Toulouse (AFP)

Egan Bernal (Ineos), the winner of the last Tour de France, won the Route d'Occitanie on Tuesday and recalled that he would be the main favorite to his own succession at the start of the next Grande Boucle.

The Colombian came fourth in this last stage, between Lectoure (Gers) and Rocamadour (Lot), won by the French Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale).

Successful bet for Bernal, who returned to Europe in mid-July to refine his preparation in Andorra and who had announced before the start of the event that he wanted to "have fun and build up strength until the Tour".

If a breakaway of 11 riders, starting at the 26th kilometer, animated the race for a long time, the peloton arrived grouped at the foot of the final climb to Rocamadour (1.4 km at 8.5%) thanks in particular to the joint work of the teams of sprinters and Ineos.

Aged 24, Benoît Cosnefroy bravely played his card to finally cross the finish line in front of the Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).

Third in the stage two seconds behind his compatriot, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-Groupama) symbolically got the better of Bernal, classified at the same time, thus confirming his good form after his fourth place the day before during the queen stage. across the Pyrenees.

"It's a step that I checked and I'm really happy for myself and for the team" smiled Cosnefroy.

Just before the departure from Lectoure, and in the presence of his family, a tribute was paid by the peloton to Nicolas Portal, the former sports director of Ineos, who died of cardiac arrest at the age of 40, in last march.

Pinot and Bernal will meet again on the roads of the Critérium du Dauphiné (12-16 August), final rehearsal before the big explanation expected during the next Tour de France (29 August-20 September). If Bernal won the first round in the south of France, the rest of the duel promises to be exciting.

© 2020 AFP