Jan Tratnik snatches prologue win in Tour de Romandie 2019

The Bahrain-Merida rider showed his ability on a technical course involving two hair pins to take the leader's jersey, easing Roglic out to the best placed general classification contender, with Tom Bohli in third and Team Ineos' Geraint Thomas just four seconds back in fifth place.

The city of Neuchatel provided all of its usual challenges for a competitive field with the 3.87km route containing two 90-degree right turns, a cobbled climb and chicane.

Stage favourite Victor Campenaerts succumbed to a left-hand turn with the Lotto-Soudal rider's crash resulting in him finishing outside the provisional best times.

German national time trial champion Tony Martin of Jumbo-Visma hit the front with a time of 5:10, after UAE Team Emirates' Rui Costa set an early marker of a second slower.

The top of the leaderboard changed when Swiss rider Bohli's superb ride in 5:07 moved him ahead of Martin, before defending champion Roglic eased the UAE Team Emirates rider out to second spot with less than a second to spare.

Knowing the time to beat, Solvenia time trial champion Tratnik held his nerve to secure victory four seconds ahead of Tour de France champion Thomas as he knocked a second off Roglic's time to cross the line in first place.

Campenaerts finished in last place - one minute and three seconds off the pace. The Tour de Romandie continues on Wednesday as the riders take on the 168.4km first stage from Neuchatel to La Chaux-de-Fonds, with Geneva the venue for the concluding individual time trial on Sunday.

May 1 - Stage 1: Neuchâtel to La Chaux-de-Fonds, 168.4 km, Road race.

May 2 - Stage 2: Le Locle to Morges, 174.4 km, Road race.

May 3 - Stage 3: Romont to Romont, 160 km, Road race.

May 4 - Stage 4 Lucens to Torgon, 176 km, Road race.

May 5 - Stage 5 Geneva to Geneva, 16.9 km, Individual time trial.