CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious enjoyed a successful day yesterday in the second stage of the 2025 Tour de la Provence in France, as Matej Mohoric and Fred Wright both finished on the podium in Manosque.
The 167km route from Forcalquier had been predicted to end with a bunch sprint, but with over 2,400 metres of climbing, it was also an ideal day for a breakaway to stay away. Both Wright and Mohoric were amongst the riders to ride clear from the peloton, along with eventual winner Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek team.
The gap reached almost four minutes before starting to close, and with 18km to go, there were nine riders around 20 seconds ahead of the chasers. Mohoric was the first to attack from that group, but was quickly followed by Pedersen, as the peloton absorbed the others.
When the two leaders pulled 45 seconds clear, it became increasingly likely that it would be ‘mano-a-mano’ to the line, and so it proved. The Dane is a far more specialist sprinter than the Slovenian, so it was always going to be a difficult task to defeat him, despite the uphill drag to the finish.
On the run-in to the line, Mohoric sat on the wheel of Pedersen, but as he prepared to start his sprint, the former world champion increased his cadence and took the victory. Mohoric finished a very creditable second, and from the bunch behind, Wright accelerated to take third place.
The stage classification means that with one day remaining, Pedersen goes into the lead overall, 13 seconds ahead of Mohoric, with Wright lying third, 24s back.
Bahrain Victorious sports director Michal Golas was pleased with how the team rode, and knows that on the final stage, 190.6km from Rognac to Arles, everything is still to play for.
“The guys really committed 100 per cent today,” said Golas. “Everybody contributed to this result and we can be very satisfied because Pedersen was really strong.
“In the key moments, the guys were in the right place and in the right moves and I’m super happy with how the team performed. In the final, what’s really nice to see is the cooperation between Fred and Matej, and I think that’s the way we need to continue.
“Tomorrow is the last day and the race is not over. The general classification is still close, the gaps are small, and we need to concentrate to defend our positions. It’s not over, so we need to be ready tomorrow to continue the good work of the team so far.”
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