Thibau Nys takes stage victory and leader’s jersey in Romandie after a 150-kilometre flight and difficult final climb

Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) has won the second stage of the Tour de Romandie from Fribourg to Les Marécottes. Our compatriot joined the breakaway of the day at 150 kilometers from the finish (together with Xandro Meurisse), held his ground on the tough final climb and finally beat the Italian Vendrame in the sprint.

In addition to Nys and Meurisse, Roger Adrià (BORA – hansgrohe), Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) and Sean Flynn (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) also jumped in the flight of the day.

The escapees started with a bonus of just over two minutes on the final climb to Les Marécottes (7.6 kilometers at 7.5 percent), but there the peloton started to chip away at the lead.

In the steepest kilometer, Vendrame exploded at the front, but a strong Thibau Nys managed to bite into his wheel. Meurisse also returned in character.

Luke Plapp (Team Jayco Alula) jumped away from the peloton and grabbed the leading trio by the shoulders. Meurisse cracked, but Nys and Vendrame were able to catch up. In the sprint Nys proved stronger than the Italian from Decathlon.

Thanks to the bonuses, Nys is also the new leader, with a four-second lead over Vendrame. For 21-year-old Nys, it is his third professional victory on the road, the first at WorldTour level.An individual time trial of 15.5 kilometers is scheduled for Friday in Oron.