Double win for Wellens on Tour du Var stage 2

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Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) stamped his authority on the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, easily out-sprinting climber Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) to move into the race lead. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) was third from the chasing group.

Wellens had to bury himself to chase down a nine-second gap to the Colombian, who attacked over the Col d'Eze.

But the Belgian used his power to reel in Quintana with 3km to go and then, after a brief respite, helped to keep the chasing group at bay.

Wellens was always going to be the favourite over the diminutive climber, but while Quintana kept pace with the Lotto Soudal rider he could not come around.

"It was definitely not an easy stage but just like yesterday I felt really good and with the way the team worked tirelessly, it was just a joy to race like this," Wellens said after his win. "They brought me towards the foot of the Col d’Eze just perfectly.

"I started the climb in ideal position but when Quintana launched his attack, I didn’t have an immediate answer. I realised he went a little too fast so I needed to pace my effort and I could eventually make up ground a bit later.

"To be honest, I was struggling on the plateau just after the summit but when I finally caught Quintana, I think that I broke his morale a bit. I knew the finish all too well because I live just a couple of kilometres away in Monaco."

Wellens moves into the race lead on the same time as Quintana, with Madouas third in the overall standings at 26 seconds.

The final stage is a mad 113km dash from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Blausasc with three classified climbs, the Col d'Eze, Col de Berre les Alpes and the final climb, the Col de Saint Roche topping out 33.5km to go.

How it unfolded

It was a brisk start for the short stage 2 of Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var in Puget-Théniers, cloudy and 8.5°C for a quick 149km of racing to La Turbie.

With four classified climbs, including the Col d'Eze, well known for its position in the final stage of Paris-Nice, cresting with 7km to go, riders were keen to get into the day's breakaway.

EF Education-EasyPost were particularly aggressive in the first kilometres, and after an attack-filled first 15km, Jonas Rutsch played the winning hand, sparking the move with Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), Lilian Calmejane (AG2R Citroën), and locals Jonathan Couanon and Maxime Urruty (Nice Métropole-Côte d'Azur).

Mark Donovan (Team DSM) tried to bridge across a 20-second gap but was not successful, and it was touch-and-go whether the breakaway could stay clear until 20km of racing when the peloton finally let off the gas.

The five leaders gained a maximum of three minutes but the advantage stabilised at 2:30 after the first hour of racing. Askey took the first sprint at Coursegoules after 49km just before the breakaway ascended the category 2 Col de Vence at kilometre 57.

Couanon claimed the maximum points over Calmejane and Rutsch but the peloton was closing in steadily.

By the Côte d'Aspremont, after 93km raced, the breakaway had only 30 seconds with race leader Caleb Ewan pulling for Lotto Soudal teammate Tim Wellens.

With 50km to go, the breakaway was nearly caught but a fall by Victor Lafay (Cofidis) slightly slowed the chase. Rutsch, bombing the descent, gained a slight advantage on his companions as first Askey then Couanon were caught by the chasing bunch.

Rutsch, Calmejane and Urruty kept going but Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) put in a surge and shut them down inside 45km to go.

Lotto Soudal and Cofidis led to the base of the Col de Châteauneuf de Contes. AG2R Citroën came forward before the summit but Ewan himself led the peloton over the KOM and on the descent, showing off his Milan-San Remo legs.

Mikaël Cherel (AG2R Citroën) had a crash near the front of the peloton on the technical descent and looked to be exiting the race, but just ahead, Ewan continued to keep himself and his teammates safe at the front.

Ewan shattered the peloton by descending like a madman, coming to the flats with just Wellens and Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) on his wheel with 23km to go. It was too soon to go alone, and Ewan waited for a chasing bunch with his teammates to rejoin.

On the Col d'Eze, Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) launched a move early on the climb and was chased by Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Wellens, with Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Trek-Segafredo) and teammate Bauke Mollema working to close the gap.

Quintana led Wellens onto the descent by nine seconds with the rest of the chasers at 30 seconds. The Belgian closed down the gap with 3km to go, setting up a cagey finale.