Overview
- Tadej Pogacar launched a solo move about 70 kilometres from the finish on Wednesday, taking the opening 143–144 km Sondrio stage by roughly two minutes and more.
- Richard Carapaz and Andrea Bagioli were the best of the chasers on stage one, finishing around two to three minutes back and filling the provisional podium positions.
- Romain Grégoire won the next stage in Locarno while Pogacar comfortably retained the leader’s jersey, keeping his commanding advantage as the race moves into bigger mountain days.
- Visma–Lease a Bike confirmed that Wout van Aert will miss the Tour de France because of a persistent elbow injury, removing a key support option for Jonas Vingegaard ahead of the July start.
- Pogacar’s recent run of wins and dominant form in Switzerland raises the stakes for July by forcing rival teams to change tactics and by making him the clear pre‑Tour favorite.