Sunday afternoon, Jean-Christophe Péraud won the final stage of the Tour Méditerranéen with a victory at the top of Mont Faron. Faron also won this stage in 2013 on a climb he is particularly fond of, and it marks the first victory of the 2014 season for the AG2R – La Mondiale squad.
Péraud ended up second in the final general classification, 4’’ behind BMC Racing Team’s Stephen Cummings.
Jean-Christophe Péraud said after he crossed the finish line: “That’s a great collective win. Instructions have been followed and it paid off. I knew this 5th stage will be physically demanding but I have been well supported by my teammates. Yauheni (Hutarovich) remained by my side to protect me throughout the day. Julien (Bérard ) and Guillaume (Bonnafond) did a good job on the descent in order to place me in a good position inside the bunch. Then Mika (Cherel) and Matteo (Montaguti) worked well at the foot of the Mont Faron. And, this is Carlos (Betancur) who helped me to attack on the middle of the climb and so, to leave behind my competitors. Everyone made his contribution to get this stage win.”
Julien Jurdie , sports director of the AG2R LA MONDIALE team, said: “The whole team worked well today to get this stage win. It is really a collective work with Yauheni (Hutarovich), Julien (Bérard) and Guillaume (Bonnafond) who have been present from the first kilometers, then with Matteo (Montaguti) and Mikael (Cherel) on the final part. A special mention to Carlos (Betancur) who has been an invaluable help in the Faron climb.
However, we have some regrets with regard to the overall standings. Yesterday, Jean- Christophe was hindered by a car during the individual time-trial and the 4 seconds missing to win the overall classification may be there. We will never know but it is a little bit frustrating.”
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.