The breakaway prevailed on stage 1 of the Tour de la Provence as Arnaud Tendon (Van Rysel-Roubaix) oupaced Mattia Bais (Polti-VisitMalta) to the line just metres ahead of the peloton in Saint-Victoret.
The two breakaway survivors clung onto a diminishing lead in the closing kilometres of the soaking wet 163km stage from Marseille, holding off a charge led from behind by Ineos Grenadiers to contest the finish among themselves.
It was 23-year-old Swiss racer Tendon who had the strongest kick to the line to score the first win of his career and with it the race lead. Behind Bais in second place, Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost) led home the peloton, two seconds off the winner.
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The break of the day, consisting of five riders, went clear with 138km to go of the 163km stage, with Tendona and Bais joined out front by Jonas Walton (CIC Pro Cycling Academy), David Zanutta (XDS-Astana Development Team), and Bailey McDonald (Novo Nordisk).
Arnaud Tendon leads original breakaway of five, which got away in opening 25km (Image credit: Getty Images)
It was a miserable day to be out front as rain hit the race with under 90km to go, but then again it was miserable in the peloton, too.
There was little to report in the mid-section of the stage as the WorldTour teams controlled the peloton and the gap to the break, preparing for a likely sprint finish.
Bais led the break over the second-category Col de Mazauges to take five mountain points and with it the first mountains jersey of the race. Three more points at the Pas de la Couelle only saw his lead more secure overnight.
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There would be no real movement until the race hit the 58km to go marker, at which point Zanutta and McDonald dropped from the breakaway on the Couelle. Three men remained out front, battling against the odds to stay away.
Behind them, the likes of Ineos Grenadiers, EF Education-EasyPost, and Lidk-Trek put in the work to bring down the gap. At 20km to go, it hit 40 seconds, but then it plateaued.
Five kilometres later, the three leaders held a 45-second advantage, though Walton was struggling to hang in the wheels.
The Canadian would drop back with 12km to go, leaving Tendon and Bais to try and hold off the might of the charging peloton behind.
They held their advantage on the wet run into the finishing town, however, hitting the final 10km with a 20-second lead.
The seconds slowly ticked away, only to the benefit of the breakaway riders as the peloton just weren't closing it down quickly enough. As Tendon and Bais raced towards the flamme rouge of the final kilometre, they retained a 10-second advantage.
EF Education-EasyPost Luke Lamperti was the first rider in the peloton across the line in the chase, two seconds back (Image credit: Getty Images)
In the end, that was enough for them to hang on and go for it at the finish line – only just. In a man vs man battle for the win, it was Tendon who had enough left in the tank to strike out in the closing metres and cross the line first.
Tendon holds a five-second GC advantage over Bais heading into stage 2 of the three-day race, while Lamperti is third overall at 11 seconds down.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
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