Pogacar plays down stage race hunt after Romandie success: 'Let's go one by one and see how far we can come'

Tadej Pogačar's fourth stage win in this edition of the Tour de Romandie takes the win tally for 2026 to nine. Asked in his flash interview about equalling a Ferdi Kübler record at the race, the world champion barely engaged with it.

"Every win is important, so of course it's important to win and to finish off the job of the team," said Pogacar to CyclingProNet.

The day itself was anything but routine. After Bahrain Victorious had come up to share pacing duties with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the eight-rider breakaway was reeled in on the long road up Leysin (14.3km at 5.9%), and the stage came down to the GC favourites trading blows on the final climb. Lipowitz attacked first, and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider did enough damage to put Pogačar in real trouble.

"It was a tough day," Pogačar said. "Luckily, Bahrain came to help us. They wanted to go for the stage as well, I think, and fight for the GC, for a better spot. Hard pace all day, and then on the climb, Florian attacked first and he did a really good job. Luckily I could survive on his wheel, and then he launched really early in the final and it was a fight to the finish line."

Lipowitz, second on GC at 35 seconds entering the day, ended Romandie as the rider closest to Pogačar across a six-day race. The Slovenian himself did not pretend otherwise.

"When he attacked the second time, I mean when I attacked and then he counter-attacked, it was really impressive. It was a pain in the legs, I must admit. We worked a little bit together. I didn't want to work too much in the final, because I knew I needed to have a good kick in the end. Florian started, I don't know, it felt forever, 600 metres to the finish line. Then I just committed and I passed and there was no turning back. I just had to commit to the finish line, but it was really long."

The Tour de Romandie was a race Pogačar said he had wanted to win for some time.

"It's a WorldTour stage race, it's what suits me," he said. "I always admired the race since I was young. I've seen Primož win many times, and it was always beautiful to see it on TV. So I wanted to come here to race, to experience it and to win."

Asked how the transition from his last Classic at Liège-Bastogne-Liège to a six-day stage race had compared with what he had expected, Pogačar didn't have much for it. "I didn't know what to expect, so I'm satisfied."

The week had given him a sense of how the Swiss public felt about him, too. "It was really amazing, especially all the kids that come through the week out of school. This was super nice to see, and now on the weekend also all the families with the kids. Really nice fans, and a lot of signs with my name. It was a pleasure to ride this week here in Romandie."

The Tour de Suisse is next on Pogačar's calendar in June, before the Critérium du Dauphiné and the long approach to the Tour de France. Asked whether he was now hunting one-week stage races he had not yet won, he said no.

"Not Tirreno, I don't have Itzulia. I don't have a lot of races actually. Tour Down Under, Tour of Poland, the Renewi Tour. There are still a lot of one-day races, so there are still a lot of big races left. Let's go one by one and see how far we can come."

Lipowitz pushed him harder than anyone has on a road stage this spring, but the result was the same: Pogačar found a way to win.