Lars Boom secures stage victory and overall lead for Blanco Procycling by winning the time trial of the Tour Méditerranéen after a planned bike change.

"I had a great feeling today,” said Boom. “Everything went well from start to finish. The wind was strong with crosswinds and some tailwinds. In the beginning I saw Marco Pinotti riding ahead of me and I could catch him at approximately 10 km from the finish. But mainly I made the difference by changing bikes. Climbing went a lot faster than on the time trial bike. Everything went as planned with our sports director and mechanics. Tomorrow there seems to be no racing. So I will defend my jersey on Saturday, which seems to be a hard stage."

Sports director Nico Verhoeven was excited with Lars Boom’s first victory of this season. "Getting the confirmations early in the season is always good for a rider. Too bad there is no racing tomorrow. The team want to defend the jersey, especially because of the flat stage that was planned. Saturday will be more difficult but we have potential winners in Mollema and ten Dam."

Friday’s stage has been cancelled due to “logistical problems”. Apparently there’s a problem with the finish circuit around St. Remy.