Friday afternoon marked the second stage of the Tour de la Provence. Unlike Paris-Nice (the 'Race to the Sun'), it was a day full of rain and misery. Right from the start, the heavens opened up and the gates did not close until the finish line.
Six riders didn't let it dampen their spirits and sought to warm up by forming the day's breakaway. They were the Frenchmen Alexis Gougeard (Cofidis), Thomas Bonnet (TotalEnergies), Kévin Avoine (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Jonathan Couanon (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur), Alexis Guerin (Philippe Wagner/Bazin) and the Canadian Robin Plamondon (CIC U Nantes Atlantique).
The peloton, led by Lidl-Trek, didn't give the six much leeway, and as the finish approached, Guerin and Couanon got too cold to continue and had to let their fellow escapees go. Not much later, Plamondon also dropped back, both literally and figuratively, and Avoine was extremely lucky not to fall on the slippery road surface. The Frenchman slid on a bump in the road, ended up landing on the frame, and swerved from left to right but ultimately got his bike under control. It was reminiscent of Jakob Fuglsang's move in the 2019 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège...
Watch the video below.
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