Ready for the spring classics: Pedersen and Mohoric turn Tour de la Provence upside down in challeging stage

On day one, TV viewers (and fans at the location) got their money's worth. Attacks were unleashed throughout France, but ultimately, it came down to a sprint. Lidl-Trek seemed to have the best options with Mads Pedersen, but several other fast men outpaced them. Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R) took full advantage and won.

Fortunately, in the case of the Tour de la Provence, at least, there is always a new day with new opportunities, even if the second stage began with a nasty crash. Aimé De Gendt (Cofidis), Fabien Grellier (TotalEnergies), and Laurens Huys (Arkéa—B&B Hotels) were among those who had to abandon the race due to the crash's consequences.

Meanwhile, a breakaway group had already formed. Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies), Matis Louvel (Israel-Premier Tech), Damien Girard (Nice Métropole), and Daniel Arnes (Van Rysel-Roubaix) took their place in the breakaway, but they were closely followed by the Decathlon AG2R riders. Australian Oscar Chamberlain was on duty there, although Tim Declercq (Lidl-Trek) and Gavin Hlady (EF Education-EasyPost) supported him.

A good fifty kilometers from the finish, a break in the peloton appeared, with some big names on the right side of the crack. Pedersen and Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech) and Fred Wright of Bahrain Victorious were present. Decathlon AG2R was not among them, so the situation was quickly restored, although everyone was on edge from that moment on. As a side effect, the gap to the front was significantly reduced, with Vercher being caught last.

With thirty kilometers to go, Bauke Mollema took charge of the peloton in the service of Pedersen, beating up the entire bunch. This appeared to be the prelude to an attack by the team leader, who wanted to go solo with thirty kilometers to go. Sander De Pestel (Decathlon AG2R) and Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (EF) followed, and behind them, a group formed with Matej Mohoric, Fred Wright, Toms Skujins, and Lukas Kubis.

De Pestel - a teammate of leader Bennett - and Cepeda did not want to work directly with the fast Dane, which did not please him. The Dane picked up a few bonus seconds but then let the others catch him, and with twenty kilometers to go,, the game was back on. Can you guess who made a move again? That's right, Pedersen—this time with Mohoric, someone who always wants to ride at the front.

Both men's teammates dropped back, so it seemed we would have to make do with them for this final, which was no bad thing. In the final phase, the expected scenario unfolded, with the faster Pedersen winning.