2014 Tour Méditerranéen champion Stephen Cummings (BMC) on the podium with legendary former pro Raymond Poulidor(Image credit: Sirotti)
Tour Méditerranéen leader Stephen Cummings (BMC) dug deep to finish fourth on the final stage and win overall.(Image credit: AFP)
Tour Méditerranéen leader Stephen Cummings (BMC) placed fourth on Mont Faron to win overall by four seconds(Image credit: Sirotti)
The organiser of the Tour Cycliste Méditerranéen has confirmed the race will go ahead this year, despite financial difficulties and the race not being listed on the 2015 UCI calendar.
Race organiser André Martres has published a brief message on the race website, revealing that the 2015 edition would consist of three stages, instead of the usual five stages, between February 12-14.
“This edition of the race has been more difficult to put in place than the last two editions,” Martres said in a message on the race website.
Martres revealed that the race will begin with a road stage in the Catalan town of Figueras, Spain, near the Salvador Dali museum. It will followed by a time trial stage in Béziers in south-west France, with the final stage between Cadolive and Pegomas, near Cannes. The riders face long transfers between each of the three stages and there will no longer be the traditional mountain stage on the slopes of Mont Faron near Toulon.
Stephen Cummings won the 2014 edition of the race while riding for BMC but it is unclear which teams will ride the 2015 race. The Dubai Tour, Tour of Qatar and Tour of Oman now offer an alternative early-season race programme for many WorldTour teams, while Spanish teams focus on the Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia on February 14, the Clasica de Almeria on February 15 and then Ruta del Sol which begins on February 18.
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