Leeds cyclist Sam Watson wins Tour de Romandie stage after late call-up

Surprise winner: Yorkshire's Sam Watson of Ineos Grenadiers on the podium after his stage victory at the Tour of Romandie (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Leeds cyclist Sam Watson secured the biggest win of his career and first at World Tour level - just 36 hours after being parachuted in as a late replacement.

The 23-year-old was on his way to a training camp when he got the call from Ineos Grenadiers to redirect to the Tour of Romandie in Switzerland, one of the more prestigious of the warm-up races for the summer’s grand tours.

And a day and a half later he was celebrating after winning the short 3.44km sprint prologue on Tuesday that got him into the leader’s yellow jersey.

Watson stopped the clock in 4min 33secs and won via a photo finish from Ivo Oliveira.

"I did not expect it to be honest," said Watson, who is in his maiden season with Ineos after two years learning the ropes in the World Tour peloton at French team Groupama FDJ.

"I was out training in Andorra yesterday and I got a call from the team saying to get to the airport as soon as I could because I'm racing Romandie tomorrow. Here I am with a victory. It's so special.

"All I felt was pain. I crossed the line and I didn't know I was leading until the first interview, so it's quite a nice surprise.

"It's not really set in yet. To say I've won my first WorldTour race with Ineos Grenadiers, my first win with them, is a dream.

"It definitely gives me some confidence going into the next stages. I was at the end of quite a hard three-day block so today fills with me confidence. On paper, this race suits me."