Carlos Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale) sealed overall victory at the Tour du Haut-Var in very impressive fashion when he finished second behind Amaël Moinard (BMC) on the second and last stage in Draguignan.
Carlos Betancur (AG2R La Mondiale). Photo: Fotoreporter Sirotti
Betancur had been a surprise winner of Saturday’s opening stage when he led out the sprint for teammate Samuel Dumoulin and simply kept on going all the way to the line, out-matching no less a figure than John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) in the process.
Though delighted to claim his first victory for Ag2r since joining at the start of last season, Betancur acknowledged that he would have his work cut out to defend his yellow jersey but the Colombian proved more than capable of the challenge on the rolling second stage to Draguignan.
After hanging tough on the final climb, the Côte de Tuilières, where Remy Di Gregorio (La Pomme-Marseille) and Fabio Duarte (Colombia) punched their way clear, Betancur sensed an opportunity when the race came back together in the final kilometre.
When Moinard attacked within sight of the red kite, Betancur moved smoothly onto his wheel. Together, the pair opened up a gap of ten seconds over the peloton, and divided the spoils between them at the finish – Moinard took the stage and Betancur the overall victory. – Cyclingnews
For more International news, click here.
For more breaking news and views, visit In the Bunch on Twitter.
