ProTeam Steff Cras ahead of Tour de Romandie: “I hope to come a bit closer to the top ten”

On Tuesday 26 April the Tour de Romandie, a six-day WorldTour stage race in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, kicks off. The race will start with a prologue of five kilometres in Lausanne while the curtain falls on the 75^th Tour de Romandie with a mountain time trial between Aigle and Villars. In between, the peloton will face several selective stages mostly suited to punchers and climbers. On Saturday, the general classification will likely be formed during a tough day out in the mountains with a summit finish in Zinal.

Lotto Soudal will start with six riders: Steff Cras, Sébastien Grignard, Matthew Holmes, Harry Sweeny, Harm Vanhoucke and Viktor Verschaeve. After a solid final classification in both Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country, the 26-year-old now hopes for another good GC result in Romandie.

“With nice results in the general classification of Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country, the season has started well for me”, says Steff Cras. “Most of all, I am happy that I’m performing on a constant level since the beginning of the season. After a difficult last year, in which I suffered from the after-effects of illness, it’s a nice thing to see. I am happy how things are going at the moment but taking that next step towards the world’s best riders is hard.”

Second participation in Romandie

Cras will be at the start of the Tour de Romandie for the second time in his career. “Last year, I participated for the first time in the Tour de Romandie but I wasn’t in top shape. That is why I am now even more looking forward to starting a hundred percent fit. I’ve trained well and even skipped the Ardennes Classics to head towards Switzerland with an optimal preparation. After two 16^th places on GC at Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country, I hope to be a bit closer to the top ten this week. I feel ready and the confidence is there.”

A decisive final weekend full of climbing

In the battle for a good general classification, the tough mountain stage on Saturday and the closing time trial on Sunday will prove crucial. “The Tour de Romandie is quite a short stage race so I don’t expect too many chances for attackers. That is why I will fully focus on the general classification, which will mainly be formed during the weekend. On Saturday there is a tough mountain stage and the closing mountain time trial will also provide some significant time gaps I think”, concludes Steff Cras.

Stage schedule Tour de Romandie (26.4 – 1.5)

Tuesday 26 April: Lausanne – Lausanne (prologue – 5 km)

Wednesday 27 April: La Grande Beroche – Romont (178 km)

Thursday 28 April : Échallens – Échallens (168 km)

Friday 29 April: Valbroye – Valbroye (165 km)

Saturday 30 April: Aigle – Zinal (180 km)

Sunday 1 May: Aigle – Villars (individual mountain time trial – 15.8 km)