At the end of a stage which he considered "nervous and very fast" between Istres and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) over 151.8 kilometers, the double world champion, third of the stage, is now on the heels of Ganna in the general standings.
During this windy day in the Camargue, the Frenchman, who is launching his season, grabbed ten bonus seconds (six during the stage, four at the finish) and relegated most of his competitors far behind.
Exit Gorka Izagirre and Ivan Sosa (Movistar), 2019 and 2021 winners: the Spaniard gave up on a fall and was taken to hospital while the Colombian was "bordered", jointly victim of the mistral, the fall of his teammate and acceleration at the front of the Ineos team.
But the strategy of the British team was a double-edged sword: its sprinter Viviani, well helped by Ganna, won with authority ahead of the Belgian Sep Vanmarcke (Israel PT) and Alaphilippe, but its Ecuadorian Olympic champion Richard Carapaz, who is aiming the general, was unclasped from the small leading group (26 men at the time of the break, twenty at the finish) and lost an additional sixteen seconds.
Of all the Andean climbers cited as favorites for the event on Thursday before the Berre l'Etang prologue, only Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) resisted: he was only 24 seconds behind Alaphilippe.
The other outsiders are now French: Pierre Latour (Total), third at ten seconds, and Aurélien Paret-Peintre (AG2R), fifteenth at 34 seconds.
Saturday, the second stage between Arles and Manosque (Alpes de Haute-Provence) will offer 180.5 kilometers and more than 2,100 meters of elevation gain in the Pre-Alps, an ideal opportunity for Alaphilippe to take power in this seventh Tour de La Provence which will will end on Sunday with the ascent of the Montagne de Lure.
© 2022 AFP