Basically, the Queen Stage of the Tour de Romandie is a race in the Rhône valley with several outings into the surrounding mountains. The race opens with a circuit on the valley floor and after 36 kilometres the climbing kicks in hard with the ascent to Ovronnaz. It’s a 8.9 kilometres toil with an average gradient of 9.7%.
The riders descend back to starting venue Saillon to continue towards Martigny and then northwards, still following the Rhône. The second climb is La Rasse – 2 kilometres at 8.6% – and then it goes back to the valley floor, and northward again.
After Massongex the race enters the decisive last 65 kilometres. Two – or, arguably three – climbs are stacked on top of each other. The first 9.8 kilometres go up at 5.7% and after a negligible descent the route continues to climb to Les Giettes. Which is another 4 kilometres at 8.5% with sections up to 12%.
The riders descend back to Massongex and cross the Rhône to continue to Aigle. This section includes a brutal 1.1 kilometres Wall at 9.5%, which is crested with 25 kilometres to go.
The riders reach Aigle after 135 kilometres in the saddle and 2 kilometres later the finish climb kicks in. The ascent to Leysin is 14 kilometres long and averages 6%, while the steepest stretches kick up at 12%.
The Tour de Romandie last visited Leysin in 2017. It was a mountain stage as well, although the route was totally different. Simon Yates took the spoils that day, finishing 8 seconds ahead of Richie Porte and taking the leader’s jersey. Which he lost the next day to the Tasmanian, as Porte bounced back in the final day ITT to win the overall.
The first three riders on the line in Leysin gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 4 2024 Tour de Romandie.
Other interesting reads:
– live race report
–GC after stage 3
– entire route
– start list
– 2023 Tour de Romandie
– records & winners
– 2024 calendar
Tour de Romandie 2024 – stage 4: route, profile, more
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