Tour de Romandie: Dorian Godon denies Tadej Pogačar a hat trick with vengeful sprint on stage 3

Dorian Godon of Ineos Grenadiers claimed victory on stage 3 of the Tour de Romandie, thwarting Tadej Pogačar’s bid for a third consecutive stage win. After initially being overtaken by Finn Fisher-Black in the final sprint, Godon found an extra gear to surge past the New Zealander and cross the line first in Orbe. Valentin Paret-Peintre finished third, with Pogačar settling for fourth, but the Slovenian retained the overall race lead heading into the final mountainous stages. The 176.6-kilometre stage featured multiple circuits around Orbe, including a challenging category 2 climb of the Col du Mollendruz. Early on, a breakaway group formed, including Georg Steinhauser, Sam Oomen, and Damiano Caruso, among others, with UAE Team Emirates working to keep their advantage in check. A low-speed crash disrupted the breakaway, briefly reducing their lead, but the group regrouped and maintained a gap until the final kilometres, when the peloton reeled them in ahead of the sprint finish. Godon credited his teammates for their crucial support on the climbs, highlighting the efforts of Andrew August and Laurens De Plus in helping him conserve energy for the finale. He described the stage as exceptionally tough and expressed satisfaction at securing a win against a high-quality field. Meanwhile, Pogačar remains firmly in control of the general classification, holding a 17-second lead over Florian Lipowitz, with Lenny Martinez in third place. The stage outcome sets the scene for an intense conclusion to the Tour de Romandie, with two decisive mountain stages remaining. Pogačar’s rivals will be looking to chip away at his lead, but Godon’s performance demonstrates that the race remains unpredictable. Teams will need to balance aggressive tactics with careful energy management as the competition intensifies in the coming days.