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2025 Classic Var (1.1)

2nd edition: Friday, February 21, 2025

Le Luc - Fayence. 164 km

Christian Scaroni is the day's winner. Photo: Sprint Cycling.

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The race: Here's the report from winner Christian Scaroni's Team XDS-Astana.

Christian Scaroni secured the first victory of the 2025 season for XDS Astana Team. Today, Scaroni claimed a brilliant win in the French one-day race, the Classic Var.

With the support of Nicola Conci, Scaroni positioned himself well on the climb in the final kilometer. Then, the XDS Astana Team rider launched a powerful acceleration, which led him to victory.

“The finale was quite chaotic, as almost the entire group, about a hundred riders, reached the final kilometers together, so maintaining a good position was crucial. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I was ready to give my all on the final climb. My legs felt great, and I had the strength for the final acceleration. Nicola Conci, with whom I’ve raced together before, did an amazing job, bringing me to the perfect position for the finale. He set a fantastic pace, putting us in front at the right moment. I waited for someone to attack first, which happened 500 meters before the finish.

"Then, I counterattacked just before the last turn to enter it first. I gave 100%, accelerating before the turn and continuing to push immediately after, creating a small gap. I felt everything was going perfectly and that our team’s first victory of the season was within reach. I’m incredibly happy – the team worked flawlessly, and I managed to finish the job with a win. Additionally, this marks our first success on the new X-LAB bikes. It’s an amazing bike, very fast and highly responsive to power accelerations, and our results at the start of the season prove it. A huge thanks to the entire team and our partners for their support”, – said Christian Scaroni.

“The team worked exceptionally well today, and we were fully focused on achieving the best possible result in this race. Unfortunately, even before the start, we lost one rider – Simone Velasco couldn’t participate due to illness, so we had to slightly adjust our initial plan. Also, Clément Champoussin suffered a puncture 6 km before the finish, which forced him to chase back and cost him his position in the group. He was ready for a strong result today but had a bit of bad luck. Despite these setbacks, everything went very well, and our riders reached the final kilometers in front. Christian Scaroni had been waiting for this victory, his first with our team, and his joy was immense. He truly deserved this success, especially after such a strong start to the season”, – added Bruno Cenghialta, Sports Director of XDS Astana Team.

Another XDS Astana Team rider, Clément Champoussin, finished in seventh place.

Complete results:

164 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.135 km/hr

Course profile:

2024 Classic Var profile