The rain continued in western Switzerland for a third straight day and the early starters in the 17.3-kilometer race against the clock took the brunt of the rainfall, making for treacherous roads raced in the city of Lausanne. All Trek Factory Racing riders completed the course safely, with Riccardo Zoidl and Kristof Vandewalle the highest placed for the team in 53rd (+1’49”) and 59th (+1’58”) respectively.

Vandewalle was hopeful for a good result in a discipline where he excels, but the  rain coupled with a technical city course left the Belgian time trial champion disheartened:

“The parcours was just crazy! Even if it were dry it would have been crazy still. There were lots of corners; it was in the city so lots of painted lines and they were so slippery. Even in the parts where normally I could use my full power, I was forced to hold back; I didn’t take risks, especially in the corners.

“In the second part of the time trial I couldn’t see anything through the visor of my helmet. I had a good feeling this morning, but I was pretty disappointed when I saw the parcours.  It’s for the guys who want to take risks, but to take a risk and be out of the Giro…it’s not worth it. If it was a normal TT parcours I am sure I would have a nice result today. But there was no opportunity for that. Disappointing…” he said to TFR.com.

When the final riders took the start the rain had eased, although the roads were still plenty wet, forcing everyone to slowly pick their way around the corners. Tony Martin set the benchmark as he crossed the line in 23:17 (44.581km/h), and even though the final riders came close to his blistering time no one was able to top the German.

The fight for the podium’s final three steps was between the top four riders and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) successfully defended the yellow jersey with an impressive time trial, finishing third behind teammate Simon Spilak.

Spilak’s second place leapfrogged him from fourth to second place overall and Chris Froome (Sky) maintained his third place. Yesterday’s stage winner Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) got the short straw as he slipped off the podium, dropping from second to fourth in the standings as the Tour de Romandie drew to a close.

Trek Factory Racing never reached its goals for the six-day race with a tougher parcours than expected, but director Alain Gallopin said the team successfully honed its final preparation ahead of the next races:

“We arrived here with a team for the Giro who came directly from the training camp in the Sierra Nevada. We had some goals. especially for a stage win with Giacomo {Nizzolo]  but the parcours ended up being harder than we expected. In the end I think we finished stronger than when we began.”

“Today in the TT Riccardo and Kristof were strong but not good enough in the technical sections. There were a lot of turns, and with all the rain - I think for the last guys the weather was better - but anyway, we were not strong enough to win anything.  Now I hope the guys will be good for the Giro. Also Matthew [Busche] and Riccardo are the two guys who are going to California, and they both showed good signs here. The next races are important for us, and it’s time to bring home some results.”