Miguel Angel Lopez won the one-day Mont Ventoux Challenge on Tuesday, a 153km ride to the top of the mountain known as “the Giant of Provence”.
The race features two ascents to the barren, lunar landscapes of the upper reaches of Ventoux, in a dress rehearsal for stage 11 of this year’s Tour de France on July 7.
The 27-year-old Movistar rider crossed the summit at 1,909 metres alone, 2min 26sec ahead of Astana’s Oscar Rodriguez while Enric Mas was third a few seconds further back.
“The boys did a stupendous job and this is the way to thank them for their work,” said the Colombian.
“That was a long one for me, but we did the first climb at a strong tempo and the second one started rapidly, so that allowed me to attack from range.”
? Miguel Angel Lopez remporte en solitaire le Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge !
Le Colombien s'impose avec plus de deux minutes d'avance après une attaque à 12 kilomètres du sommet.Le direct > https://t.co/uiyvzHSCjH#lequipeVELO #MVDC pic.twitter.com/H11hgxPTYm
— la chaine L'Équipe (@lachainelequipe) June 8, 2021
