Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Cycling News
Cycling News
Sport
James Moultrie

Tour de la Provence: Mads Pedersen dominates 5km Marseille prologue TT

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in action in the time trial (Image credit: Getty Images)
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) went deep in the opening prologue time trial (Image credit: Getty Images)
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) close-up (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ryan Gibbins showed off his new South African champion's jersey at the Tour de la Provence (Image credit: Getty Images)
Sam Bennett impressed on his debut with Decathlon AG2R at the Tour de la Provence (Image credit: Getty Images)
Jakob Söderqvist of the Lidl-Trek development team was second in the Tour de la Provence TT (Image credit: Getty Images)
Mads Pedersen occasionally kept his head down during the Tour de la Provence TT (Image credit: Getty Images)
Bruno Armirial finished fourth in the Tour de la Provence TT (Image credit: Getty Images)
A name to remember emerged at the Tour de la Provence: Jakob Söderqvist (Image credit: Getty Images)
Mads Pedersen pulled on the first Tour de la Provence leader's jersey (Image credit: Getty Images)

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) continued his successful early season with victory in the prologue time trial of the Tour de la Provence in Marseille.

The Dane powered through the 5km coastal route in a massive gear, spinning a 60-tooth chainring, with a blistering winning time of 5:19 at an average speed of 56.3km/h.

Stepping up from the Lidl-Trek development team, Jakob Söderqvist finished second just five seconds behind his teammate, with young Brit Sam Watson (Groupama-FDJ) in third.

Pedersen takes the first leader’s jersey ahead of his Swedish teammate but the hilly third stage and bad weather may prevent him from repeating his overall success from Etoile de Bessèges.

“Good start to Provence. I think we were pretty happy with me in first and Jakob [Söderqvist] second, so happy days,” said Pedersen after the stage.

“Tomorrow is another stage, it looks like it's going to be rain and pretty tough with a lot of climbing up and down. Of course, we try to aim for another win and we have a strong team here, that’s why we’re here.

Watson was leading the early stages of the out and back time trial along the Marseille coast until Pedersen powered across the line and set the benchmark too high for the remaining starters.

Only former French national time trial champion Bruno Armirail was likely to challenge the winning time of Pedersen, entering the final few hundred metres in the green, but he would drop to fourth at the line in a time of 5:30, ten seconds slower than the former road race world champion.

Other sprinters present put in solid performances on the 5km route including Sam Bennett during his first race for new team Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. The Irishman rode a 5:31 putting him 12 seconds down on Pedersen.

Friday’s second stage should provide a chance for Pedersen to test his legs on the 157.2km route from Aix-en-Provence to Martigues, on the French coast north of Marseille, with two categorised climbs and an undulating parcours preceding the finish.

Results

Results powered by FirstCycling

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.