Watson fires to first win at Tour de Romandie

Sam Watson powered to a perfect prologue at the Tour de Romandie to secure his first victory with the Grenadiers.

Watson clocked a time of 4:33.30 to take the win on the 3.44-kilometre course in Saint Imer, Switzerland, just milliseconds ahead of UAE Team Emirates’ Ivo Oliveira. 

After securing his first WorldTour victory Watson also pulled on his first overall leader's jersey as a professional. In doing so he became the 50th rider in the team's history to lead the race.

Artem Shmidt was the next best Grenadier in 13th, while Carlos Rodriguez had a strong start to be in contention with the GC competitors.

Wednesday will see the riders tackle the first stage with 194.4km and four categorised climbs.

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Sam Watson:

"I did not expect it to be honest. I was out training in Andorra yesterday and I got a call from the team saying to get to the airport as soon as I could because I’m racing Romandie tomorrow. Here I am with a victory! It’s so special. 

"All I felt was pain. I crossed the line and I didn’t know I was leading until the first interview, so it’s quite a nice surprise. 

"It’s not really set in yet. To say I’ve won my first WorldTour race with INEOS Grenadiers, my first win with them, is a dream. 

"It definitely gives me some confidence going into the next stages. I was at the end of quite a hard three day block so today fills with me confidence. On paper, this race suits me."