The flag dropped in Trondheim, and Robin Gemperle immediately did what everyone expected him to do.
He went to the front.
The opening kilometres became a drag race with Max Agut. Behind them, the Norwegian night turned bitterly cold, with temperatures falling below freezing and riders wrapping their feet in plastic bags. Robin kept moving.
Before the race was 24 hours old, he had covered around 675 km, climbed the Snøvegen above Aurlandsfjord, and opened the first control in Flåm. Max and Nicolas Chatelet arrived for the next two stamps, separated by less than 30 seconds.
Robin was already riding into his second night. His attention had shifted beyond Norway, towards Sweden and the Baltic Sea.
He would lead for the entire journey to Kalamata.
The plan was familiar
Robin’s opening wasn’t reckless, unexpected, or forced on him by the riders around him.
It was how he wanted to race.
After his first TCR victory in 2024, he described a strategy built around using his speed while his body was fresh: