Tour de Romandie 2018: The Route

The 2018 Tour de Romandie kicks off on Tuesday 24 April to finish on Sunday the 29th. The six-day race in the French-speaking part of Switzerland takes in a lot of climbs, but features only one summit finish. The long-busting time trial on the fourth day of action climbs 9.9 kilometres at 8% before the possibly decisive next stage takes in whooping altitude gain of 3,584 metres.

The Tour de Romandie sets off with a prologue of 4 kilometres and 20 metres. Not for the faint of heart as the route features several double digits ramps. The 1st stage travels over four mountains to end on descent, while stage 2 features 1,988 vertical metres and two climbs.

So the riders had some time to flex their climb muscles, yet the best - and possibly decisive - is yet to come. The 3rd stage is an individual time trial for mountain goats. Climbing from start to finish, this long-busting chrono-race amounts to 9.9 kilometres at almost 8%. Stage 4 is another challenge in the high mountains - 3,584 vertical metres and five mountains before the race closes with a long descent and flat run-in through the Rhône Valley.

The last stage probably won't have impact on the Tour de Romandie's GC. The route travels over three climbs, but the last 100 kilometres are on flat to rolling roads.