Ben King won the opening stage of the Criterium International in Corsica on Saturday. The American escaped off front with Clément Saint-Martin (Team Marseille 13) in the fast opening kilometres of the short, sharp stage, and the duo managed to hold off a chasing peloton all the way to the finish line in Porto-Vecchio.

“It’s a great feeling to win here,” said King. “All I could think about in the final twenty kilometres were my teammates, especially Langeveld, who was in great condition and had a bad crash yesterday.”

“I also crashed last weekend in Milan-San Remo,” King added. “We’ve had some back luck, but we haven’t lost our fighting spirit. So, I desperately wanted to get the win for my teammates. That was my motivation. I’m happy I was able to deliver.”

King was a late addition to the two-day, three-stage race. A replacement for a sick teammate, the 26-year-old arrived ready to race, coming back strong after a heavy crash at last week’s Milan San Remo – and wasted no time throwing down the gauntlet. The double day began with a 97 kilometre road stage that Sport Director Eric van Lancker called heavy and hilly.

“It’s constantly left and right,” explained van Lancker. “There were crosswinds – cross-head or cross tail all day.”

“Ben did an exceptional ride today,” van Lancker added. “He got off the front after a very fast start. The pair built up to more than four minutes before different teams started working together to bring them back.”

Despite the collaboration of the chasing peloton in their wake, King and Saint-Martin continued to cooperate in an effort to keep the peloton at bay. Their efforts proved fruitful. Three kilometres from the finish, they had slightly more than a minute advantage on the peloton.

“In the final kilometres, I just told him to stay cool and relax,” explained van Lancker. “He won the final sprint easily and starts this afternoon’s stage in the leader’s jersey.”

“It’s a great win for the team,” van Lancker added. “We’re very proud.”

King started and finished stage two, a seven kilometre individual time trial, in the yellow race leader’s jersey. Slotting into 19th place on stage two, 21 seconds behind stage two winner Fabio Felline (Trek Factory Racing), King carries a healthy 24 second advantage over Saint-Martin into the final stage of the race.