Elise Chabbey delivered the biggest win of her career on home roads, sprinting clear of Urška Žigart at the summit of La Tzoumaz to take stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie Féminin. The victory, her first at WorldTour level, came in front of family and friends near Geneva and crowned a dramatic day in the Swiss Alps.
Žigart, riding for AG Insurance-Soudal, had been the driving force on the 12.8km final climb, setting a fierce tempo that whittled the lead group down to just herself, Chabbey and Yara Kastelijn. She crossed the line three seconds behind the Swiss rider, but her consistency was rewarded with the overall race lead, as overnight leader Stage 1 winner Paula Blasi faded. Kastelijn fought bravely but finished a further three seconds adrift in third.
Photo Credit: GettyThe day had begun with Blasi holding a surprise 17-second advantage after her prologue success. For much of the stage, the peloton remained quiet, the only real animation coming from Movistar’s Claire Steels, who went clear after the first climb at Chamoson. She was later joined at a distance by Giorgia Vettorello of Roland Le Dévoluy, but only Steels managed to stay ahead long enough to take maximum points at the intermediate sprints and mountains classification markers. Her adventure ended on the lower slopes of La Tzoumaz as the favourites began to assert themselves.
Once the race hit the final ascent, UAE Team ADQ rode to defend Blasi’s jersey, but AG Insurance-Soudal soon took control. Mireia Benito set a relentless pace, dropping big names including Juliette Labous, Alena Ivanchenko and eventually Blasi herself. Her work left Žigart in a perfect position to attack, and with 5.5km to go she surged clear, shaking off Steffi Häberlin and eventually Kastelijn, but she could not rid herself of Chabbey.
The Swiss champion, sitting 15 seconds down on GC at the start of the day, marked Žigart closely, refusing to take over the pace. As the gradient eased in the final few hundred metres, Chabbey launched her sprint with 150m to go, opening a decisive gap and raising her arms aloft as she crossed the line.
“This is the most beautiful victory of my career,” an emotional Chabbey said afterwards. “With my family here, my sisters and brothers, and the team supporting me, I can’t believe it. I was sick after the Tour de France and not sure I would be ready, but to win here is incredible.”
Žigart, meanwhile, now leads the race by eight seconds over Chabbey, with Kastelijn third at 13 seconds. With just one stage remaining around Aigle, the Slovenian has the yellow jersey but will need to defend it against a motivated Chabbey on home soil.
2025 Tour de Romandie Féminin Stage 2 result
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Main photo credit: Getty
