As expected, stage 2 of the Tour de la Provence created some changes on GC. The race really opened up in the last hour towards Manosque, and Mads Pedersen proved victorious. Both present in a chasing group, Paul Penhoët and Thibaud Gruel battled for the remaining places about fifteen seconds behind the Dane, taking sixth and eighth places on the line respectively. The young man from Tours also kept his seventh place overall before a final stage suiting the sprinters.
The elevation gain to cover on Saturday, in stage 2 of the Tour de la Provence, was quite similar to that of the day before. On the other hand, the fight was expected later in the day as the main difficulty, the Col de l’Aire dei Masco (6.5 km at 5%), was located thirty kilometres from the finish. The stage indeed proved quite calm until approaching this climb, as the peloton first let a four-man breakaway lead the race with a maximum gap of four minutes. This gap was actually reduced to just one minute entering the last hour of racing. “We knew that the speed was going to increase a lot with fifty kilometres to go, before the sequence of climbs,” explained Paul Penhoët. “We had a good position with the boys, which was important since the roads were quite narrow.” “At the strategic point, Lidl-Trek made a big push and Pedersen showed he was the strongest approaching the summit,” said Yvon. “We tried to hold on as much as possible. Thibaud told us that he was around twentieth place, but some riders cracked in front of him, and he had to make a big effort to close the gaps. That’s why he missed a little something to follow the best. He could have done better by being higher in the peloton, but there were two teams in position and it’s not always easy. I think he had the legs to be in the counterattack. He is improving on this type of effort, and it’s promising.”
“We start again with a clean slate”, Paul Penhoët
At the top, three men broke away with six others chasing, and Thibaud Gruel found himself in a small bunch of about twenty riders together with Paul Penhoët, back in business. “I fell ill after the Étoile de Bessèges and I suffered a big backlash yesterday”, said Paul. “I couldn’t push the pedals, I was empty, and I was a bit down last night. We had no idea what my body would be capable of doing today. William [Green] told me to take it easy if I didn’t feel it, while giving me free role if I felt good. I wasn’t feeling great at the start of the stage, but it was better at the end. It’s reassuring after what I experienced yesterday.” Also, the group including the two men from Groupama-FDJ caught part of the breakaway ten kilometres from the finish, yet not Mads Pedersen and Matej Mohoric, who went on to fight for victory in Manosque. After a twisty final, and a last kilometre at 4%, the Dane grabbed the victory while Paul Penhoët and Thibaud Gruel sprinted to sixth and eighth sixteen seconds later. “I wasn’t confident at all after yesterday’s stage, so I didn’t push too hard to position for the sprint,” said Paul. “I even told Thibaud to do his own sprint. In the end, I was among those who had the most energy in the group. I could have finished third or fourth with better positioning but given the conditions I was in 24 hours ago, I’m just satisfied that yesterday was an “off day” and that we can start again with a clean slate”.
While taking stock of the day, Yvon Caër agreed with his sprinter. “We were in the mix,” he commented. “It’s a pretty satisfying day, and the good news is that Paul is back in shape and has proven that he wasn’t at his true level yesterday. For his confidence, it’s a good thing that he was able to sprint today. We know that he’ll be up there tomorrow. As for Thibaud, given that there were no splits in the sprint, his bonus second taken yesterday allows him to keep his seventh position in the general classification. However, it is quite fragile because there is a large group of riders who are just one second behind him.” On Sunday, the Tour de la Provence will conclude in Arles after 190 mostly flat kilometres.
