EF rides like crazy for Carapaz, but he is knocked off by powerful Bahrain AND in-form Scaroni

162.4 kilometers, from Contes to Gourdon, with a finish atop a 13.9-kilometer climb averaging 3.9%. The race also started with an immediate ascent, the Col Saint Roch (11.2 km at 5.2%), setting the stage for an intense battle for the breakaway. And that’s exactly what we got!

A strong breakaway group formed, featuring Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto), Edoardo Zamperini (Arkéa), Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies), Sergio Meris (Unibet Tietema), Dillon Corkery, Morne Van Niekerk (St-Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93), and Kenny Molly (Van Rysel-Roubaix). They broke free on the first climb, reaching the summit with a 1:45-minute lead. Meanwhile, EF Education-EasyPost led the chase in the peloton, working for Richard Carapaz.

EF never let the seven leaders gain too much ground, keeping their advantage at just 45 seconds after 50 kilometers of racing. With the high pace and constant rain, Corkery was the first to be reeled in by the peloton. As the race entered the final 100 kilometers, six leaders remained, holding a slim 50-second advantage.

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The race crossed the Col de Châteauneuf, the second climb of the day. On the descent, EF Education-EasyPost allowed the breakaway to extend their lead slightly. However, Darren Rafferty and Owain Doull kept everything under control, ensuring that with 35 kilometers to go, the peloton reeled the breakaway back in. What did EF have planned next? At first, nothing—just a relentlessly high pace.

As a result, a significantly reduced peloton crossed the finish line for the first time, with 26 kilometers remaining. The final climb to Gourdon awaited, but first, Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) attacked on the descent. The Italian started the final climb with a small gap, tackling most of it on the big ring, as the gradient was relatively steady.

But it was too much for Vendrame, who was caught with eight kilometers to go. That signaled the start of the real battle, and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) launched the first attack. Richard Carapaz responded but couldn’t close the gap. That was all Lenny Martinez—Buitrago’s Bahrain Victorious teammate—needed to drop the Ecuadorian, while Christian Scaroni (Astana), fresh off his Classic Var victory, also made the decisive move.

That left three riders in contention, with two from Bahrain. Buitrago and Martinez took turns increasing the pace, but they couldn’t shake Scaroni. With a 45-second lead over the chasing group, Bahrain had the chance to strategically play their cards in the final kilometer. However, Martinez kept the pace high until just before the finish, setting up a short sprint. Scaroni dove into the inside line, outmaneuvering Buitrago and taking the victory.