On land, Laporte did not see the sprint won by Dane Mads Pedersen ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard.

Ranked at the same time as the peloton, he kept the leader's jersey for a one-second lead over van Aert, only third in this uphill sprint that seemed destined for him.

But that was to forget the strength of Pedersen, revealed by his second place in the 2019 Tour of Flanders before his confirmation with a world championship title the same year on a cold autumn day in Yorkshire.

Pedersen got stuck in the wheels of his Trek teammates, the Luxembourger Alex Kirsch and the Belgian Jasper Stuyven, before launching his sprint from afar without Coquard being able to reassemble him and clinch his first WorldTour victory.

"It's been a long time since I won in the WorldTour", appreciated the Dane, whose last high-level success dated from Ghent-Wevelgem 2020. Very happy with this 20th success, he gave an appointment to the next classics , of which he will be one of the men to follow because of his qualities in the sprint, especially in the event of a trying race.

Pedersen winner without Jakobsen

In Dun-Le-Palestel, a town in Creuse which hosts a post-Tour de France criterium every summer, Pedersen had his task made easier by the absence of the previous day's winner Fabio Jakobsen.

The Dutchman, already struggling in the final of the first stage, was wrung out by the pace of van Aert's men on the last climb of the course, before the last 20 kilometers, and this point could play against his selection for Milan- Sanremo (March 19) against Cipressa and Poggio, the last two difficulties of the great Italian classic.

In the general classification, Laporte preserved - without looking for it - a one-second advantage over van Aert, who pocketed only 4 bonus seconds.

But the advance is very fragile before the only time trial of the event, over the 13.4 kilometers between Domérat and Montluçon in the Allier, with a steep climb (700 m at 8.6% ) to finish.

Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo), big favorite, March 8, 2022. FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives

"The course is hilly but short, there shouldn't be too big a gap between the favourites, it should be up to 30-40 seconds," said race director François Lemarchand.

"The goal was not to tie the standings."

Asked about the favorite, to choose between Roglic and van Aert despite the presence of the Swiss Stefan Bissegger (winner of the Paris-Nice time trial last year), the race director hesitated before launching: "Perhaps an advantage to Roglic."

© 2022 AFP