Chris Froome leads Brit-heavy Team Sky squad in Tour de Romandie
Froome supported by Stannard, Thomas, Kennaugh and Rowe, along with Roche, Viviani and Pate in Tour de Romandie (April 28 to May 3)
Chris Froome returns to the Tour de Romandie as leader of Team Sky, eyeing a possible third consecutive victory in the Swiss WorldTour race, starting on Tuesday (April 28).
Froome is backed up by a strong team featuring four other Britons. Sky has picked a selection of riders to support Froome in the key Tour de France warm-up race that mixes those coming in from the Classics and key mountain domestiques.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Ian Stannard and E3 Harelbeke victor Geraint Thomas are both present after a successful campaign in northern Europe, as is Luke Rowe - the team's highest finisher at Paris-Roubaix. They are joined by British road race champion Peter Kennaugh.
Completing the team are Italian sprinter Elia Viviani, American strongman Danny Pate and Irishman Nicolas Roche.
>>> Tour de Romandie 2015 start list
Roche takes to the startline despite suffering a nasty fall during Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday. Roche was taken down in a mass crash in the final 40km of the Belgian classic but escaped with minor injuries.
The six-stage Tour de Romandie commences with a 19.2-kilometre team time trial on Tuesday, April 28 and concludes on Sunday, May 3, with an individual time trial. In between is a selection of tough mountain stages.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Froome won the final time trial in last year's race to secure the overall win 28 seconds ahead of Simon Spilak (Katusha).
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
-
56% unpaved, 44% paved and plenty of pitchy climbs: the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships race course revealed
Come October, rainbow jersey hopefuls will tackle a Classics-like course in woodsy Flemish Brabant.
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Tour of Britain uncertainty stalls RideLondon Classique expansion plan
Organiser planned to add extra stage to this year's race, but question marks over the Tour of Britain Women has meant plans have been cancelled
By Jeremy Whittle Published
-
The art of peaking with Geraint Thomas: 'It’s easy to take for granted that 9 times out of 10 I hit my goals'
The Welshman also calls for better governance in the sport to help it grow further
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers’ 500th victory was claimed by a woman; why do they still not have a team?
The British squad is one of the richest in cycling - but Ineos still won’t stump up for a women’s team
By Adam Becket Published
-
'This is so much more than a number': Six of the best Ineos Grenadiers wins as team claims 500th race victory
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot took the 500th team win at the weekend
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'wouldn’t be surprised' to see attacks before the Poggio at Milan-San Remo
British rider will lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers alongside Filippo Ganna
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘It doesn’t change anything’ - Tom Pidcock’s coach on Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche
Kurt Bogaerts says the pressure is off for Pidcock as he looks to defend the title he emphatically won last year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers say they will work with British Cycling to get Tour of Britain back on ‘as quickly as possible’
Ben Swift and Owain Doull both say it would be a "shame" were the Tour of Britain to be no more
By Adam Becket Published
-
‘We're now the hunter, not the hunted’ - New Ineos Grenadiers CEO commits to reclaiming top spot amongst WorldTour elite
John Allert outlines team’s targets and ambitions for 2024, including regaining Grand Tour dominance of old
By Tom Thewlis Published