Americans Barta and McNulty celebrate in Valencia, Vauquelin accepts second place: "We're talking about Pedersen"

The Star of Bessèges reached a thrilling climax after five days. Kévin Vauquelin won the individual time trial for Arkéa-B&B Hotels, but fell short by two seconds of taking Mads Pedersen out of the leader's jersey. "A good day," says Pedersen with a hint of understatement, via the official channels of Lidl-Trek. "It's great to win a classification so early in the season. I briefly lost control over the front end in a turn at one moment, but I rode a strong time trial. Last year we lost by one second, now we win by two. The form is where it needs to be, and I'm looking forward to the Tour de la Provence that's coming up."

Vauquelin had to settle for the stage victory, though after his strong time trial performance, he briefly dreamed of winning the general classification, he confesses to Cyclism'Actu. "This is the result of all the work we've put into time trials over the winter. It's satisfying. The main goal was the general classification, but we're talking about Mads Pedersen, a former world champion. I have nothing to be ashamed of, finishing second. It was a very good week, and as a team, we couldn't have done any better."

Two hours after the finish in Bessèges, the peloton crossed the finish line in Valencia. Will Barta emerged as the surprise winner after the American from Movistar was part of the breakaway for the entire day. "I felt good during the race, and you don't get the chance to win every day. When I was in the breakaway, I knew I had a good chance of winning," Barta says to Cycling Pro. "Thanks to the women's race? Yes, we did watch it because it had the same finale. I saw that the winner went solo from the climb and was safe in the twisty finale. I wanted to make it to that point, and when I heard they were getting tired in the peloton, I put my head down and kept pushing. This is a big win for me. I've had some tough years, so winning here is a dream come true. I spent a month at altitude, away from my family, so I'm glad it paid off."

The overall victory went to Brandon McNulty, who, after his stage win on Saturday, encountered no further trouble. "This feels very good. I already had strong legs in Mallorca, and winning here now is a great start to the year. It was a chaotic final stage, with aggressive racing. Vlasov attacked and they were racing for the bonus seconds, but in the descent, I knew I had it, as long as we stayed out of trouble," says the American, who has big ambitions for 2024. "The goal this year is to win everywhere I start, so I'd rather start like this than be suffering at the back. I'm happy with this win."