Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took a leaf out of team leader Tadej Pogačar's book, winning the Faun Drôme Classic with an audacious 40km solo attack.
The Spaniard looked exhausted in the closing stages of the race but held on to outlast his lone pursuer, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), finishing 23 seconds ahead of the Dane.
Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) led in the peloton 1'15" back, beating Marc Hirschi and Andrea Bagioli, among others, in a sprint for the final spot on the podium.
“We had a plan from the start to attack right where I did and the lead out from Isaac was planned and he did it perfectly," Ayuso said. “Isaac really put me in the perfect position to be able to attack so a big thanks must go to him."
The 22-year-old also had to contend with the extra challenge of not having the time gaps to Skjelmose on his solo flyer.
“In the final kilometres there was quite a lot of headwind and my radio didn’t work so well, so I was looking behind a bit as I knew Skjelmose wasn’t too far away and I had no time references. I just did a time trial effort and pushed to the end and it all worked out. I’m thrilled to get this first win and get the season off to a good start with the team.”
How it unfolded
With Opening Weekend taking place over the border in Belgium, the riders here were competing in an Opening Weekend of their own, with many - including Ayuso and Skjelmose - fresh from yesterday's Faun-Ardèche Classic.
Ayuso was 10th then and his Danish rival sixth, with the pair both improving on that showing in Faun Drôme, a punchy 189km race starting and finishing in Étoile-sur-Rhône.
A small breakaway formed inside the first 20km, with Baptiste Poulard (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Matisse Julien (CIC - U - Nantes), Xabier Mikel Azparren, Walter Calzoni Walter and Sjoerd Bax (all Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Kenny Molly (Van Rysel Roubaix), Jonas Gregaard (Lotto), and Noah Knecht (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur) getting up the road. Bit by bit those riders dropped away as the multiple climbs on the course took their toll.
Inside the last 50km a large crash took out some 20 riders, including Alex Aranburu Alex (Cofidis) and Marco Brenner (Tudor Pro Cycling Team).
The 4.6km-long Col de la Grande Limite, one of the day’s toughest climbs, proved the decisive battleground, as the survivors of the breakaway were caught and Ayuso chose his moment to attack.
The Spaniard went solo with 40km to go, with Skjelmose responding immediately but unable to bridge the gap as several riders counter-attacked, but eventually he escaped to begin his pursuit of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man.
A loose three-man group of chasers formed, consisting of Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), and Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), although Garofoli was distanced fairly swiftly. The counter-attacks continued from behind and Healy and Scaroni were absorbed in the final 15km. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) made a late move but the Frenchman too was absorbed in time to set up a sprint on the tough uphill finish.
Up ahead, Ayuso managed to cling on to victory despite a nervy finale, with Skjelmose still unable to bridge the gap but maintaining his pace to take second, almost a minute clear of the peloton.
A tough day in the saddle culminated in a sharp uphill finisher, the 500m Côte Chaude at an average of 6.9%, and it was Briton Tulett who had the most pep left in his step as he won the sprint for third place.
Results
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