The final stage of Tour Mediterraneen was a 192 km stage from Bandol to Toulon. The stage finished with a summit finish on the mountain of Mont Faron. Overall GC leader Stephen Cummings held on to his lead while Jean-Christophe Peraud won the stage.
Tobias Ludvigsson of Giant-Shimano tried to continue his success from Etoile de Besseges, where he won the TT and took the overall win. On the penultimate stage of Tour Mediterraneen, the Swedish rider came in 32 seconds behind Peraud and moved into the top 5. Giant-Shimano had already secured a spot on the final podium, as John Degenkolb had sprinted himself to the green jersey.
Coach Lionel Marie says today was a good day for the team, even though they didn’t manage to get Ludvigsson on the final podium. The Swede had had bad luck in yesterday's time trial when a puncture had forced him to do the final 7km on his road bike.
“Today was another good day, we didn’t manage to get Tobias up into the top three but fifth is still a very good result and had he not punctured yesterday he would have been there, but that is racing and sometimes you have to take risks.”
The team had planned to place Warren Barguil and Tobias Ludvigsson in a good spot before the final climb and then let them do the work.
“Today we made a plan for the guys to get Tobias and Warren Barguil in a good position at the bottom of Mont-Faron and from there it was up to them. Tobias did a strong ride to finish 12th and Warren also rode well but was feeling the effects of a hard week working for the team.
“It’s been a great race; three stage wins and the sprinter’s jersey for John , and a top five overall for Tobias. The team spirit has been great all week and it’s great to see the guys working so well together.”
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