After claiming overall victory at the Tour de la Provence on Sunday, Iván Sosa is set to continue his season at next week’s UAE Tour, which kicks-off the 2021 WorldTour calendar.
Speaking after the conclusion of the race in Salon-de-Provence, Sosa reiterated that his main objective of 2021 would be riding the Giro d’Italia in tandem with Ineos Grenadiers teammate Egan Bernal.
Sosa made light work of the lower slopes of Mont Ventoux, soloing to victory at Chalet Reynard on Saturday, while Bernal controlled the chasers behind to take second place on the stage.
The Colombian duo were joined on the final podium by world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), who placed second overall, 18 seconds behind Sosa.
“It’s going to be a race to remember because there were riders of a very high level on the podium. That’s something very nice for me,” Sosa said after the podium ceremony.
“This gives me a lot of confidence for the future. The idea is to keep working so that we can be up there with the best.”
Sosa, who is in his third season at Ineos Grenadiers, is now due to race the UAE Tour, which takes place from February 21-27. Filippo Ganna and Adam Yates are also expected to line out in the United Arab Emirates for Ineos.
“I think the next race will be the UAE Tour, we’re looking with the team,” said Sosa, who confirmed to reporters that he is unlikely to take in the double ascent of Mont Ventoux in this summer’s Tour de France.
“No, I think this year, I’d like to go to the Giro with Egan.”
Ineos announced earlier this month that Bernal would lead the team at the Giro, which gets underway in Turin on May 8. The 2019 Tour de France winner is set to be joined in the Ineos line-up by Sosa, Daniel Martínez and Filippo Ganna. 2020 Giro winner Tao Geoghegan Hart is due to ride the Tour de France.
23-year-old Sosa has raced in two Grand Tours since joining Ineos from Androni-Sidermec at the start of the 2019 season. He placed 44th overall at the 2019 Giro and he finished 62nd at last year’s Vuelta a España, where he rode in support of Richard Carapaz.
The Tour de la Provence marked the fourth stage race victory of Sosa's career to date. He won the Adriatica Ionica Race in 2018 and then claimed the Vuelta a Burgos in both 2018 and 2019. His lone victory of 2020 was a stage win at the Vuelta a Burgos atop Lagunas de Neila.
