Arkéa climber Rodriguez crushes competition with 50-kilometer solo in tough Mercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes

The Mercan'Tour is a relatively new one-day race in France and one of the few that is truly reserved for absolute climbers. Guillaume Martin was the first winner in 2021, followed by Jakob Fuglsang, Richard Carapaz, and Lenny Martinez. In the Alps, there would once again be a lot of altitude to conquer in this edition: no less than 4,300 meters. Defending champion Martinez was absent, so we would have a new winner.

Two Frenchmen took the lead from the start, but Nicola Marcerou (TotalEnergies) and Noah Knecht (Nice Métropole) never got more than three minutes ahead. Arkéa - B&B Hotels and Unibet Tietema Rockets set a strong pace. The pair stuck together on the first climb of the day, the Col Saint Martin-La Colmiane (16.7 at 5.4%), but the second climb was more difficult. The pace picked up even more, and that was the end of the fun.

Only a small peloton was left on the Col de la Couillole (15.8 km at 7.3%). It was still a long way to the finish, but that didn't stop Cristián Rodriguez from making his move. The Spaniard from Arkéa jumped away halfway up the climb and quickly gained a minute on the group of favorites. The pace set by Groupama-FDJ wasn't fast enough, so Giovanni Carboni (Unibet Tietema Rockets) accelerated. He was joined by Jesús Herrada (Cofidis), Iván Ramiro Sosa, and José Félix Parra (Equipo Kern Pharma).

The four of them chased the lone leader, but he was perhaps the man to beat on paper. He proved it, as they couldn't get any closer. Even on the plateau after the Couillole, he maintained his lead. Carboni then dove into the descent like a falcon, leaving Sosa and Herrada behind. The third group swallowed them up. At the foot of the final climb, the Valberg, Rodriguez still had a 1.30-minute lead over the chasing duo, who were 30 seconds ahead of the third group.

The group with Herrada lost more and more ground; they would not make it. The chasers still had a chance, but there seemed to be some disagreement among them. As a result, they lost more and more time, and Sosa, who had broken away behind them, even caught up with them. However, Rodriguez powered on in the final climb and gained over two minutes. He claimed his third and most beautiful victory of his career. Behind him, Parra had pulled away to finish second, ahead of teammate Sosa, who had left Carboni behind.