Mads Pedersen strikes a double blow. The Danish Lidl Trek rider won the second stage of the CIC Tour de la Provence, the 169.8 km Forcalquier - Manosque route, and conquered the leader's jersey in the general classification, which will conclude tomorrow. Thanks to a brilliant move, the Dane beat Matej Mohoric by three seconds, while Fred Wright, also from Bahrain Victorious like Mohoric, led the main group 15 seconds behind the winner. The best Italian of the day was Marco Tizza, who finished eleventh.

After physical issues last week that forced him to withdraw from Bessèges and missing out on victory yesterday, Mads Pedersen was eager to score his first seasonal victory in 2025. Having won the same stage last year, Mads started the day as the favorite. The pre-race plan was for Mads to sprint and win the stage, but races rarely go like a PlayStation game, so Mads followed his instinct and decided to attack from a distance. His first attempt found reluctant companions, but on the second try, he found himself ahead with Matej Mohoric, and the two went all the way to the finish line where Pedersen left no room for his rival.

"We wanted to make the stage difficult uphill. Arkea started from far away and after a few kilometers we decided to accelerate and go with everything we had. With 3 km to the top, Bauke had finished his work and I saw the moment to go. The two guys with me didn't want to collaborate, so I gained some bonus seconds and then we returned to the group. I immediately understood that Mohoric and Fred Wright would attack in turns, but fortunately Skuijns and I were there to cover both. An ideal situation for us. Matej said a few kilometers out that he was cooked, but you never know, you're never sure until you cross the finish line. The last 40 km weren't easy for any of us. This victory is a good sign for the upcoming challenges. It's a confidence boost not just for me, but for the entire team."

FINISH ORDER

1. PEDERSEN Mads LIDL-TREK in 3:53:53
2. MOHORIC Matej BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS +0:03
3. WRIGHT Fred BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS +0:15
4. GODON Dorian DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM +0:15
5. VAN DEN BERG Marijn EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST +0:15
6. PENHOET Paul GROUPAMA-FDJ +0:15
7. KIRSCH Alex LIDL-TREK +0:15
8. GRUEL Thibaud GROUPAMA-FDJ +0:15
9. MOLLEMA Bauke LIDL-TREK +0:15
10. GARCIA PIERNA Raul ARKEA-B&B HOTELS +0:15
11. TIZZA Marco WAGNER BAZIN WB +0:15
12. KOPECKÝ Matytáš TEAM NOVO NORDISK +0:15
13. BENETEAU Lucas ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93 +0:15
14. FERRON Valentin COFIDIS +0:15
15. TOUZE Damien COFIDIS +0:15

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