Ludovico Crescioli won as a finisher on the Hauteville plateau at the expense of the very angry German Theiler. Dane Henrik Pedersen retains the CIC yellow jersey just before the Alps.
The long but steady climb up to the plateau d’Hauteville in the Ain region gave no real clues as to the climbing abilities of the world’s best hopefuls taking part in the Tour de l’Avenir. On the other hand, it compromised the chances of the day’s breakaway of seven riders, including Frenchman Pierre Thierry, whose last survivors capitulated on the threshold of the final ten kilometres.
On the other hand, the finish in Hauteville smiled on the puncheurs, with Germany’s Ole Theiler coming out under the final five kilometres, followed by Italy’s Ludovico Crescioli, who manoeuvred quite skilfully to win the head-to-head at the end of the splendid false finish.
The Italian gave a roar of satisfaction at the line, while the German expressed his anger at an opponent he felt had over-finished.
This conclusion didn’t change the general classification (even if Belgian Tim Rex dropped back to 4th place due to a 20-second penalty for sheltering behind a vehicle), as Danish yellow jersey Henrik Pedersen finished in the middle of the peloton, settled seconds later by Briton James Matthew Brennan.
And here come the Alps! The stay in Savoie – Haute Tarentaise before the final stage in the Italian Piedmont next weekend begins with a very short (70.7 km) but intense stage between Peisey-Vallandry and La Rosière. The finish in the centre of the Haute Tarentaise resort will be judged at an altitude of 1873 metres at the end of a 17km climb, preceded by two major difficulties, the côte des Chapelles (2nd cat.) and the montée des Arcs (1st cat.). A high mountain in a nutshell.
At the end of the day, in the wake of the men’s U23 finish, the second edition of the Tour de l’Avenir for women will begin with a 2.1km prologue uphill from the centre of the resort to the golf course at La Rosière.
