1: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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