2019 Route d'Occitanie

Formerly Route du Sud - la Dépêche du Midi (2.1), France

43rd edition: June 20 - June 23, 2019

Route d'Occitanie podium history | 2018 edition | 2020 edition
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4

Map of the 2019 Route d'Occitanie

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Sunday, June 23: 4th & final stage, Gers – Astarac Arros en Gascogne (Clermont-Pouyguilleès), 154.8 km

Arnaud Demare wins the final stage.

Weather at the start-finish city of Clermont-Pouyguilleès at 1:50 PM, local time: 30C (86F), sunny, with the wind from the East-Northeast at 6 km/hr (4 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from GC winner Alejandro Valverde's Team Movistar:

Alejandro Valverde encountered no setbacks during the final stage of the 2019 Route d’Occitanie -155km into a rolling circuit in Clermont-Pouyguillès, with seven climbs of the Côte de Moncassin (1km at 6%)- as he claimed his first stagerace GC victory of the year, crowning a splendid return to racing after a two-month stop following a sacrum injury which sidelined him from the Giro d’Italia. Iván Sosa (INS, 2nd), his strongest rival at Saturday’s Queen stage, and Rigoberto Urán (EF1, 3rd) joined the Spaniard on the podium.

Supported brilliantly by Arcas, Pedrero, Castrillo, Rojas, Valls and Prades, the World Champion got safely through a sprinter-suited stage -Arnaud Démare (GFC) claiming his second win of the weekend- and took his second consecutive triumph in the Pyrenean race, an event which has seen the Movistar Team riders taking overall honours up to five times since 2011 -two with Alejandro, another two with Nairo Quintana (2012, 2016) and an additional win with Vasil Kiryienka (2011)-.

Valverde thus increases his pro victory account to 125 as he claims his 24th success into a stagerace -a record within active pro riders-, the 15th win of the year for a Movistar Team whose efforts now focus, next weekend, at the National Championships across Europe, the Spanish road race and time trial to take place in Bala’s home region Murcia.
Alejandro Valverde

“It’s been a really hard day because of the heat. Where I live it’s normal to experience these temperatures, yet today’s humidity was unreal. It’s been another stage of good work from the whole team: always at the front, always keeping things under control, and securing our final prize with the GC win. It’s always important to win, no matter where it is. Also, I’ve been fortunate to win wherever I’ve been in the past few years more than once, which makes me so proud. It’s a really long career for me so far, already 39 years old… I’m actually the oldest guy in here, it seems! (laughs)

“All in all, I’m so happy with this result. As I said a couple of days ago, it really shows that the rest and preparations I’ve had for the past two months after my injury has been just what I needed. Now we move on to the Spanish Championships and, most importantly, the Tour de France. My goal, as I’ve already stated, is supporting Nairo and Mikel so the team does the best possible job at the Tour. I won’t be the team leader by any means – my goal is to support them 100% and enjoy wearing the rainbow jersey at the Tour. Should I have to lose some time in the early stages to favour their chances, I’ll be glad to. It’ll surely help us opt to some good results later on, be more free to move during the race.”

Complete results:

154.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 43.010 km/hr

1	DEMARE Arnaud	Groupama-FDJ	3hr 35min 57sec
2	MODOLO Sacha	EF Education First	s.t.
3	SIMON Julien	Cofidis	s.t.
4	GONZALEZ David	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
5	ROJAS José Joaquín	Movistar	s.t.
6	MALDONADO Anthony	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
7	EL FARES Julien	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
8	CHERNETSKI Sergei	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
9	BRAVO Garikoitz	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
10	MATE Luis Angel	Cofidis	s.t.
11	DUNBAR Eddie	Team INEOS	s.t.
12	FEILLU Brice	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
13	ARANBURU Alex	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
14	VALVERDE Alejandro	Movistar	s.t.
15	AVILA Edwin	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
16	CARDIS Romain	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
17	FERNANDEZ Delio	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
18	ITURRIA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
19	RODRIGUEZ Oscar	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
20	BARCELO Fernando	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
21	RODRIGUEZ Cristián	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
22	CARBONI Giovanni	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
23	ROMANO Francesco	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
24	SOSA Iván Ramiro	Team INEOS	s.t.
25	ATAPUMA Darwin	Cofidis	s.t.
26	BENNETT Sean	EF Education First	s.t.
27	DUPONT Hubert	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
28	NIV Guy	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
29	GESBERT Elie	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
30	SENNI Manuel	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
31	URAN Rigoberto	EF Education First	s.t.
32	DOMBROWSKI Joe	EF Education First	s.t.
33	PICHON Laurent	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
34	PETERS Nans	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
35	GUILLONNET Adrien	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
36	GALLOPIN Tony	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
37	SIVAKOV Pavel	Team INEOS	s.t.
38	MADOUAS Valentin	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
39	LE CUNFF Kévin	St Michel-Auber 93	@ 48sec
40	AGUIRRE Hernán	Interpro Cycling	0:59
41	MORENO Javier	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
42	BIZKARRA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
43	TAARAMÄE Rein	Total Direct Energie	1:01
44	SINKELDAM Ramon	Groupama-FDJ	1:20
45	DERNIES Tom	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	1:25
46	MAURELET Flavien	St Michel-Auber 93	1:27
47	ROLLAND Pierre	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
48	HUDRY Florian	Interpro Cycling	1:35
49	COMBAUD Romain	Delko-Marseille Provence	1:43
50	COVILI Luca	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
51	CHEVRIER Clément	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
52	HOLLER Nikodemus	Bike Aid	s.t.
53	WHELAN James	EF Education First	s.t.
54	NAULEAU Bryan	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
55	DE ROSSI Lucas	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
56	TORRES Pablo	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
57	MOTTIER Justin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
58	BRESCIANI Michael	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
59	AMEZQUETA Julen	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
60	SAMITIER Sergio	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
61	THOMINET Camille	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
62	PAILLOT Yoann	St Michel-Auber 93	2:10
63	HOFLAND Moreno	EF Education First	s.t.
64	MOINARD Amaël	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
65	KNEES Christian	Team INEOS	2:25
66	VAN ENGELEN Adne	Bike Aid	s.t.
67	DUVAL Julien	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
68	TULIK Angelo	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
69	QUEMENEUR Perrig	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
70	PRADES Eduard	Movistar	s.t.
71	PARDILLA Sergio	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
72	VALLS Rafael	Movistar	s.t.
73	MULLER Patrick	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
74	BONNAMOUR Franck	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
75	PEDRERO Antonio	Movistar	s.t.
76	HENAO Sebastián	Team INEOS	s.t.
77	LE TURNIER Mathias	Cofidis	s.t.
78	ROSSETTO Stéphane	Cofidis	s.t.
79	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	3:27
80	GOLAS Michał	Team INEOS	3:28
81	ROCHAS Rémy	Delko-Marseille Provence	3:51
82	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
83	GENE Yohann	Total Direct Energie	4:28
84	PACHER Quentin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	4:41
85	JAUREGUI Quentin	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
86	GOUAULT Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
87	CARISEY Clément	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
88	VAN NIEKERK Morne	St Michel-Auber 93	4:44
89	VERMEULEN Emiel	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
90	TUREK Daniel	Israel Cycling Academy	4:50
91	PERRY Ben	Israel Cycling Academy	4:52
92	ARCAS Jorge	Movistar	4:53
93	GAUTIER Cyril	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	5:29
94	LAWLESS Chris	Team INEOS	6:51
95	LANGEVELD Sebastian	EF Education First	7:14
96	CHETOUT Loïc	Cofidis	14:38
97	DELAGE Mickaël	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
98	VINCENT Léo	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.

Final GC after stage 4:

• Final GC leader: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
• Mountains classification winner: Oscar Rodriguez (Euskadi Basque Country)
• Points classification winner: Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ)
• Best young rider: Ivan Sosa (Team INEOS)
• Team classification winner: Team INEOS

691 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.223 km/hr

1	VALVERDE Alejandro	Movistar	18hr 4min 42sec
2	SOSA Iván Ramiro	Team INEOS	@ 8sec
3	URAN Rigoberto	EF Education First	0:17
4	GALLOPIN Tony	Ag2r La Mondiale	0:42
5	DUNBAR Eddie	Team INEOS	0:45
6	CARBONI Giovanni	Bardiani-CSF	1:30
7	DOMBROWSKI Joe	EF Education First	1:48
8	SIVAKOV Pavel	Team INEOS	2:26
9	PETERS Nans	Ag2r La Mondiale	2:32
10	RODRIGUEZ Oscar	Euskadi Basque Country	2:42
11	MADOUAS Valentin	Groupama-FDJ	2:45
12	ARANBURU Alex	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:22
13	GESBERT Elie	Arkea-Samsic	4:52
14	DUPONT Hubert	Ag2r La Mondiale	7:16
15	RODRIGUEZ Cristián	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:25
16	PEDRERO Antonio	Movistar	7:27
17	GUILLONNET Adrien	Interpro Cycling	7:42
18	FERNANDEZ Delio	Delko-Marseille Provence	8:08
19	BIZKARRA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	8:32
20	ITURRIA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	8:36
21	AGUIRRE Hernán	Interpro Cycling	9:24
22	ATAPUMA Darwin	Cofidis	9:57
23	TAARAMÄE Rein	Total Direct Energie	10:29
24	SENNI Manuel	Bardiani-CSF	10:35
25	MORENO Javier	Delko-Marseille Provence	10:38
26	EL FARES Julien	Delko-Marseille Provence	10:53
27	HUDRY Florian	Interpro Cycling	12:44
28	BRAVO Garikoitz	Euskadi Basque Country	13:22
29	PARDILLA Sergio	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	14:35
30	CHEVRIER Clément	Ag2r La Mondiale	14:40
31	PACHER Quentin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	16:21
32	JAUREGUI Quentin	Ag2r La Mondiale	16:29
33	VALLS Rafael	Movistar	16:40
34	COVILI Luca	Bardiani-CSF	16:53
35	COMBAUD Romain	Delko-Marseille Provence	17:12
36	MOINARD Amaël	Arkea-Samsic	17:56
37	LE TURNIER Mathias	Cofidis	19:23
38	SIMON Julien	Cofidis	20:21
39	ROJAS José Joaquín	Movistar	20:43
40	NIV Guy	Israel Cycling Academy	20:46
41	TULIK Angelo	Total Direct Energie	22:05
42	HENAO Sebastián	Team INEOS	22:44
43	GOUAULT Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	23:36
44	MATE Luis Angel	Cofidis	24:10
45	QUEMENEUR Perrig	Total Direct Energie	25:15
46	ROMANO Francesco	Bardiani-CSF	25:20
47	BARCELO Fernando	Euskadi Basque Country	25:28
48	CHERNETSKI Sergei	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	27:19
49	PRADES Eduard	Movistar	27:36
50	ROSSETTO Stéphane	Cofidis	28:00
51	ROCHAS Rémy	Delko-Marseille Provence	28:11
52	PAILLOT Yoann	St Michel-Auber 93	29:49
53	KNEES Christian	Team INEOS	30:12
54	TORRES Pablo	Interpro Cycling	30:13
55	FEILLU Brice	Arkea-Samsic	31:11
56	GOLAS Michał	Team INEOS	31:15
57	ROLLAND Pierre	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	31:49
58	SAMITIER Sergio	Euskadi Basque Country	33:19
59	GAUTIER Cyril	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	33:22
60	PICHON Laurent	Arkea-Samsic	33:27
61	NAULEAU Bryan	Total Direct Energie	33:29
62	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	34:35
63	WHELAN James	EF Education First	36:29
64	DE ROSSI Lucas	Delko-Marseille Provence	37:53
65	BENNETT Sean	EF Education First	38:00
66	THOMINET Camille	St Michel-Auber 93	38:12
67	MALDONADO Anthony	St Michel-Auber 93	38:43
68	CARISEY Clément	Israel Cycling Academy	38:46
69	AMEZQUETA Julen	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	39:06
70	AVILA Edwin	Israel Cycling Academy	39:32
71	BONNAMOUR Franck	Arkea-Samsic	39:41
72	SINKELDAM Ramon	Groupama-FDJ	40:17
73	MULLER Patrick	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	40:45
74	LE CUNFF Kévin	St Michel-Auber 93	40:58
75	DEMARE Arnaud	Groupama-FDJ	41:20
76	DUVAL Julien	Ag2r La Mondiale	41:56
77	VINCENT Léo	Groupama-FDJ	42:23
78	HOFLAND Moreno	EF Education First	43:17
79	PERRY Ben	Israel Cycling Academy	43:35
80	MODOLO Sacha	EF Education First	43:44
81	CARDIS Romain	Total Direct Energie	43:58
82	TUREK Daniel	Israel Cycling Academy	44:15
83	MAURELET Flavien	St Michel-Auber 93	44:35
84	GONZALEZ David	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	47:57
85	LAWLESS Chris	Team INEOS	48:37
86	MOTTIER Justin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	49:24
87	DERNIES Tom	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	49:36
88	BRESCIANI Michael	Bardiani-CSF	49:54
89	HOLLER Nikodemus	Bike Aid	50:01
90	ARCAS Jorge	Movistar	50:42
91	VAN ENGELEN Adne	Bike Aid	50:49
92	GENE Yohann	Total Direct Energie	51:10
93	LANGEVELD Sebastian	EF Education First	52:31
94	VAN NIEKERK Morne	St Michel-Auber 93	53:37
95	VERMEULEN Emiel	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	53:46
96	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas	Delko-Marseille Provence	55:28
97	CHETOUT Loïc	Cofidis	56:02
98	DELAGE Mickaël	Groupama-FDJ	1:03:14

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Saturday, June 22: Stage 3, Arreau - Luchon (Hospice de France), 173 km

Winner Ivan Sosa leads Alejandro Valverde to the finish.

Weather at the start city of Arreau at 2:00 PM, local time: 23C (74F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the north at 10 km/hr (6 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from winner Ivan Sosa's Team INEOS.

Ivan Sosa claimed his first victory in Team INEOS colours in style by winning the queen stage at La Route d’Occitanie. The young Colombian put the finishing touches to a superb team performance, out-sprinting elite rivals Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) in the Pyrenees.

Pavel Sivakov had earlier launched a long-range move on the Port de Bales, pushing clear of the general classification group and bridging to team-mate Sebastian Henao who had helped make up the day’s break.

Sivakov forged onwards over the summit and allowed both Sosa and Eddie Dunbar to sit in amid an ever-decreasing lead group. When Sivakov was finally caught on the climb to Luchon with 2.5km to go, it wasn’t long before Sosa launched his first move. Dragging Uran clear off the front, race leader Valverde dug deep to bridge across to the duo in the final kilometre.

Despite the experience around him Sosa wasn’t finished yet, opening up his sprint with 150 metres to go and holding off Valverde to win the stage. The result moved Sosa up to second overall, eight seconds back on Valverde, in addition to taking the young rider jersey.

Dunbar did well to limit his losses and now sits fifth overall, with Sivakov occupying eighth on GC after his brave move almost paid off.

Reaction from Ivan Sosa:
"I needed this victory and it came at last. It makes the team happy and it's a big achievement for me. The idea is to keep going this way. After the race, I will go back home and work to prepare for the second part of the season.

"The idea was to be in the front today as Pavel knows these roads very well - it's a home race for him. He did some really hard work today.

"The finish was a bit difficult because I didn’t know when to attack and I knew that if I waited too much Valverde could have beat me  - so I think I attacked at the right moment."

Brett Lancaster:
"I went around the rooms last night and we put together a bit of a plan. I saw going into this race that the last 3km today was very steep and that suited Ivan. We tried to accommodate everyone and the guys all agreed.

"We had Seb in the move from the start which was fantastic. Pavel attacked over the climb. He knew it really well and rode it last week. He nearly crashed on the descent but he was able to keep it upright! Then in the bunch the guys were able to just sit on. Eddie tried to hold on and then Sosa hit them with 2km to go, and again at the finish.

"It makes you really enjoy your job and at Team INEOS we're working with some pretty special young athletes. It's very rewarding when you pull it off. It's one thing to have a plan but you have to have the riders to execute it as well. We're all stoked.

"Everyone in the team was and still are very down about Chris (Froome). I think everyone has seen that and they have to step up. And they have - all the young guys. It's very exciting for the future this young group we have. There's also Chris Lawless who is sprinting so well, so let's see tomorrow if he can go one place higher and finish off a good week."

Complete results:

173 kilometers raced at an average speed of 35.212 km/hr

1	SOSA Iván	Team INEOS	4hr 54min 47sec
2	VALVERDE Alejandro	Movistar	s.t.
3	URAN Rigoberto	EF Education First	@ 3sec
4	RODRIGUEZ Oscar	Euskadi Basque Country	0:20
5	DOMBROWSKI Joe	EF Education First	0:24
6	GALLOPIN Tony	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
7	DUNBAR Eddie	Team INEOS	0:35
8	CARBONI Giovanni	Bardiani-CSF	0:40
9	MADOUAS Valentin	Groupama-FDJ	1:24
10	PETERS Nans	Ag2r La Mondiale	1:31
11	SIVAKOV Pavel	Team INEOS	1:39
12	ATAPUMA Darwin	Cofidis	2:43
13	ARANBURU Alex	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	2:59
14	PEDRERO Antonio	Movistar	3:41
15	BIZKARRA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	4:17
16	DUPONT Hubert	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
17	GESBERT Elie	Arkea-Samsic	4:38
18	GUILLONNET Adrien	Interpro Cycling	4:42
19	FERNANDEZ Delio	Delko-Marseille Provence	4:52
20	RODRIGUEZ Cristián	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	5:03
21	AGUIRRE Hernán	Interpro Cycling	5:05
22	EL FARES Julien	Delko-Marseille Provence	5:27
23	ITURRIA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	5:36
24	SENNI Manuel	Bardiani-CSF	6:15
25	HUDRY Florian	Interpro Cycling	7:44
26	MORENO Javier	Delko-Marseille Provence	8:15
27	COMBAUD Romain	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
28	PARDILLA Sergio	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
29	BRAVO Garikoitz	Euskadi Basque Country	8:34
30	JAUREGUI Quentin	Ag2r La Mondiale	8:48
31	TAARAMÄE Rein	Total Direct Energie	9:02
32	LE TURNIER Mathias	Cofidis	9:44
33	COVILI Luca	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
34	CHEVRIER Clément	Ag2r La Mondiale	9:57
35	PACHER Quentin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	10:34
36	NIV Guy	Israel Cycling Academy	10:50
37	VALLS Rafael	Movistar	12:02
38	MOINARD Amaël	Arkea-Samsic	12:24
39	HENAO Sebastián	Team INEOS	13:05
40	VINCENT Léo	Groupama-FDJ	14:12
41	SIMON Julien	Cofidis	14:34
42	QUEMENEUR Perrig	Total Direct Energie	15:36
43	GOUAULT Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
44	ROJAS José Joaquín	Movistar	15:55
45	TULIK Angelo	Total Direct Energie	16:14
46	MATE Luis Angel	Cofidis	16:57
47	GOLAS Michał	Team INEOS	17:51
48	KNEES Christian	Team INEOS	s.t.
49	ROSSETTO Stéphane	Cofidis	18:04
50	PAILLOT Yoann	St Michel-Auber 93	20:25
51	ROCHAS Rémy	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
52	DE ROSSI Lucas	Delko-Marseille Provence	20:28
53	PRADES Eduard	Movistar	20:40
54	BARCELO Fernando	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
55	PICHON Laurent	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
56	GAUTIER Cyril	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
57	ROLLAND Pierre	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
58	BENNETT Sean	EF Education First	21:32
59	FERASSE Thibault	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	21:42
60	NAULEAU Bryan	Total Direct Energie	21:50
61	ROMANO Francesco	Bardiani-CSF	22:04
62	TUREK Daniel	Israel Cycling Academy	23:42
63	TORRES Pablo	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
64	MALDONADO Anthony	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
65	PERRY Ben	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
66	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	23:54
67	CHERNETSKI Sergei	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	24:03
68	FEILLU Brice	Arkea-Samsic	25:45
69	CHETOUT Loïc	Cofidis	s.t.
70	SAMITIER Sergio	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
71	HOFLAND Moreno	EF Education First	26:10
72	SINKELDAM Ramon	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
73	LAWLESS Chris	Team INEOS	s.t.
74	WHELAN James	EF Education First	s.t.
75	DUVAL Julien	Ag2r La Mondiale	26:35
76	CARISEY Clément	Israel Cycling Academy	26:43
77	HOLLER Nikodemus	Bike Aid	27:13
78	VAN ENGELEN Adne	Bike Aid	s.t.
79	MULLER Patrick	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	28:24
80	DEMARE Arnaud	Groupama-FDJ	28:48
81	LANGEVELD Sebastian	EF Education First	28:49
82	MODOLO Sacha	EF Education First	s.t.
83	THOMINET Camille	St Michel-Auber 93	29:15
84	AVILA Edwin	Israel Cycling Academy	29:36
85	BONNAMOUR Franck	Arkea-Samsic	30:02
86	AMEZQUETA Julen	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	30:09
87	ARCAS Jorge	Movistar	30:48
88	CASTRILLO Jaime	Movistar	s.t.
89	CARDIS Romain	Total Direct Energie	32:20
90	MOTTIER Justin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	32:40
91	MANZIN Lorrenzo	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
92	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas	Delko-Marseille Provence	32:56
93	DELAGE Mickaël	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
94	GONZALEZ David	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
95	GENE Yohann	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
96	LE CUNFF Kévin	St Michel-Auber 93	32:59
97	BRESCIANI Michael	Bardiani-CSF	33:10
98	DERNIES Tom	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
99	MAURELET Flavien	St Michel-Auber 93	33:12
100	VERMEULEN Emiel	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	33:20
101	VAN NIEKERK Morne	St Michel-Auber 93	33:52

GC after stage 3:

536.2 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 37.033 km/hr

1	VALVERDE Alejandro	Movistar	14hr 28min 45sec
2	SOSA Iván	Team INEOS	@ 8sec
3	URAN Rigoberto	EF Education First	0:17
4	GALLOPIN Tony	Ag2r La Mondiale	0:42
5	DUNBAR Eddie	Team INEOS	0:45
6	CARBONI Giovanni	Bardiani-CSF	1:30
7	DOMBROWSKI Joe	EF Education First	1:48
8	SIVAKOV Pavel	Team INEOS	2:26
9	PETERS Nans	Ag2r La Mondiale	2:32
10	RODRIGUEZ Oscar	Euskadi Basque Country	2:42
11	MADOUAS Valentin	Groupama-FDJ	2:45
12	ARANBURU Alex	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:22
13	GESBERT Elie	Arkea-Samsic	4:52
14	PEDRERO Antonio	Movistar	5:02
15	DUPONT Hubert	Ag2r La Mondiale	7:16
16	RODRIGUEZ Cristián	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7:25
17	BIZKARRA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	7:33
18	GUILLONNET Adrien	Interpro Cycling	7:42
19	FERNANDEZ Delio	Delko-Marseille Provence	8:08
20	AGUIRRE Hernán	Interpro Cycling	8:25
21	ITURRIA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	8:36
22	TAARAMÄE Rein	Total Direct Energie	9:28
23	MORENO Javier	Delko-Marseille Provence	9:39
24	ATAPUMA Darwin	Cofidis	9:57
25	SENNI Manuel	Bardiani-CSF	10:35
26	EL FARES Julien	Delko-Marseille Provence	10:53
27	HUDRY Florian	Interpro Cycling	11:09
28	PACHER Quentin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	11:44
29	JAUREGUI Quentin	Ag2r La Mondiale	11:48
30	PARDILLA Sergio	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	12:10
31	CHEVRIER Clément	Ag2r La Mondiale	12:57
32	BRAVO Garikoitz	Euskadi Basque Country	13:22
33	VALLS Rafael	Movistar	14:15
34	COVILI Luca	Bardiani-CSF	15:10
35	COMBAUD Romain	Delko-Marseille Provence	15:29
36	MOINARD Amaël	Arkea-Samsic	15:46
37	LE TURNIER Mathias	Cofidis	16:58
38	GOUAULT Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	18:55
39	TULIK Angelo	Total Direct Energie	19:43
40	HENAO Sebastián	Team INEOS	20:19
41	SIMON Julien	Cofidis	20:25
42	ROJAS José Joaquín	Movistar	20:43
43	NIV Guy	Israel Cycling Academy	20:46
44	QUEMENEUR Perrig	Total Direct Energie	22:50
45	MATE Luis Angel	Cofidis	24:11
46	ROCHAS Rémy	Delko-Marseille Provence	24:20
47	PRADES Eduard	Movistar	25:11
48	ROMANO Francesco	Bardiani-CSF	25:20
49	BARCELO Fernando	Euskadi Basque Country	25:28
50	ROSSETTO Stéphane	Cofidis	25:35
51	CHERNETSKI Sergei	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	27:19
52	PAILLOT Yoann	St Michel-Auber 93	27:39
53	VINCENT Léo	Groupama-FDJ	27:45
54	KNEES Christian	Team INEOS	27:47
55	GOLAS Michał	Team INEOS	s.t.
56	GAUTIER Cyril	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	27:54
57	TORRES Pablo	Interpro Cycling	28:30
58	ROLLAND Pierre	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	30:25
59	FERASSE Thibault	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	30:46
60	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	31:08
61	FEILLU Brice	Arkea-Samsic	31:11
62	SAMITIER Sergio	Euskadi Basque Country	31:36
63	NAULEAU Bryan	Total Direct Energie	31:46
64	PICHON Laurent	Arkea-Samsic	33:27
65	CARISEY Clément	Israel Cycling Academy	34:05
66	WHELAN James	EF Education First	34:46
67	DE ROSSI Lucas	Delko-Marseille Provence	36:10
68	THOMINET Camille	St Michel-Auber 93	36:29
69	BONNAMOUR Franck	Arkea-Samsic	37:16
70	AMEZQUETA Julen	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	37:23
71	BENNETT Sean	EF Education First	38:00
72	MULLER Patrick	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	38:20
73	MALDONADO Anthony	St Michel-Auber 93	38:43
74	PERRY Ben	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
75	SINKELDAM Ramon	Groupama-FDJ	38:57
76	TUREK Daniel	Israel Cycling Academy	39:25
77	DUVAL Julien	Ag2r La Mondiale	39:31
78	AVILA Edwin	Israel Cycling Academy	39:32
79	LE CUNFF Kévin	St Michel-Auber 93	40:10
80	HOFLAND Moreno	EF Education First	41:07
81	CHETOUT Loïc	Cofidis	41:24
82	DEMARE Arnaud	Groupama-FDJ	41:30
83	LAWLESS Chris	Team INEOS	41:46
84	MAURELET Flavien	St Michel-Auber 93	43:08
85	MODOLO Sacha	EF Education First	43:50
86	CARDIS Romain	Total Direct Energie	43:58
87	LANGEVELD Sebastian	EF Education First	45:17
88	ARCAS Jorge	Movistar	45:49
89	CASTRILLO Jaime	Movistar	s.t.
90	GENE Yohann	Total Direct Energie	46:42
91	MANZIN Lorrenzo	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	47:41
92	MOTTIER Justin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
93	GONZALEZ David	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	47:57
94	BRESCIANI Michael	Bardiani-CSF	48:11
95	DERNIES Tom	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
96	HOLLER Nikodemus	Bike Aid	48:18
97	VAN ENGELEN Adne	Bike Aid	48:24
98	DELAGE Mickaël	Groupama-FDJ	48:36
99	VAN NIEKERK Morne	St Michel-Auber 93	48:53
100	VERMEULEN Emiel	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	49:02
101	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas	Delko-Marseille Provence	51:37

---

Friday, June 21: Stage 2, Labruguière - Martes Tolosane, 187.7 km

This stage goes to Arnaud Demare.

Weather at the finish city of Martes-Tolosane at 3:40 PM, local time: 14C (58F), cloudy, with the wind from the west at 16 km/hr (10 mph). Only the smallest chance of rain.

The race: Here's the report from GC leader Alejandro Valverde's Team Movistar.

A calm day, despite the ups and downs of today’s route, for Alejandro Valverde on stage two of the Route d’Occitanie, held on Friday over 187km from Labruguière to Martres-Tolosane, where Arnaud Démare (GFC) stormed to victory at the bunch sprint. As it always happens into a GC lead defense, the Movistar Team had a fair share of protagonism in making things easier for the marvel from the Murcia, who will face a tough battle in the Pyrenees on Saturday against the main GC contenders.

As in Thursday’s opening stage, Jorge Arcas and Jaime Castrillo were the powerhouses to keep, this time together with Groupama-FDJ, the day’s escapes under control. Meanwhile, Prades, Pedrero and Valls covered the World Champion against the wind, with José Joaquín Rojas leading him out into the fast run-in to the finish. The bunch sprint saw ‘Rojillas’ taking 7th, as Valverde, 14th, made the top split.

The 4" gap thus stayed unchanged between Valverde and Dunbar (INS), with Gesbert (PCB) in third at 8", before a decisive stage three over 173km from Arreau to the top of the Hospice de France (Cat-1), preceeded by the early climbs to Lançon (Cat-2 and Hourquette d’Ancizan (Cat-2) plus the long Port de Balès (Cat-1; 19km at 6%), just before the grueling, final 10km at 7.3% average.

REACTION / Alejandro Valverde:
“Congratulations to Démare on a great victory and the strong work by his team. In our case, it was a relatively easy day, and I say ‘relatively’ because in the end, it was a nearly 200km route, with almost 2,000m of elevation gain – yet it wasn’t too complicated. The pace was high, yet we didn’t encounter any major troubles. Tomorrow will be a completely different story – a really tough stage. And no matter what result we get – I’m so excited to take the start tomorrow and face those climbs.

“Hospice de France – I don’t climbed I’ve climbed it once, though I’ve been told it’s really hard. We’ll have to see how we cope with the early climbs and, above all, Balès, which is long and really hard. The final climb will be a matter of ‘survival’. Rivals? There will be many. Team INEOS is quite strong, there’s also Rigoberto… there’s many people still too close to rule them out, so we will have to remain fully focused on doing well.”

Complete results:

187.7 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.805 km/hr

1	DEMARE Arnaud	Groupama-FDJ	4hr 50min 13sec
2	LAWLESS Chris	Team INEOS	s.t.
3	HOFLAND Moreno	EF Education First	s.t.
4	MODOLO Sacha	EF Education First	s.t.
5	GONZALEZ David	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
6	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
7	ROJAS José Joaquín	Movistar	s.t.
8	DUVAL Julien	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
9	BRESCIANI Michael	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
10	MANZIN Lorrenzo	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
11	BONNAMOUR Franck	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
12	CARDIS Romain	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
13	AVILA Edwin	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
14	VALVERDE Alejandro	Movistar	s.t.
15	JAUREGUI Quentin	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
16	MALDONADO Anthony	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
17	GALLOPIN Tony	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
18	SIMON Julien	Cofidis	s.t.
19	DUNBAR Eddie	Team INEOS	s.t.
20	BRAVO Garikoitz	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
21	SINKELDAM Ramon	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
22	MADOUAS Valentin	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
23	ARANBURU Alex	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
24	TUREK Daniel	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
25	CARBONI Giovanni	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
26	SENNI Manuel	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
27	PETERS Nans	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
28	CARSTENSEN Lucas	Bike Aid	s.t.
29	SIVAKOV Pavel	Team INEOS	s.t.
30	NAVARRO Gauthier	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
31	MATE Luis Angel	Cofidis	s.t.
32	BARCELO Fernando	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
33	GESBERT Elie	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
34	VAN NIEKERK Morne	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
35	PACHER Quentin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
36	PEDRERO Antonio	Movistar	s.t.
37	MULLER Patrick	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
38	PRADES Eduard	Movistar	s.t.
39	AMEZQUETA Julen	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
40	CHERNETSKI Sergei	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
41	SOSA Iván Ramiro	Team INEOS	s.t.
42	GAUTIER Cyril	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
43	FEILLU Brice	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
44	MAURELET Flavien	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
45	DE ROSSI Lucas	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
46	RODRIGUEZ Oscar	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
47	HUDRY Florian	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
48	COMBAUD Romain	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
49	URAN Rigoberto	EF Education First	s.t.
50	CHEVRIER Clément	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
51	COVILI Luca	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
52	BIZKARRA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
53	GENE Yohann	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
54	TAARAMÄE Rein	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
55	THOMINET Camille	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
56	MOINARD Amaël	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
57	EL FARES Julien	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
58	ITURRIA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
59	DOMBROWSKI Joe	EF Education First	s.t.
60	RODRIGUEZ Cristián	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
61	MORENO Javier	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
62	FERNANDEZ Delio	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
63	KNEES Christian	Team INEOS	s.t.
64	DUPONT Hubert	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
65	AGUIRRE Hernán	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
66	ROCHAS Rémy	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
67	HOLLER Nikodemus	Bike Aid	s.t.
68	LE CUNFF Kévin	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
69	GOUAULT Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
70	ATAPUMA Darwin	Cofidis	s.t.
71	GOLAS Michał	Team INEOS	s.t.
72	DELAGE Mickaël	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
73	HENAO Sebastián	Team INEOS	s.t.
74	VALLS Rafael	Movistar	s.t.
75	ROMANO Francesco	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
76	GUILLONNET Adrien	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
77	PAILLOT Yoann	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
78	DANIEL Maxime	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
79	WHELAN James	EF Education First	s.t.
80	DEBESAY Mekseb	Bike Aid	s.t.
81	CASTRILLO Jaime	Movistar	s.t.
82	SAMITIER Sergio	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
83	PICHON Laurent	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
84	MOTTIER Justin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
85	FERASSE Thibault	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
86	IDJOUADIENE Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
87	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
88	PARDILLA Sergio	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
89	ARCAS Jorge	Movistar	s.t.
90	DERNIES Tom	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
91	CARISEY Clément	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
92	LE TURNIER Mathias	Cofidis	s.t.
93	INTXAUSTI Beñat	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
94	VAN ENGELEN Adne	Bike Aid	s.t.
95	CLOUSE Evan	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
96	QUEMENEUR Perrig	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
97	PERRY Ben	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
98	ROSSETTO Stéphane	Cofidis	s.t.
99	ROLLAND Pierre	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
100	NIV Guy	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
101	TULIK Angelo	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
102	NAULEAU Bryan	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
103	TORRES Pablo	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
104	BALDO Nicolas	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
105	WACKERMANN Luca	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
106	CHETOUT Loïc	Cofidis	s.t.
107	VINCENT Léo	Groupama-FDJ	@ 41sec
108	WOLF Justin	Bike Aid	s.t.
109	BENNETT Sean	EF Education First	1:27
110	LANGEVELD Sebastian	EF Education First	s.t.
111	VAUBOURZEIX Thomas	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	1:43
112	HIVERT Jonathan	Total Direct Energie	3:17
113	VERMEULEN Emiel	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	@ 0sec
114	CASANOVAS David	Interpro Cycling	4:48
115	GROSSER Aaron	Bike Aid	@ 0sec

GC after stage 2:

363.2 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 37.961 km/hr

1	VALVERDE Alejandro	Movistar	9hr 34min 4sec
2	DUNBAR Eddie	Team INEOS	@ 4sec
3	GESBERT Elie	Arkea-Samsic	0:08
4	GALLOPIN Tony	Ag2r La Mondiale	0:12
5	SOSA Iván Ramiro	Team INEOS	s.t.
6	URAN Rigoberto	EF Education First	s.t.
7	ARANBURU Alex	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	0:17
8	TAARAMÄE Rein	Total Direct Energie	0:20
9	CARBONI Giovanni	Bardiani-CSF	0:44
10	SIVAKOV Pavel	Team INEOS	s.t.
11	PETERS Nans	Ag2r La Mondiale	0:58
12	PACHER Quentin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	1:04
13	MADOUAS Valentin	Groupama-FDJ	1:15
14	PEDRERO Antonio	Movistar	s.t.
15	DOMBROWSKI Joe	EF Education First	1:18
16	MORENO Javier	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
17	VALLS Rafael	Movistar	2:07
18	RODRIGUEZ Oscar	Euskadi Basque Country	2:16
19	RODRIGUEZ Cristián	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
20	JAUREGUI Quentin	Ag2r La Mondiale	2:54
21	CHEVRIER Clément	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
22	ITURRIA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
23	DUPONT Hubert	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
24	GUILLONNET Adrien	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
25	CHERNETSKI Sergei	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	3:10
26	BIZKARRA Mikel	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
27	FERNANDEZ Delio	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
28	ROMANO Francesco	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
29	GOUAULT Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	3:13
30	AGUIRRE Hernán	Interpro Cycling	3:14
31	MOINARD Amaël	Arkea-Samsic	3:16
32	HUDRY Florian	Interpro Cycling	3:19
33	TULIK Angelo	Total Direct Energie	3:23
34	ROCHAS Rémy	Delko-Marseille Provence	3:49
35	PARDILLA Sergio	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
36	SENNI Manuel	Bardiani-CSF	4:14
37	PRADES Eduard	Movistar	4:25
38	ROJAS José Joaquín	Movistar	4:42
39	BRAVO Garikoitz	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
40	BARCELO Fernando	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
41	TORRES Pablo	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
42	FEILLU Brice	Arkea-Samsic	5:20
43	COVILI Luca	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
44	EL FARES Julien	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
45	SIMON Julien	Cofidis	5:45
46	SAMITIER Sergio	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
47	LE CUNFF Kévin	St Michel-Auber 93	7:05
48	BONNAMOUR Franck	Arkea-Samsic	7:08
49	MATE Luis Angel	Cofidis	s.t.
50	AMEZQUETA Julen	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
51	GAUTIER Cyril	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
52	COMBAUD Romain	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
53	THOMINET Camille	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
54	ATAPUMA Darwin	Cofidis	s.t.
55	HENAO Sebastián	Team INEOS	s.t.
56	PAILLOT Yoann	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
57	LE TURNIER Mathias	Cofidis	s.t.
58	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
59	QUEMENEUR Perrig	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
60	CARISEY Clément	Israel Cycling Academy	7:16
61	ROSSETTO Stéphane	Cofidis	7:27
62	WHELAN James	EF Education First	8:30
63	FERASSE Thibault	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	8:58
64	ROLLAND Pierre	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	9:42
65	AVILA Edwin	Israel Cycling Academy	9:50
66	MULLER Patrick	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
67	MAURELET Flavien	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
68	KNEES Christian	Team INEOS	s.t.
69	GOLAS Michał	Team INEOS	s.t.
70	DEBESAY Mekseb	Bike Aid	s.t.
71	IDJOUADIENE Pierre	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
72	NAULEAU Bryan	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
73	NIV Guy	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
74	WACKERMANN Luca	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
75	CARDIS Romain	Total Direct Energie	11:32
76	DEMARE Arnaud	Groupama-FDJ	12:36
77	SINKELDAM Ramon	Groupama-FDJ	12:41
78	PICHON Laurent	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
79	DUVAL Julien	Ag2r La Mondiale	12:50
80	NAVARRO Gauthier	Interpro Cycling	12:58
81	HIVERT Jonathan	Total Direct Energie	12:59
82	INTXAUSTI Beñat	Euskadi Basque Country	13:16
83	VINCENT Léo	Groupama-FDJ	13:27
84	GENE Yohann	Total Direct Energie	13:40
85	HOFLAND Moreno	EF Education First	14:51
86	MANZIN Lorrenzo	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	14:55
87	BRESCIANI Michael	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
88	GONZALEZ David	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
89	MODOLO Sacha	EF Education First	s.t.
90	MALDONADO Anthony	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
91	VAN NIEKERK Morne	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
92	MOTTIER Justin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
93	CASTRILLO Jaime	Movistar	s.t.
94	ARCAS Jorge	Movistar	s.t.
95	DERNIES Tom	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
96	PERRY Ben	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
97	LAWLESS Chris	Team INEOS	15:30
98	CHETOUT Loïc	Cofidis	15:33
99	DELAGE Mickaël	Groupama-FDJ	15:34
100	DE ROSSI Lucas	Delko-Marseille Provence	15:36
101	DANIEL Maxime	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
102	CLOUSE Evan	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
103	BALDO Nicolas	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
104	VERMEULEN Emiel	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
105	TUREK Daniel	Israel Cycling Academy	15:37
106	CARSTENSEN Lucas	Bike Aid	15:39
107	GROSSER Aaron	Bike Aid	15:56
108	BENNETT Sean	EF Education First	16:22
109	LANGEVELD Sebastian	EF Education First	s.t.
110	VAUBOURZEIX Thomas	Natura4Ever-Roubaix-Lille Metropole	17:19
111	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas	Delko-Marseille Provence	18:35
112	CASANOVAS David	Interpro Cycling	19:43
113	WOLF Justin	Bike Aid	20:05
114	HOLLER Nikodemus	Bike Aid	20:59
115	VAN ENGELEN Adne	Bike Aid	21:05

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Thursday, June 20: Stage 1, Gignac, Vallée de l’Hérault - Saint-Geniez d’Olt et d’Aubrac, 175.5 km

Alejandro Valverde takes the first stage.

Weather at the finish city of Saint-Geniez d’Olt et d’Aubrac at 2:25 PM, local time: 19C (67F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the west at 16 km/hr (10 mph). No rain is forecast.

The race: Here's the report from winner Alejandro Valverde's Team Movistar.

Relying on a strong Movistar Team, Alejandro Valverde offered cycling fans a comeback to racing in the style he’s the only one able to provide: winning and making them enjoy his dominance of the different race situations at the end of stage one of the 2019 Route d’Occitanie. 53 days after his DNF in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, suffering with bone edema to his sacrum, ‘Bala’, recovered and in good form, took the day’s honours at the Côte d’Aubignac (Cat-2), a 4km climb to 8% overcome twice into a tough final circuit in Saint-Geniez.

Jorge Arcas and Jaime Castrillo worked hard from the very start to control the early, four-man break, succeeded by a flurry of attacks without success inside the last 25km. The strong turns by Rojas and a remarkable Rafa Valls, at the first of the two ascents; an excellent descent between climbs by Edu Prades; and the final load of work from Valls and Antonio Pedrero at the last climb left barely a dozen riders at the front, a group further reduced with attacks from Rigoberto Urán (EF1) and Eddie Dunbar (INS).

Valverde kept those moves in check and used his experience to measure his sprinting distance and claim his second win in the rainbow jersey, the 124th of his professional career. A success that brings toghether the orange leader’s jersey, the same one he wore at the end of the 2018 race – and one that he will try to defend all the way towards Clermont-Pouyguillès on Sunday. Welcome back, Bala!

REACTION / Alejandro Valverde:
“Being the first day of racing after so long away from the races, it’s tough to tackle a first stage like this, because you don’t know how your body will react. Fortunately, it all turned out well. The team did a fantastic job today. We took responsibility from the beginning, together with Education First, and at the first climb to Aubignac I already asked my team-mates to do it a bit ‘fast’, to check how we could do. My legs felt well there, I liked the climb, and so I asked them to go ‘full gas’ on the second climb. After they completed their work, it was my task to keep things under control. My rivals left me in charge, which was normal, I could understand it from my position. The attacks by Urán and Dunbar were really hard, yet I could control them and take the win.

“It’s my second victory of the season – it’s true that I’ve got less wins than in previous years, yet I’ve also notched up six second places, lots of good results – I feel I’ve still been up there from the start of the season. Keeping the jersey until the end? It’s going to be hard, for sure. Stage three is a tough mountain route, and our rivals won’t make it easy. We’ve got one victory at least now, and above that, I’ve left with a good impression on my work during these past two months, where I had to give my body some rest with the injury, then go training in Granada and back home. It’s a boost of motivation for what’s left in this race and also the upcoming Tour de France, where my goal will be helping our two leaders, Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa.”

Complete results:

175.5 kilometers raced at an average speed of 37.075 km/hr

1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	4hr 44min 1sec
2	Eddie Dunbar	Team INEOS	s.t.
3	Elie Gesbert	Arkea-Samsic	@ 2sec
4	Rigoberto Urán	EF Education First	s.t.
5	Tony Gallopin	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
6	Iván Sosa	Team INEOS	s.t.
7	Alex Aranburu	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	7''
8	Rein Taaramäe	Total Direct Energie	10''
9	Giovanni Carboni	Bardiani-CSF	34''
10	Pavel Sivakov	Team INEOS	s.t.
11	Nans Peters	Ag2r La Mondiale	48''
12	Quentin Pacher	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	54''
13	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ	1' 05''
14	Antonio Pedrero	Movistar	s.t.
15	Javier Moreno	Delko-Marseille Provence	1' 08''
16	Joe Dombrowski	EF Education First	s.t.
17	Rafael Valls	Movistar	1' 57''
18	Alexandre Geniez	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
19	Cristián Rodríguez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	2' 06''
20	Oscar Rodríguez	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
21	Adrien Guillonnet	Interpro Cycling	2' 44''
22	Jesús Herrada	Cofidis	s.t.
23	Hubert Dupont	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
24	Quentin Jauregui	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
25	Mikel Iturria	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
26	Clément Chevrier	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
27	Francesco Romano	Bardiani-CSF	3' 00''
28	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
29	Sergey Chernetsky	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
30	Delio Fernández	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
31	Pierre Gouault	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	3' 03''
32	Hernán Aguirre	Interpro Cycling	3' 04''
33	Amaël Moinard	Arkea-Samsic	3' 06''
34	Florian Hudry	Interpro Cycling	3' 09''
35	Angelo Tulik	Total Direct Energie	3' 16''
36	Rémy Rochas	Delko-Marseille Provence	3' 39''
37	Sergio Pardilla	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
38	Manuel Senni	Bardiani-CSF	4' 04''
39	Eduard Prades	Movistar	4' 15''
40	José Joaquín Rojas	Movistar	4' 32''
41	Fernando Barceló	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
42	Pablo Torres	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
43	Garikoitz Bravo	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
44	Brice Feillu	Arkea-Samsic	5' 10''
45	Luca Covili	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
46	Julien El Farès	Delko-Marseille Provence	5' 10''
47	Sergio Samitier	Euskadi Basque Country	5' 35''
48	Julien Simon	Cofidis	s.t.
49	Mathias Le Turnier	Cofidis	6' 58''
50	Kévin Le Cunff	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
51	Yoann Paillot	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
52	Darwin Atapuma	Cofidis	s.t.
53	Sebastián Henao	Team INEOS	s.t.
54	Julen Amezqueta	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
55	Luis Angel Maté	Cofidis	s.t.
56	Camille Thominet	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
57	Franck Bonnamour	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
58	Cyril Gautier	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
59	Romain Combaud	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
60	Perrig Quémeneur	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
61	Olivier Le Gac	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
62	Clément Carisey	Israel Cycling Academy	7' 11''
63	Stéphane Rossetto	Cofidis	7' 17''
64	James Whelan	EF Education First	8' 20''
65	Thibault Ferasse	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	8' 48''
66	Pierre Rolland	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	9' 32''
67	Jonathan Hivert	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
68	Bryan Nauleau	Total Direct Energie	9' 40''
69	Pierre Idjouadienne	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
70	Alessandro Tonelli	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
71	Patrick Müller	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
72	Edwin Avila	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
73	Mekseb Debesay	Bike Aid	s.t.
74	Christian Knees	Team INEOS	s.t.
75	Michal Golas	Team INEOS	s.t.
76	Guy Niv	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
77	Flavien Maurelet	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
78	Luca Wackermann	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
79	Romain Cardis	Total Direct Energie	11' 22''
80	Laurent Pichon	Arkea-Samsic	12' 31''
81	Ramon Sinkeldam	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
82	Léo Vincent	Groupama-FDJ	12' 36''
83	Romain Seigle	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
84	Arnaud Démare	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
85	Julien Duval	Ag2r La Mondiale	12' 40''
86	Gauthier Navarro	Interpro Cycling	12' 48''
87	Beñat Intxausti	Euskadi Basque Country	13' 06''
88	Yohann Gène	Total Direct Energie	13' 30''
89	David Casanovas	Interpro Cycling	14' 45''
90	Sean Bennett	EF Education First	s.t.
91	Benjamin Perry	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
92	Lorrenzo Manzin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
93	Jorge Arcas	Movistar	s.t.
94	Tom Dernies	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
95	Justin Mottier	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
96	Michael Bresciani	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
97	Anthony Maldonado	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
98	Sebastian Langeveld	EF Education First	s.t.
99	Morné Van Niekerk	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
100	Jaime Castrillo	Movistar	s.t.
101	David González	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
102	Moreno Hofland	EF Education First	s.t.
103	Sacha Modolo	EF Education First	s.t.
104	Mickaël Delage	Groupama-FDJ	15' 26''
105	Loïc Chetout	Cofidis	s.t.
106	Maxime Daniel	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
107	Christopher Lawless	Team INEOS	s.t.
108	Thomas Vaubourzeix	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
109	Evan Clouse	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
110	Nicolas Baldo	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
111	Lucas De Rossi	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
112	Emiel Vermeulen	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
113	Daniel Turek	Israel Cycling Academy	15' 29''
114	Lucas Carstensen	Bike Aid	s.t.
115	Aaron Grosser	Bike Aid	15' 46''
116	Evaldas Siškevicius	Delko-Marseille Provence	18' 25''
117	Justin Wolf	Bike Aid	19' 14''
118	Niko Holler	Bike Aid	20' 55''
119	Adne van Engelen	Bike Aid	s.t.

GC after stage 1:

1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	4hr 43min 51sec
2	Eddie Dunbar	Team INEOS	@ 4sec
3	Elie Gesbert	Arkea-Samsic	8''
4	Rigoberto Urán	EF Education First	12''
5	Tony Gallopin	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
6	Iván Sosa	Team INEOS	s.t.
7	Alex Aranburu	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	17''
8	Rein Taaramäe	Total Direct Energie	20''
9	Giovanni Carboni	Bardiani-CSF	44''
10	Pavel Sivakov	Team INEOS	s.t.
11	Nans Peters	Ag2r La Mondiale	58''
12	Quentin Pacher	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	1' 04''
13	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ	1' 15''
14	Antonio Pedrero	Movistar	s.t.
15	Javier Moreno	Delko-Marseille Provence	1' 18''
16	Joe Dombrowski	EF Education First	s.t.
17	Rafael Valls	Movistar	2' 07''
18	Alexandre Geniez	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
19	Cristián Rodríguez	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	2' 16''
20	Oscar Rodríguez	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
21	Adrien Guillonnet	Interpro Cycling	2' 54''
22	Jesús Herrada	Cofidis	s.t.
23	Hubert Dupont	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
24	Quentin Jauregui	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
25	Mikel Iturria	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
26	Clément Chevrier	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
27	Francesco Romano	Bardiani-CSF	3' 10''
28	Mikel Bizkarra	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
29	Sergey Chernetsky	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
30	Delio Fernández	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
31	Pierre Gouault	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	3' 13''
32	Hernán Aguirre	Interpro Cycling	3' 14''
33	Amaël Moinard	Arkea-Samsic	3' 16''
34	Florian Hudry	Interpro Cycling	3' 19''
35	Angelo Tulik	Total Direct Energie	3' 26''
36	Rémy Rochas	Delko-Marseille Provence	3' 49''
37	Sergio Pardilla	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
38	Manuel Senni	Bardiani-CSF	4' 14''
39	Eduard Prades	Movistar	4' 25''
40	José Joaquín Rojas	Movistar	4' 42''
41	Fernando Barceló	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
42	Pablo Torres	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
43	Garikoitz Bravo	Euskadi Basque Country	s.t.
44	Brice Feillu	Arkea-Samsic	5' 20''
45	Luca Covili	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
46	Julien El Farès	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
47	Sergio Samitier	Euskadi Basque Country	5' 45''
48	Julien Simon	Cofidis	s.t.
49	Mathias Le Turnier	Cofidis	7' 08''
50	Kévin Le Cunff	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
51	Yoann Paillot	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
52	Darwin Atapuma	Cofidis	s.t.
53	Sebastián Henao	Team INEOS	s.t.
54	Julen Amezqueta	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
55	Luis Angel Maté	Cofidis	s.t.
56	Camille Thominet	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
57	Franck Bonnamour	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
58	Cyril Gautier	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
59	Romain Combaud	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
60	Perrig Quémeneur	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
61	Olivier Le Gac	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
62	Clément Carisey	Israel Cycling Academy	7' 21''
63	Stéphane Rossetto	Cofidis	7' 27''
64	James Whelan	EF Education First	8' 30''
65	Thibault Ferasse	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	8' 58''
66	Pierre Rolland	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	9' 42''
67	Jonathan Hivert	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
68	Bryan Nauleau	Total Direct Energie	9' 50''
69	Pierre Idjouadienne	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
70	Alessandro Tonelli	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
71	Patrick Müller	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
72	Edwin Avila	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
73	Mekseb Debesay	Bike Aid	s.t.
74	Christian Knees	Team INEOS	s.t.
75	Michal Golas	Team INEOS	s.t.
76	Guy Niv	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
77	Flavien Maurelet	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
78	Luca Wackermann	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
79	Romain Cardis	Total Direct Energie	11' 32''
80	Laurent Pichon	Arkea-Samsic	12' 41''
81	Ramon Sinkeldam	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
82	Léo Vincent	Groupama-FDJ	12' 46''
83	Romain Seigle	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
84	Arnaud Démare	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
85	Julien Duval	Ag2r La Mondiale	12' 50''
86	Gauthier Navarro	Interpro Cycling	12' 58''
87	Beñat Intxausti	Euskadi Basque Country	13' 16''
88	Yohann Gène	Total Direct Energie	13' 40''
89	David Casanovas	Interpro Cycling	14' 55''
90	Sean Bennett	EF Education First	s.t.
91	Benjamin Perry	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
92	Lorrenzo Manzin	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
93	Jorge Arcas	Movistar	s.t.
94	Tom Dernies	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
95	Justin Mottier	Vital Concept-B&B Hotels	s.t.
96	Michael Bresciani	Bardiani-CSF	s.t.
97	Anthony Maldonado	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
98	Sebastian Langeveld	EF Education First	s.t.
99	Morné Van Niekerk	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
100	Jaime Castrillo	Movistar	s.t.
101	David González	Caja Rural-Seguros RGA	s.t.
102	Moreno Hofland	EF Education First	s.t.
103	Sacha Modolo	EF Education First	s.t.
104	Mickaël Delage	Groupama-FDJ	15' 34''
105	Loïc Chetout	Cofidis	s.t.
106	Maxime Daniel	Arkea-Samsic	15' 36''
107	Christopher Lawless	Team INEOS	15' 36''
108	Thomas Vaubourzeix	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
109	Evan Clouse	Interpro Cycling	s.t.
110	Nicolas Baldo	St Michel-Auber 93	s.t.
111	Lucas De Rossi	Delko-Marseille Provence	s.t.
112	Emiel Vermeulen	Natura4ever-Roubaix-Lille Métropole	s.t.
113	Daniel Turek	Israel Cycling Academy	15' 37''
114	Lucas Carstensen	Bike Aid	15' 39''
115	Aaron Grosser	Bike Aid	15' 56''
116	Evaldas Siškevicius	Delko-Marseille Provence	18' 35''
117	Justin Wolf	Bike Aid	19' 24''
118	Niko Holler	Bike Aid	20' 59''
119	Adne van Engelen	Bike Aid	21' 05''