Route d'Occitanie: Valverde wins atop Les Monts-d'Olmes
Spaniard holds off Navarro and moves into overall lead
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) claimed victory on the most demanding stage of the Route d’Occitanie after beating Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) and Kenny Elissonde (Team Sky) to win on the fog-shrouded summit of Les Monts d'Olmes.
Only 30 riders were left in the front group after the passage over the climbs of the Port de Lers and Col du Chioula, and Valverde went on the offensive on the opening ramps of the final 15-kilometre haul to the finish.
Elissonde and Navarro went on the attack with Valverde, and the Sky rider made several attempts to shake the Spanish pair loose ahead of the summit. Valverde proved a redoubtable foe, however, and the veteran unfurled a crisp acceleration of his own near the summit to take the win and move into the overall lead.
Navarro placed second on the stage, two seconds down, while Elissonde placed third at seven seconds. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) took fourth at 1:03, just ahead of Sebastien Reichenbach (Groupama-FDJ).
The Route d’Occitanie (formerly the Route du Sud) is Valverde’s first race since Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April and his final tune-up ahead of next month’s Tour de France, where he will form a fearsome triumivirate for Movistar alongside Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa.
“It was a very demanding stage, and even if the weather conditions were really good for most of it, the final section was foggy and slightly rainy, and made for dangerous descents – but it really wasn’t that big of a problem,” Valverde said.
“At the final split with Navarro and Elissonde, I was able to stay calm and follow their moves without much suffering – we were going on the attack in the beginning, but later understood it was better to cooperate, at least before the final slopes. They tried to drop me back into the final section because they knew I would be faster into a sprint, but I was able to keep their pace and grab the win.”
Valverde carries a lead of six seconds over Navarro into Sunday’s final stage, with Elissonde in third at 12 seconds.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team | 5:28:53 |
2 | Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:02 |
3 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky | 0:00:06 |
4 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:03 |
5 | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:04 |
6 | Antonio Molina Canet (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:01:06 |
7 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:09 |
8 | Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:32 |
9 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:50 |
10 | Ricardo Vilela (Por) Manzana Postobon | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (Nor) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:01:55 |
12 | Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:02:02 |
13 | Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team | 0:02:08 |
14 | Thomas Joly (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:02:38 |
15 | Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:02:50 |
16 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:03:07 |
17 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:03:13 |
18 | Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:03:43 |
19 | Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:05:53 |
20 | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:06:19 |
21 | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky | 0:06:38 |
22 | Jérémy Maison (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:06:41 |
23 | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Mathias Le Turnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:06:58 |
25 | Kevin Le Cunff (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:07:15 |
26 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:07:48 |
28 | Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:07:51 |
29 | Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:07:56 |
30 | Jhojan Orlando Garcia Sosa (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:08:26 |
31 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:09:04 |
32 | Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:09:39 |
33 | Yoann Bagot (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:10:03 |
34 | Joaquim Silva (Por) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:10:40 |
35 | Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:11:45 |
36 | Flavien Maurelet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:11:55 |
37 | Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:12:00 |
38 | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:12:09 |
39 | Nicolas Baldo (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:12:49 |
40 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team | 0:13:10 |
41 | Pierre Gouault (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:13:19 |
42 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Camille Thominet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Salim Kipkemboi (Ken) Bike Aid | 0:13:41 |
46 | Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:13:44 |
47 | Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:14:12 |
48 | Hernan Ricardo Aguirre Caipa (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:14:25 |
49 | Damien Gaudin (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:15:27 |
50 | Fabien Doubey (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:15:53 |
51 | Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Jerome Mainard (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Julien Amadori (Fra) Project Nice Cote d'Azur | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Suleiman Kangangi (Ken) Bike Aid | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:16:47 |
58 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:17:48 |
59 | Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:18:25 |
60 | Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:19:01 |
61 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:19:04 |
62 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:19:18 |
64 | Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:19:28 |
65 | Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:20:47 |
66 | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:21:27 |
67 | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:22:25 |
68 | Geoffrey Kiprotich Langat (Ken) Bike Aid | 0:22:39 |
69 | Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:22:53 |
70 | Simon Antonini (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:22:55 |
71 | Jérémy Leveau (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:23:33 |
72 | Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:24:52 |
74 | Nuno Bico (Por) Movistar Team | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Steven Tronet (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Johan Le Bon (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:25:03 |
77 | Beñat Txoperena Matxikote (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:25:12 |
78 | Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:29:25 |
80 | Pierre Idjouadiene (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:33:19 |
81 | Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
82 | Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:33:43 |
83 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:33:58 |
84 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Sky | 0:40:27 |
86 | Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Josu Zabala Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Fabio Duarte (Col) Manzana Postobon | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
92 | Kevin Reza (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:40:58 |
93 | Erwann Corbel (Fra) Vital Concept Club | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
94 | Tom Dernies (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Meron Abraham (Eri) Bike Aid | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Stéphane Cognet (Fra) Project Nice Cote d'Azur | 0:41:13 |
DNF | Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Maxime Daniel (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Elie Gesbert (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jon Aberasturi Izaga (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) Manzana Postobon | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yoann Paillot (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Vital Concept Club | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Brendan Cole (Aus) Project Nice Cote d'Azur | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
DNS | Damien Touze (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team | 13:48:23 |
2 | Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:06 |
3 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky | 0:00:12 |
4 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:12 |
5 | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:14 |
6 | Antonio Molina Canet (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:01:16 |
7 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:19 |
8 | Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:42 |
9 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Groupama-FDJ | 0:02:00 |
10 | Ricardo Vilela (Por) Manzana Postobon | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Sindre Skjøstad Lunke (Nor) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:02:05 |
12 | Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:02:12 |
13 | Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Astana Pro Team | 0:02:18 |
14 | Thomas Joly (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:02:48 |
15 | Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:03:00 |
16 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:03:17 |
17 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:03:20 |
18 | Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:03:53 |
19 | Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:06:03 |
20 | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:06:29 |
21 | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Team Sky | 0:06:48 |
22 | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:06:51 |
23 | Jérémy Maison (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Mathias Le Turnier (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:07:08 |
25 | Kevin Le Cunff (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:07:25 |
26 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:07:54 |
28 | Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:08:01 |
29 | Jhojan Orlando Garcia Sosa (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:08:36 |
30 | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:09:14 |
31 | Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:09:49 |
32 | Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:10:03 |
33 | Yoann Bagot (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:10:13 |
34 | Joaquim Silva (Por) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:10:50 |
35 | Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:11:55 |
36 | Flavien Maurelet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:12:05 |
37 | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:12:18 |
38 | Nicolas Baldo (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:12:59 |
39 | Camille Thominet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93 | 0:13:29 |
40 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Pierre Gouault (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Salim Kipkemboi (Ken) Bike Aid | 0:13:51 |
44 | Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:13:54 |
45 | Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:14:22 |
46 | Hernan Ricardo Aguirre Caipa (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:15:27 |
47 | Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:15:56 |
48 | Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:16:03 |
49 | Damien Gaudin (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:16:56 |
50 | Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:16:57 |
51 | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team | 0:17:13 |
52 | Julien Amadori (Fra) Project Nice Cote d'Azur | 0:17:18 |
53 | Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Fabien Doubey (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:17:25 |
55 | Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Jerome Mainard (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:17:41 |
57 | Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic | 0:18:35 |
58 | Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:19:01 |
59 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:19:14 |
60 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:19:20 |
61 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:20:36 |
62 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:20:50 |
63 | Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:20:57 |
64 | Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:23:13 |
65 | Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:23:38 |
66 | Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:24:02 |
67 | Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:24:25 |
68 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:24:46 |
69 | Steven Tronet (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:25:02 |
70 | Jérémy Leveau (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:25:21 |
71 | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:25:30 |
72 | Simon Antonini (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | 0:25:54 |
73 | Beñat Txoperena Matxikote (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias | 0:26:07 |
74 | Johan Le Bon (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:26:50 |
75 | Yohann Gene (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:28:03 |
76 | Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:29:35 |
77 | Suleiman Kangangi (Ken) Bike Aid | 0:31:37 |
78 | Pierre Idjouadiene (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:33:29 |
79 | Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:33:53 |
81 | Bryan Coquard (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:34:04 |
82 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:36:49 |
83 | Geoffrey Kiprotich Langat (Ken) Bike Aid | 0:40:09 |
84 | Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:40:33 |
85 | Nuno Bico (Por) Movistar Team | 0:40:36 |
86 | Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Sky | 0:40:37 |
87 | Jonathan Lastra Martinez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Kevin Reza (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:41:08 |
89 | Fabio Duarte (Col) Manzana Postobon | 0:42:34 |
90 | Erwann Corbel (Fra) Vital Concept Club | 0:43:38 |
91 | Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky | 0:44:09 |
92 | Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky | 0:44:26 |
93 | Josu Zabala Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:56:11 |
94 | Meron Abraham (Eri) Bike Aid | 0:56:36 |
95 | Tom Dernies (Bel) Roubaix Lille Metropole | 0:56:42 |
96 | Stéphane Cognet (Fra) Project Nice Cote d'Azur | 1:01:07 |
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