Mondory heads AG2R La Mondiale one-two finish

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AG2R-La Mondiale's Lloyd Mondory claimed his first victory since 2008 on the second stage of the Etoile de Besseges. Mondory took the sprint ahead of his teammate Anthony Ravard and Team Type 1's Aldo Ino Illesic.

With the time bonus, Ravard, who was second on the previous day's stage, took over the race lead from stage one winner Yahueni Hutarovich (FDJ).

"It's great! This victory is so unexpected that I did not even have time to raise my arms," said Mondory. "It's a great reward after yesterday where Anthony missed the victory by so little. Today, the instructions were the same as before the first stage and the whole team worked to give Anthony a chance to win. I had to take him to the final but I lost sight of him 1.5 km before the line.

"I wondered if I should make my own sprint or not, but Anthony was finally relieved that it was me who got to the line."

Ravard was frustrated to come second two stages in a row, but he said he was happy for his teammate. "What's funny is that in the sprint, I didn't see it was Lloyd who was coming up, and I gently shut the door on him ... But that did not stop him from going on to win."

The leader's jersey came as a consolation, but Ravard is uncertain whether he can hold the lead until the end. He holds a two second advantage on Mondory and Hutarovich, but said Saturday's stage in Alès will be the decisive day.

Regardless of the outcome, Ravard said his season has started on a good note. "This year my goal is to win a classic race and also participate in Tour de France, which I've never ridden. To get there, there's nothing like being in a good rhythm early in the season."

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