Denmark’s Mads Pedersen continues to dominate the Tour de la Provence this year, taking his third consecutive victory in this Saturday’s stage. The cyclist overcame a group of sprinters to cross the finish line first. Axel Zingle (Cofidis) and Clément Champoussin (Arkéa B&B Hotels) finished in 2nd and 3rd position respectively.
A challenging route
The second stage of the Tour de la Provence, which went from Forcalquier to Manosque, was, on paper, the most challenging of the tournament. In addition to the slopes on the route, the last 25 kilometers of the race were marked by climbing the Col de l’Aire del Masco, a 6.6 km stretch with an average gradient of 4.8%. Adding to the degree of difficulty, the weather conditions were adverse, with frequent rain throughout the race.
The fight for the podium
Five cyclists – Thomas Bonnet, Emmanuel Morin, Kasper Saver, Scott McGill, and Marco Frigo – formed the group of escapees of the day, and managed to reach an advantage of more than two minutes. But Frigo, from the Israel Premier-Tech team, proved to be the strongest among the lead group, and with 45 kilometers remaining until the finish line, he set off alone.
After the last climb, a group of ten cyclists, including Pedersen, broke away and joined Ewen Costiou, from the Arkéa-Hotels team who had attacked earlier, moving ever closer to Frigo. Despite the efforts of Pedersen and the rest of the group, it was only in the last 400 meters that Frigo was finally caught.
An exciting ending
In a sprint contest, Pedersen once again proved to be the strongest. Belgian Axel Zingle, who finished just behind him, was the only one who managed to match Pedersen’s pace. The victory marked Pedersen’s third consecutive triumph in the competition. With the final stage of the Tour de la Provence to be held on Sunday, Pedersen could be on the verge of completing an unprecedented quartet of victories if he manages to win in the upcoming flat race.
Watch the arrival
Results of the 2nd stage of the Tour de la Provence
Tour de la Provence General Classification
