21-year-old Brit Noah Hobbs arrived at the Tour de l’Avenir with a reputation as one of the best sprinters of his generation. The EF Education development team rider, who had previously been with Groupama FDJ, confirmed this impression by clearly dominating the bunch sprint that concluded the longest stage (188.6 km) of the race, which did not see much action.
Dutchman Stef Köning did lead a long solo breakaway, reinforced in the final by Mexico’s Prieto, but the teams of the main favorites left little hope for the breakaway to succeed.
A versatile rider who also excels on the track, particularly in team pursuit and endurance disciplines (scratch, American, omnium), Noah Hobbs adds another prestigious victory to his already impressive collection, which includes a stage win in the Peace Race, three stages in the Tour de Bretagne and an overall victory in the Tour d’Alentejo this season alone.
At the same time, he donned the green Biofioul jersey for the points classification.
The yellow CIC jersey was defended as it should be by the French team. Leader Paul Seixas even intervened personally when the peloton briefly split 10 km from the finish, and the Frenchman closed the gap with apparent ease. “As I haven’t raced much, it was an opportunity to see how I felt at the end of a race…” he commented with great serenity.
The second stage, which is shorter (136 km) between Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise (Rhône) and Vitry-en-Charollais (Saône-et-Loire), does not present any major difficulties.
