Tour du Limousin: Mozzato wins hectic stage 2 bunch sprint into Trélissac

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Luca Mozzato won stage 2 of the Tour du Limousin-Périgord in a hectic sprint in Trélissac and scored the first professional victory with Arkéa-Samsic.

Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) pushed across the line in second, ahead of Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën Team), wearing the KOM jersey. Cosnefroy and Askey bumped in the final right-hand corner, with the Frenchman complaining with a raised arm for the disruption in his momentum that left him in third position.

“The final was very nervous. I got blocked in the sprint and hit the barriers with my front wheel. I was really scared. There were bonus seconds in play at the finish, but that does not excuse everything. I am frustrated because I had the legs to win. In the end, it is still a podium," a frustrated Cosnefroy said.

Race leader Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) finished safely in the front group to retain the yellow jersey, now 19 seconds over Cosnefroy and 26 seconds over Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ) in third.

A breakaway controlled the stage for 150km, but the remaining trio from a five-rider lead group withered away just 4.5km from the finish to set up the bunch sprint.

Wednesday’s flat run from Excideuil to Trélissac included four intermediate sprints and a trio of small third-category climbs where organisers provided KOM points. The distance between the two cities is only 30km, but the route looped through the narrow country roads of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region for 185.6km.

After 30km of racing, the composition of the breakaway was set with Johan Jacobs (Movistar Team), Vinzent Dorn (Bike Aid), Andrea Pietrobon (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team) and the Van Rysel-Roubaix Lille Métropole pair Tom Mainguenaud and Kenny Molly. Another 10km on, they passed over the first KOM, with a 4:10 advantage over the peloton.

After the second KOM, the quintet grew its lead to 5:25, and with just under 100km to race, a few teams began to take an interest, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, Arkéa-Samsic Groupama-FDJ beginning to add a higher pace at the front of the peloton.

Across the lumpy, circuitous route the five worked together well until Dorn accelerated with 30km to go and sprinted to claim the Corrèze trophy sprint in Cornille. Pietrobon was then dropped from the front group and rejoined the peloton with 25km to go. Race leader Grégoire remained protected by Groupama-FDJ, riding at the front of the peloton and bringing the margin down to 1:55.

On the clockwise loop across the final 2.4km climb at Côte de Sarliac, the four leaders saw their margin dissolve to under 40 seconds, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty driving the peloton.

With 13km of flat terrain remaining until the final uphill kick in Trélissac, Mainguenaud fell away from the leaders. Eight kilometres later, the peloton had the remaining trio in their sights and made the catch with just under 4.5km to go. 

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