Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) celebrated his first professional victory after securing a solo stage 3 win and the overall title at the three-day Tour de l'Ain.
The Belgian started the third and final stage just two seconds behind Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) in the GC standings, but he made his winning attack over the last climb of the day, hors categorie Col du Grand Colombier, and soloed to victory in Belley.
A disappointed Prodhomme could not react to Uijtdebroeks' searing attack and crossed the finish line 3:05 later, taking second place on the stage and dropping to second place in the final overall classification.
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Uijtdebroeks's teammate, Ben Tulett, who was part of a chase group of four that crossed the line 5:33 back, finished in third place on the day and third overall.
“This is incredible,” Uijtdebroeks said after the finish. “The past few months have been tough, so it feels amazing to come back like this. I was already feeling good in San Sebastián, but this is truly fantastic. It was a dream of mine to win a race this year. That was my goal: to learn how to win. To actually do it now is just amazing.
“The team was incredibly strong again today. On the penultimate climb, we pushed the pace hard, which left us with a small group going into the Colombier. Ben did a great job after that, setting things up so I could launch my attack and finish it off.”
How it unfolded
The third and final day of racing at the Tour de l'Ain was a challenging 130.4km from Plateau d'Hauteville to Belley, and with three categorised climbs: category 3 Col de Richmond, category 1 Col de la Biche and hors category Col du Grand Colombier, it was a day marked for the climbs and the GC contenders.
The peloton remained intact with 95km to go, but as the field approached the day's first ascent over the Col de Richmond, a group of seven riders emerged that included Kenny Molly (Van Rysel Roubaix), Sergio Samitier (Cofidis), Lorenzo Germani (Groupama-FDJ), Théo Delacroix and Morné Van Niekerk (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93), David de la Cruz (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), and Fabien Doubey (Team TotalEnergies).
By the time they reached the slopes of the Col de la Biche, the break was reduced to three as Delacroix, Van Niekerk, Doubey, Molly, and Theiler were distanced from the front riders. De la Cruz, Germani, and Samitier were soon reeled back into the main field as the race exploded and the peloton split up the climb.
A new selection formed on the Biche ascent as Uijtdebroeks raced over the top with his teammate Tulett and overall race leader Prodhomme.
Also joining the group were Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis), Louis Rouland (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Geoffrey Bouchard (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).
Uijtdebroeks, who started the day just two seconds behind Prodhomme in the overall classification, made a searing attack on the Col du Grand Colombier with 52km to go, causing the breakaway to split apart behind him as they struggled to hold his wheel.
Halfway up the 15km ascent, his efforts paid off, gaining more than one minute on a chasing Prodhomme, and increasing to 1:37 over the top.
He descended and then pushed on toward the finish with his lead increasing to three minutes as he raced under the banner indicating the final kilometre and all but sealing both the stage win and overall title, his first two pro wins in the same day.
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