Portuguese track specialist nails his time trial effort and comes aganisingly close to first WorldTour victory, but is pipped to the line by 0.003 seconds

News | Team – 29th April 2025

On the opening day of the Tour de Romandie, Ivo Oliveira came within a whisker of his first WorldTour victory, as the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man placed second in the prologue. The Portuguese track specialist used all of his nous and experience to produce a breathtaking performance on the 3.5km route, but was ultimaly pipped to the stage win by Samuel Watson of Ineos Grenadiers.

Oliveira, having spent a long time in the hot seat, could only watch on as Watson narrowly beat his time at the line in Saint-Imier. The recent two-time Giro d’Abruzzo stage winner rode the course in a blistering average speed of 45.27kph for the Emirati squad, before Watson got his nose in front by a remarkable 0.0028 seconds.

The narrow margin of victory made for great viewing for those on the roadside, who had come out in their droves to welcome the riders to the latest edition of this historic race. Placing three riders inside the top 10 on the day, UAE Team Emirates-XRG could be satisfied with a strong start in the Bernese Jura.

Reflecting on his close call as he warmed down on his Elite rollers, Oliveira doffed his cap to the stage winner Watson and looked ahead to the rest of the week.

Oliveira: “I can definitely be proud. It was a long wait in the hot seat and obviously it is a hard pill to swallow because 0.002 seconds is nothing. It is like throwing the bike at the line, it is the blink of an eye. Losing my first WorldTour victory like this leaves me with no words.

“But obviously I am proud of how I rode, because I had no mistakes, I did a great ride and I prepared super well for this prologue with the team. In the end, there was one rider stronger than me and even if it was by this margin, he was stronger than me. So kudos to him and I will keep working for my first WorldTour victory.

“Once I finished the ride, I said I had no regrets. I did everything super good and everything went smoothly.

“If you see the top 15, we have four riders in there. That is amazing. The team is super strong, we have a super strong team and I think we can make a super GC here by the end of the week.”

Just as Oliveira nailed the course in Saint-Imier, so too did his teammates, with Jay Vine, Jan Christen and João Almeida finishing in ninth, tenth and eleventh, respectively. The latter was the first UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider down the ramp in the mid-afternoon, and the Portuguese made a fine start to his tilt at the general classification.

For Christen, the roads were awash with supporters, as the Swiss home favourite blasted his way around the circuit aboard the Colnago Y1Rs. On such a short course, there was always the possibility to complete this prologue aboard a road bike, something which Christen used to good effect. All four UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders inside the top 15 finished within six seconds of the stage winner, going to show how close the battle for the day’s honours proved.

On Wednesday, the Tour de Romandie will get underway in earnest, with stage 1 taking the riders from Mūnchenstein to Fribourg over almost 200km of racing. After Oliveira’s fantastic ride on the opening day, he will begin stage 1 tied on time for the race lead with Watson.

Tour de Romandie 2025 prologue results:

1. Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) 4:33,3

2. Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +0.0028

3. Javier Romo (Movistar) +0.03

Tour de Romandie 2025 general classification after the prologue:

1. Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) 4:33

2. Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

3. Javier Romo (Movistar) +0:03