Tour of the Med - st. 3

Bad conditions forcing to shorten today's stage -won into a sprint by new leader Michel Kreder (GRM)- put into jeopardy the final, decisive climb of the 2012 Tour Méditerranéen

Dutchman Michel Kreder (GRM) repeated his stage win yesterday and took the leader’s jersey in the shortened stage 4 of the 39th Méditerranéen, over 110km -10 laps to a local loop in La Londe les Maures- instead of the initially proposed 127, after the early part of the course was discarded due to ice and snow covering the pavement. Kreder outsprinted the rest of the field as Movistar Team’s fastman Fran Ventoso was unable to contest the victory after getting boxed in through the final straight.

At the expense of the weather respecting the scheduled programme, the French race will see its final stage being raced tomorrow, the Queen ride of the event with 130k starting at La Ciotat and climbing the Col des Gardes (Cat. 2) just ten kilometers before the traditional Mont Faron, with slopes of 10-12%.