2022 Tour de La Provence Stage 2 Results & Recap
Stage 2 of the 2022 Tour de La Provence is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Bryan Coquard conquers the second stage of the Tour de la Provence 2022. The French sprinter of Cofidis managed to resist the various roughness that selected the group during the day and then won the sprint on the slightly uphill arrival of Manosque, obtaining thus the second success in this beginning of the season. Second place for world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) ahead of a surprising Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), who threw himself into the fray and was able to take a nice placement, while managing to defend the race leader jersey. On the eve of the final stage, which will propose the uphill arrival of Montegne de Lure, the world champion of the tests against the time, however, has only 2 ″ ahead of Alaphilippe and 14 ″ over Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies). are a succession of shots and counter-shots, with many riders and teams interested in entering the breakaway of the day. After the first few attempts cancel each other out, it is Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies) and Alexis Gougeard (B&B Hotels-KTM) who kick off the day's attempt. The two manage to gain a margin of 15 seconds, which rapidly dilate, while behind them are Evaldas Siskevicius (Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole) and Tony Hurel (Saint Michel-Auber 93) to move, followed in turn by Kévin Besson (Nice Metropole Cote d'Azur). The group, on the other hand, decides that it is time to catch their breath, leaving the quintet to regroup after 30 kilometers of racing, with an advantage of 3'45 ”at that point. After being kept under control in the first hour of the race, the fugitives manage to conquer another minute in the approach to the first GPM of the day. the pacemaker margin to touch five minutes. At that point, having entered the long final circuit, the riders of the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl also contribute to the pursuit of the five forwards, who pass for the first time from the Manosque finish line (but not on the finish line), at -64 from the conclusion, with exactly 4 'of advantage. On the subsequent climb of the Col de la Mort d'Imbert the comeback of the group continues, but it is above all in the section following the GPM, conquered by Ourselin, that the work of the pursuers allows us to get closer to the fugitives. in fact, the platoon moves to 2'20 ”from the leading squad, a gap that further decreases at the beginning of the third and final ascent of the day, the Col de l'Aire dei Masco. As soon as the climb begins, Siskevicius loses contact in front, followed shortly after by Hurel, but the group also begins to lose pieces following the increase in pace imposed by Cofidis, and among the victims of this acceleration there is also Elia Viviani ( Ineos Grenadiers). Approaching the summit, the three surviving pacemakers are left in two, as Besson is no longer able to follow the rhythm of Ourselin and Gougeard, who climb over the hill with a one-minute lead on a fairly small platoon, made up of about 50 runners. the two attackers still maintain 50 ″ on their pursuers, but 17 kilometers from the finish Gougeard decides to break the delay and detaches Ourselin, attempting the solitary undertaking. While the former companion of adventure is reabsorbed by the group, the standard bearer of B&B Hotels-KTM manages to resist the comeback of the platoon for several kilometers, at the head of which men of different formations alternate, with the Cofidis and the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl once again among the most active. Despite a strenuous resistance, however, in the end Gougeard is forced to raise the white flag, being caught just under two kilometers from the finish line.
Shortly after, it is Pierre-Luc Perichon (Cofidis) who tries to surprise everyone; the Frenchman manages to take a couple of seconds ahead, but it is still a Quick-Step man, now within the last kilometer, who closes on him to bring Julian Alaphilippe to the sprint. To launch the sprint, however, is Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), who is jumped by Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) 150 meters from the finish, with the Frenchman who manages to resist Alaphilippe's comeback and goes to win the victory in front of the world champion and to Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).
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