Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Gianni Meersman was able to get the final spot on the podium at the end of the 190.3km Tour de Romandie Stage 2 on Thursday. Meersman came out of nowhere on the right side in the last meters of the stage, but simply ran out of road trying to catch up following a sweeping left hand turn at 400m from the finish.
Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) won in a photo finish ahead of Enrico Gasparotto (Astana Pro Team). Meersman and several other OPQS riders, including Tony Martin and Gianluca Brambilla, made a select group of about 40 riders going into the final kilometers. The peloton was aggressive including the descent of the final Cat. 3 climb, and that is what caused such separation of the field.
"It's a shame that I couldn't really make the sprint today, because in the last corner a guy came from behind on the inside of the last corner," Meersman said. "There was some confusion and I had to brake, and other riders near me had to brake. We lost about 10 to 15 meters at that point. But I was still thinking it was possible to win. I did my best but honestly I was too far back at that time. I tried and tried, but I was about one or two meters behind the winner. In any case, even today I had a good feeling in the sprint. The guys did a good job for me and we did a good race tactically. Sometimes it just goes like that. We will try again tomorrow. Maybe there will be a chance for me or somebody else. We will try our best to be there in the final and go for a good result."
