Tour du Var: Woods takes stage 2 victory

Image 1 of 23

Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) used his superb late-effort ability to distance his rivals and win stage 2 to Fayence. 

The Canadian lined out the peloton on the steep climb and managed to open a gap to win alone with his arms in the air. It was Woods’ first victory with Israel Start-Up Nation. 

Stage 1 winner Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) finished two seconds behind but that was not enough to hold onto the overall race lead. 

Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) was third and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) was fourth after the British team lined-out the peloton in the final kilometres.

“It all worked out for me,” Woods said. “My legs hurt but the team did a fantastic job protecting me. It was my first race with the team but it went perfectly; now we want to keep the jersey." 

Woods pulled on the yellow leader’s jersey and will try to protect his one-second race lead on Mollema during the final stage that climbs the Col de la Madone near Nice before the finish at Blausasc.

“Tomorrow will be different and be hard. The Mandone is a hard climb but we have a strong team; we’ll do everything we can to keep it.”

How it unfolded

The 168.9km stage was always going to be a hard day out with different rolling loops around the countryside. 

The early break of the day formed after 30km with seven riders, including Canada’s Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech). Also there were Biniam Ghirmay (Delko), Clement Berthet (Delko), Victor de la Parte (Total Direct Energie), Andrea Mifsud (Swiss Racing Academy), Cyril Barthe (B&B Hotels p/b KTM) and Dylan Kowalski (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole). 

The peloton let them open a four-minute lead with Trek-Segafredo riding the tempo to keep them under control. However no other teams really helped the chase, cautious for the hard finale on the circuits south of Fayence.

Ghirmay made sure he was first to the top of the two categorised climbs to secure the mountains jersey post stage. He was later dropped as were other riders with the pace for the stage staying high. 

The stage route passed the Mur de Fayence climb twice before the finish, giving the peloton a chance to see the climb and plan their strategy for the final ascent to the finish. 

Trek stayed confident, trusting Mollema’s ability, while Ineos lined up behind them, with only Tom Pidcock not riding up front.

Inside the final 10 kilometres and after an exchange of opinions, Van Baarle and Rohan Dennis did two long turns on the front of the peloton to show who was in charge. The other teams preferred to watch and wait for the final climb to the finish. 

The break fought hard to hold off the chase, with Houle and Barthe of B&B Hotels giving all they had. However with two kilometres to go, it was finally gruppo compatto and time to fight for the stage victory. 

AG2R rode as a unit and worked for Greg Van Avermaet, while Woods, Narváez and Gaudu were well placed up front. 

Woods moved to the front as the final 500 metres began. Others tried to match him and hold him but he gradually opened gaps in the line as he pushed himself and others to their limits. 

Woods led by several bike lengths as he swung round a late hairpin and then he surged to the line to celebrate an important and significant first win with Israel Start-Up Nation. 

Mollema came from behind and closed some of the gap, but it was not enough to stop Woods from taking the yellow jersey. 

With no time bonuses awarded at stage finishes, the gap in the general classification remained close, with Sunday’s final stage to decide everything. 

A selection is likely to be made on the Col de la Madone but a group will surely form on the descent, with the sprint to the line likely deciding the overall race winner. Mollema has to try to distance Woods on the Madone and his local training roads close to his Montecarlo home, while Woods has to ensure he finishes in the same time as the Dutchman.