Cycling: Jonathan Hivert (Direct Energie) has won the opener of the two-day Tour du Haut Var. For uphill sprint, the Frenchman prevailed ahead of Nicola Bagioli (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini) and Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale).
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[gap height=“25″] From Le Cannet des Maures to Fayence, the hilly 169,7 kilometers had to be completed today. Numerous attacks and speed increases could be seen at the beginning of the race. Apparently a lot of riders wanted to sneak into the group of the day. Initially, four professionals succeeded in doing this, but were then caught up again early on. Then another quartet broke away, but they too couldn't keep their noses in the wind for long. This enormously high speed ultimately ensured that only a very decimated peloton reached the finish line. In the uphill sprint, the Frenchman had Jonathan Hivert (Direct energy) the fastest legs. He won ahead of the Italian Nicola Bagioli (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini) and his compatriot Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale).
Tour du Haut Var: A two-day race
The Tour du Haut Var has been on the cycling calendar since Raymond Poulidor won it in 1969. But it has only been held as a two-day race since 2009. In the past two years was Arthur Vichot (Groupama-FDJ) successful. The Frenchman also won in 2013. With three wins he is together with the Dutchman Joop Sweet Milk the current record holder of the small tour. This season, however, Arthur Vihot is not at the start. On the other hand, many other well-known professionals will cycle through the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur over two days at the Tour du Haut Var 2018.
@HivertJonathan @TeamDEN_fr gana la 1a etapa de #TourduSkinVar 📷@TeamDEN_fr pic.twitter.com/EE7Wqjq5Mx
— Ciclismo en directo (@NCiclismo) February 17, 2018
.@HivertJonathan @TeamDEN_fr wins Stage 1 of Tour Du Haut Var #TourduSkinVar https://t.co/NT6OuyDGrt pic.twitter.com/uviFhqSB8B
— FirstCycling.com (@FirstCycling) February 17, 2018