SaintesMariesdelaMer, France: Italian sprinter Elia Viviani won stage one of cycling’s Tour de la Provence on Friday after his Ineos team split the peloton in a headwind.
The 151.8km run to the pretty seaside town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer was marked by its strong, blustery winds and sprinter Viviani’s first triumph since returning to the British team after five years away.
A powerful Ineos engine room featuring Welsh road captain Luke Rowe and Thursday’s prologue winner Filippo Ganna broke the peloton halfway through the race.
In the run towards Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, famous for its May pilgrimage of the Camargue region’s travelling community, Inoes maintained the gap before they teed up Viviani as Rowe led out the sprint.
“Luke did a fantastic job, ” said Viviani, who raced with Sky from 2015-2017.
“It wasn’t easy but we had our tactics, ” he said.
“I’m really happy to be back at Ineos Grenadiers.”
Italian 25-year-old Ganna holds on to the overall lead while local hero and world champion Julian Alaphilippe is breathing down his neck in second.
Olympic champion Richard Carapaz of Ecuador is also on the race with Ineos, and with fellow climber Richie Porte on the roster one of these two should be in the mix for the overall win.
Saturday’s 187km run from the Arles arena to Manosque features three categorised climbs.
But Sunday’s decider between Manosque and the Montagne de Lure ends with a monster 17km ascent with several sections above 10 per cent gradient.