Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won the 2025 Tour de la Provence after the peloton caught a late and determined attack in the final kilometre on the road to Arles in the South of France, sparking a hectic sprint finish.
Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) came late to win the stage, avoiding the chaos behind him. Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) was second and Alexander Konijn (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur) was third
Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech) appeared to hit a speed bump in the road and lost control of his bike just 100 metres from the finish, sparking a high-speed crash amongst the sprinters. Israel-Premier Tech said Ackermann suffered road rash and superficial wounds but did not suffer any fractures.
Pedersen avoided the crash and finished ninth and so secured overall victory.
"It was a good day, it was a fast day in the peloton. A strong breakaway got away late in the race and it was hard to catch them back. But we and other teams managed it. We ended up in the sprint we wanted. We didn't get the result but we still got the GC, so all is good," Pedersen explained.
"I think it was Ackermann who crashed and when he went down, of course, you slam on the brakes, you don't want to go down yourself. That destroyed the sprint for me but I'm happy I didn't go down.
"I still have some work to do, I'm not at my best yet. There's still two months until Paris-Roubaix."
How it unfolded
The final stage of the Tour de La Provence was the flattest of the race, offering a long day and 190km in the saddle.
Strangely, the early attacks were all chased down, with the peloton together even after a fast opening 70km of racing. It was a sign the finish would be fast and furious.
A slowing in the peloton inspired an attack and suddenly Raùl Garcia Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hôtels), Samuel Leroux (TotalEnergies), Cériel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), Daniel Smajkic Årnes (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Matisse Julien (CIC U Nantes) and Damien Girard (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur) got away. They quickly opened a two-minute lead.
Garcia Pierna was an overall threat and so the peloton kept them under control. However the attackers refused to give up hope and worked together in a slick and efficient paceline.
Garcia Pierna was eventually dropped in the final 10 kilometres, but the others pushed on, taking the fight to the peloton. Lidl-Trek did some of the work but with GC virtually assured they forced others to lead the chase and so Israel-Premier Tech and Unibet Tietema Rockets massed on the front in the final kilometres.
The gap to the attackers was still significant as they entered the final five kilometres but the peloton could see them and sensed an opportunity for another sprint show down.
Israel-Premier Tech had several sprint options but their hopes ended when Ackermann hit the speed bump in the final hundred metres and lost control of his bike. Others riders piled into him, disrupting the sprint.
Bennett was to the right and slightly ahead of the crash, giving him a clear run at the line. He did not hesitate and reproduced the speed that gave him victory on stage 1 in Saint-Victoret.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
-
Muscat Classic: Mauro Schmid beats Adam Yates to victory as Jayco AlUla play out perfect finale
Swiss champion helped to his first win in 2026 by selfless teammate Luke Plapp -
Colombian track star receives 18-month ban from UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal over three whereabouts failures in less than a year
Double Track World Championships silver medallist Martha Bayona sanctioned until October 2026 -
'It is better to fully recover first' – Jonas Vingegaard ruled out of planned season debut and face-off with Evenepoel at UAE Tour due to recent crash and illness
Dane crashed in training on January 26 after reportedly being tailed by an amateur rider on a descent in Spain -
The Polar H9 Heart Rate Sensor is our top value pick – It's just dropped by 37% to a best-ever price, in this Amazon cycling deal
The H9 covers all the bases in 'basic' HR tracking, and with £24 off, it's now even better value for money
