PARIS, 30th April, 2025 (WAM) -- On the opening day of the Tour de Romandie, Ivo Oliveira came within a whisker of his first WorldTour victory, as the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man placed second in the prologue.

The Portuguese track specialist used all of his nous and experience to produce a breathtaking performance on the 3.5km route, but was ultimaly pipped to the stage win by Samuel Watson of Ineos Grenadiers.

Oliveira, having spent a long time in the hot seat, could only watch on as Watson narrowly beat his time at the line in Saint-Imier. The recent two-time Giro d'Abruzzo stage winner rode the course in a blistering average speed of 45.27kph for the Emirati squad, before Watson got his nose in front by a remarkable 0.0028 seconds.

The narrow margin of victory made for great viewing for those on the roadside, who had come out in their droves to welcome the riders to the latest edition of this historic race. Placing three riders inside the top 10 on the day, UAE Team Emirates-XRG could be satisfied with a strong start in the Bernese Jura.

Reflecting on his close call as he warmed down on his Elite rollers, Oliveira doffed his cap to the stage winner Watson and looked ahead to the rest of the week.

Just as Oliveira nailed the course in Saint-Imier, so too did his teammates, with Jay Vine, Jan Christen and Joao Almeida finishing in ninth, tenth and eleventh, respectively. The latter was the first UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider down the ramp in the mid-afternoon, and the Portuguese made a fine start to his tilt at the general classification.

On Wednesday, the Tour de Romandie will get underway in earnest, with stage 1 taking the riders from Mnchenstein to Fribourg over almost 200km of racing. After Oliveira's fantastic ride on the opening day, he will begin stage 1 tied on time for the race lead with Watson.