Tour de La Provence (st. 1)
Final splits in the coastal winds, a crash-marred sprint and a long attack from Alaphilippe (DQT) make first selection at opening race of the year for Movistar Team.
/ Today’s route
It has to be hard for a sprinter to start your season at the Tour de La Provence, have some good chances right from day one – but still have to tackle a long, tough climb like L’Espigoulier (Cat-1) right from the start and lots of ups and downs before the finish. The Movistar Team was bringing more of a stagerace-suited team to France to start its 42nd season, which meant it was more of a warm-up to them.
/ Weather report
A crisp winter day, with about 14ºC maximum and, more importantly, strong mistral winds (35kph average), which could make things more dangerous near the end.
/ Keys to the race
- The challenging start invited only two riders to try their luck into the early break. Delio Fernández (DKO) and Lilian Calmejane (ACT) jumped from the gun and ammassed a maximum gap around four minutes, which Groupama-FDJ and B&B Hotels – KTM would later reduce and keep around 2′. The Movistar Team kept Enric Mas well protected near the front, with Verona, Jorgenson and debutant Abner González putting his face against the wind.
- The escape was caught with about 70km to go at the Montée du Brulat (Cat-3), with a series of attacks by Ciccone (TFS), Moscon (IGD) or even Julian Alaphilippe (DQT) creating a second move, which increased its advantage over one minute. Lotto, Bahrain, Arkea and UAE would later take to the front of the group into the last hour of racing to shrink the gaps and secure a sprint finish.
- The finish, quite strung out due to the coastal winds, saw numerous splits forming before a crash into the streets of Six-Fours-les-Plages further opened the gaps. Matteo Jorgenson and Lluís Mas finished into a leading group of about fifty riders led home by Davide Ballerini (DQT). Into that final chaos, Enric Mas lost contact while into the group and finished about twenty seconds back. Imanol Erviti and Abner González, who found the incident on their way to the finish with no physical consequence, saw their gaps neutralised.
/ Upcoming goals
The 2021 Tour de La Provence will finish in Manosque on Friday’s stage two (175km), tackling a hilly final loop that features up to five ascents -including a 3km, 3% finish-, two of them categorized: the Col de la Mort d’Imbert (Cat-2) and the Montfuron (Cat-3).
Cover picture (c): BettiniPhoto
- 01 Davide Ballerini Deceuninck - Quick Step 4h43'23"
- 02 Arnaud Démare Groupama-FDJ "
- 03 Nacer Bouhanni Arkéa Samsic "
- 26 Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team "
- 52 Lluís Mas Movistar Team "
- 58 Enric Mas Movistar Team +21"
- 70 Imanol Erviti Movistar Team +00"
- 73 Abner González Movistar Team +00"
- 101 Sergio Samitier Movistar Team +1'07"
- 118 Carlos Verona Movistar Team +1'20"
- 01 Davide Ballerini Deceuninck - Quick Step 4h43'13"
- 02 Arnaud Démare Groupama-FDJ +4"
- 03 Nacer Bouhanni Arkéa Samsic +6"
- 29 Matteo Jorgenson Movistar Team +10"
- 53 Lluís Mas Movistar Team "
- 61 Imanol Erviti Movistar Team "
- 64 Abner González Movistar Team "
- 72 Enric Mas Movistar Team +31"
- 102 Sergio Samitier Movistar Team +1'17"
- 119 Carlos Verona Movistar Team +1'30"