Spanish cyclist Cristian Rodriguez from the Arkéa-B & B Hotels team won the Mercan’Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes this Monday after a long breakaway. He succeeded Lenny Martinez from Cannes, who was absent from this 5th edition.
Cristian Rodriguez crossed the finish line alone in Valberg, on Monday, May 26th, at the end of the 152 kilometers of the Mercan’Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes. The Spaniard broke away about fifty kilometers from the finish, on the first slopes of the Col de la Couillole. No other rider managed to catch up with him.
The race, which served as the 13th round of the Coupe de France FDJ, was moved up in the calendar due to the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice. This change reduced the number of teams at the start: only 11 teams lined up at the start in Puget-Théniers.
The course remained unchanged, notably with the sequence of climbs of La Colmiane, the Col de la Couillole, and the finish in Valberg. Conditions were favorable for climbers.
Cristian Rodriguez, a member of the Arkéa-B & B Hotels team, quickly widened the gap after his attack. He maintained more than a minute’s lead throughout the end of the race, despite the vain attempts of his pursuers to catch him.
First European victory for Cristian Rodriguez
At 30 years old, Cristian Rodriguez achieves his first victory in Europe. He had not raised his arms in triumph since the Tour du Rwanda in 2021. At the finish line, he was nearly two minutes ahead of his compatriot José Félix Parra (Equipo Kern Pharma). Ivan Sosa, also from the Spanish Kern Pharma team, completed the podium.
Only 35 riders crossed the finish line. The first Frenchman, Victor Guernalec (Arkéa-B & B Hotels), finished in sixth place, more than three minutes behind the winner. For the Nice team, the race was tough, as only Jaakko Hänninen crossed the line for the Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur team. The Finn ranked 11th in the event, a little over six minutes behind the winner.
Cristian Rodriguez succeeds Lenny Martinez, who was absent this year. The Mercan’Tour Classic thus crowns a fifth different winner in five editions. It maintains its spot on the Coupe de France calendar, still led by Clément Venturini (Arkéa-B & B Hotels). The next round will be on August 17th during the Polynormande.
