Carlos Rodriguez has protected his yellow jersey through a rain-soaked final stage to win the six-day Tour of Romandie for the biggest race victory of his career.
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Four previous winners in the French-speaking region of Switzerland went on to win that season's Tour de France, including Chris Froome in 2013.
Rodriguez, who placed fifth in the Tour de France last year and won a stage, started Sunday's flat stage that looped round the suburbs of Geneva -- won in a sprint finish by Dorian Godon -- with a seven-second lead.
The 23-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider kept that winning margin over runner-up Aleksandr Vlasov, the 2022 Romandie winner. Third-placed Florian Lipowitz was third, trailing Rodriquez by nine seconds.
Godon sealed his second stage win this week, edging Simone Consonni with Dion Smith third.
The Australian challenge, promising earlier in the week when national champ Luke Plapp was lying third overall, eventually petered out.
Plapp was a non-starter in the final stage, with Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) finishing the top Australian in 19th place, while 2022 Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley was 28th.
Australian Associated Press
