Star line-up for 40th edition for French stage race season-opener
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Jon Tiernan-Locke (Endura Racing) bookended his Tour Méditerranéen with wins on the opening and final stages, plus took overall honours.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The peloton at the Tour Méditerranéen Cycliste Professionnel.(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
2013 sees the 40th anniversary edition of the Tour Méditerranéen, and the French stage race is reportedly set to feature a solid line-up of star names. Amongst those provisionally down to race are Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan), Pierre Rolland and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), André Greipel (Lotto-Bellisol), Thor Hushovd (BMC) and Nicolas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff).
It is not yet known if Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, last year’s winner, will be taking part with his new team, Sky.
Nearly 40 teams are reported to have asked for a spot in the five-day event running from February 6th - 10th, with 20 to be selected.
The course’s first decisive moment will be a 24 kilometre individual time trial on stage two, with the other highpoint likely to be the traditional ascent of the Mont Faron climb outside Toulon - missing this year because of bad weather - two days later. Stage five rounds off the race with a finish in the town of Grasse following a 167 kilometre trek through the Alpine foothills in southeast France.
The 40th edition sees longstanding organiser Lucien Aimar - former Tour de France winner back in 1966 - step down, with André Martres and Claude Primard taking over the running.
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