Tour Méditerranéen: Maxime Monfort takes the lead on Mont Faron stage

Lars Boom loses time as Jean-Christophe Péraud takes iconic summit stage

Maxime Monfort (RadioShack-Leopard) took over the race lead in the fourth and penultimate stage of the 2013 Tour Méditerranéen, between Rousset and Mont Faron, above the port city of Toulon. The Belgian was part of a group that finished 54 seconds behind stage winner Jean-Christophe Péraud (AG2R La Mondiale), but took over the lead after yellow jersey Lars Boom (Blanco) lost a further 23 seconds.

Péraud rode away from the head of the peloton on the steep, narrow climb to the finish, to take his first road victory since he took the French time trial championship as an amateur in 2009. The 36-year-old finished 19 seconds clear of Italian Francesco Reda (Androni Giocattoli-Venezeula), with Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Blanco) third, another five seconds back.

The Frenchman’s stage victory was not quite enough to put him into the race lead, and he trailed Monfort in the general classification by just two seconds.

“The whole team worked all day for that I’m well-placed and in the best conditions in the pack,” said Péraud afterwards. “I’m really glad to raise my arms there, at the top of the Mont Faron, after a good climb. Tomorrow, It will going to be tough to make up the two seconds that I miss to be leader of the overall classification but the team will do its best to succeed.”

After an unscheduled rest day, with the cancellation of stage three due to safety concerns in the city of Marseille, the fourth stage saw a breakaway from eight riders as it left the start town of Rousse.

Julian Kern (AG2R-La Mondiale), Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM), Brice Feillu (Sojasun), Juan Arango (Colombia), Geoffroy Lequatre (Brittany-Séché), Daniel Oss (BMC Racing) and Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling) managed to get clear of the peloton, but were never allowed to build enough of a lead to stay away.

An attack from Urtasun and Feillu on the penultimate climb of the Col de Garde, with less than 15km remaining, prolonged the break a little, but the race was all back together as it approached the foot of Mont Faron.

As the climb began, Péraud attacked, and managed to hold off the chase all the way to the finish.

“I felt no panic when Péraud attacked,” said Monfort afterwards. “I had studied the GC very well with [directeur sportif Jose] Azevedo last night. I knew he would never take one minute on me.  We were well prepared.

“The only thing not foreseen was that I had a very bad day today,” he added. “But I gave everything I had.  It was a fight within myself the last two, three kilometres. It was a TT for me.  Thanks go to my teammates who worked all day for me. Thomas Rohregger was the last guy with me until 2k from the top and then it was up to me. Just at that moment Boom was dropped.”

Monfort’s lead, heading into the final stage, was just one second over Boom, however. With no time bonuses in the race, the Dutchman would have to attack on the final stage to take back the race.

Tour of the Mediterranean (2.1):

Stage 4, Rousset to Mount Faron:

1, Maxime Monfort (RadioShack Leopard) 7 hours 32 mins 16 secs
2, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 1 secs
3, Thomas Lövkvist (IAM Cycling) at 2 secs
4, Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R La Mondiale)
5, Nicolas Roche (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 22 secs
6, Francesco Reda (Androni Giocattoli) at 26 secs
7, Bauke Mollema (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 34 secs
8, Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) at 38 secs
9, Gustav Larsson (IAM Cycling) at 52 secs
10, Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) at 1 min 0 secs
11, Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling) at 1 min 5 secs
12, Arthur Vichot (FDJ) at 1 min 8 secs
13, Rémi Pauriol (Sojasun) at 1 min 15 secs
14, Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 min 17 secs
15, Laurens Ten Dam (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 1 min 20 secs
16, Thomas Rohregger (RadioShack Leopard) at 1 min 26 secs
17, Jérémy Roy (FDJ) at 1 min 30 secs
18, Ivan Santaromita (BMC Racing Team) at 1 min 42 secs
19, Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 1 min 47 secs
20, Anthony Roux (FDJ) at 1 min 50 secs
21, Diego Rosa (Androni Giocattoli) at 1 min 52 secs
22, Davide Rebellin (CCC Polsat Polkowice) at 1 min 55 secs
23, Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team) at 2 mins 1 secs
24, Rafael Valls Ferri (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 2 mins 3 secs
25, Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar) at 2 mins 6 secs
26, Bob Jungels (RadioShack Leopard) at 2 mins 26 secs
27, Rudy Molard (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 2 mins 35 secs
28, Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R La Mondiale) at 2 mins 41 secs
29, Fabrice Jeandesboz (Sojasun) at 2 mins 47 secs
30, Davide Malacarne (Team Europcar) at 2 mins 55 secs
31, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) at 2 mins 59 secs
32, Benjamin King (RadioShack Leopard)
33, Patrick Facchini (Androni Giocattoli) at 3 mins 1 secs
34, Riccardo Chiarini (Androni Giocattoli)
35, Ben Gastauer (AG2R La Mondiale) at 3 mins 14 secs
36, Romain Lemarchand (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 3 mins 29 secs
37, Romain Sicard (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 3 mins 34 secs
38, Carlos Julian Quintero (Colombia) at 3 mins 37 secs
39, Matthias Brandle (IAM Cycling) at 3 mins 39 secs
40, Julien Simon (Sojasun) at 3 mins 46 secs
41, Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli) at 4 mins 12 secs
42, Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 4 mins 18 secs
43, Stef Clement (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 4 mins 28 secs
44, Romain Zingle (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 4 mins 30 secs
45, Willem Wauters (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 4 mins 38 secs
46, Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ)
47, Jarlinson Pantano (Colombia) at 4 mins 40 secs
48, Pierre-Luc Perrichon (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 4 mins 41 secs
49, Julien Antomarchi (La Pomme Marseille) at 4 mins 43 secs
50, Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli) at 4 mins 53 secs
51, Yoann Bagot (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 4 mins 58 secs
52, Vincent Jerome (Team Europcar) at 5 mins 7 secs
53, Brian Bulgac (Lotto Belisol) at 5 mins 8 secs
54, Grégoire Tarride (La Pomme Marseille) at 5 mins 13 secs
55, Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 5 mins 14 secs
56, Stéphane Rossetto (BigMat-Auber 93) at 5 mins 17 secs
57, Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 5 mins 19 secs
58, Jussi Veikkanen (FDJ) at 5 mins 20 secs
59, Klaas Lodewyck (BMC Racing Team) at 5 mins 26 secs
60, Christophe Le Mevel (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
61, Romain Bacon (BigMat-Auber 93) at 5 mins 35 secs
62, Jorge Azanza Soto (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 5 mins 37 secs
63, Mathieu Drujon (BigMat-Auber 93) at 5 mins 53 secs
64, Nikita Novikov (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 5 mins 55 secs
65, Jean Marc Marino (Sojasun) at 6 mins 2 secs
66, David Veilleux (Team Europcar) at 6 mins 7 secs
67, Mikael Cherel (AG2R La Mondiale) at 6 mins 12 secs
68, Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Colombia) at 6 mins 14 secs
69, Thomas Vaubourzeix (La Pomme Marseille) at 6 mins 15 secs
70, Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 6 mins 27 secs
71, Laurent Pichon (FDJ) at 6 mins 28 secs
72, Sébastien Turgot (Team Europcar) at 6 mins 31 secs
73, Grega Bole (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 6 mins 42 secs
74, Pawel Charucki (CCC Polsat Polkowice) at 7 mins 7 secs
75, Blel Kadri (AG2R La Mondiale) at 7 mins 24 secs
76, Fabio Felline (Androni Giocattoli) at 7 mins 26 secs
77, Alexandre Pichot (Team Europcar) at 7 mins 49 secs
78, Théo Vimpere (BigMat-Auber 93) at 7 mins 50 secs
79, Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling) at 7 mins 53 secs
80, Rory Sutherland (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 8 mins 13 secs
81, Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar) at 8 mins 58 secs
82, Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 9 mins 1 secs
83, Florian Guillou (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 9 mins 3 secs
84, Clément Koretzky (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 9 mins 36 secs
85, Yoann Paillot (La Pomme Marseille) at 9 mins 51 secs
86, Pablo Urtasun Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 10 mins 15 secs
87, Danilo Hondo (RadioShack Leopard) at 10 mins 33 secs
88, Thor Hushovd (BMC Racing Team) at 10 mins 36 secs
89, Michael Rogers (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 10 mins 43 secs
90, Frederik Willems (Lotto Belisol) at 10 mins 45 secs
91, Maxime Daniel (Sojasun) at 10 mins 57 secs
92, Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing Team) at 11 mins 6 secs
93, Christopher Juul Jensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 11 mins 7 secs
94, Evgeny Petrov (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 11 mins 15 secs
95, Bruno Pires (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 11 mins 20 secs
96, André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) at 11 mins 23 secs
97, Maurits Lammertink (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 11 mins 58 secs
98, José Gonçalves (La Pomme Marseille) at 11 mins 59 secs
99, Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 12 mins 1 secs
100, Dominic Klemme (IAM Cycling) at 12 mins 10 secs
101, Marcel Sieberg (Lotto Belisol) at 12 mins 17 secs
102, Thomas Rostollan (La Pomme Marseille) at 12 mins 21 secs
103, Thomas Degand (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 12 mins 24 secs
104, Gert Dockx (Lotto Belisol) at 12 mins 32 secs
105, Tomasz Kiendys (CCC Polsat Polkowice) at 12 mins 48 secs
106, Brice Feillu (Sojasun) at 12 mins 50 secs
107, Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 12 mins 53 secs
108, Julian Kern (AG2R La Mondiale) at 12 mins 54 secs
109, Jurgen Van Goolen (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 13 mins 24 secs
110, Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 13 mins 41 secs
111, Rick Flens (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 13 mins 45 secs
112, Steve Morabito (BMC Racing Team) at 13 mins 57 secs
113, Jens Debusschere (Lotto Belisol) at 14 mins 0 secs
114, Jetse Bol (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 14 mins 3 secs
115, Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 14 mins 13 secs
116, Lukasz Owsian (CCC Polsat Polkowice) at 14 mins 15 secs
117, Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Colombia) at 14 mins 28 secs
118, Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Colombia) at 14 mins 51 secs
119, Giacomo Nizzolo (RadioShack Leopard) at 14 mins 55 secs
120, Daniel Oss (BMC Racing Team) at 15 mins 4 secs
121, Antoine Lavieu (La Pomme Marseille) at 15 mins 29 secs
122, Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 15 mins 37 secs
123, Guillaume Faucon (BigMat-Auber 93) at 15 mins 38 secs
124, Oliver Zaugg (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 16 mins 38 secs
125, Manuel Belletti (AG2R La Mondiale) at 16 mins 55 secs
126, Steven Caethoven (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 17 mins 23 secs
127, Moreno Hofland (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 17 mins 38 secs
128, Olivier Kaisen (Lotto Belisol) at 17 mins 43 secs
129, Will Routley (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
130, Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) at 18 mins 40 secs
131, Adrian Honkisz (CCC Polsat Polkowice)
132, Nicolas Edet (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 19 mins 2 secs
133, Danilo Napolitano (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 19 mins 5 secs
134, Steven Tronet (BigMat-Auber 93) at 19 mins 27 secs
135, Piotr Gawronski (CCC Polsat Polkowice) at 21 mins 22 secs
136, Graeme Brown (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 22 mins 11 secs
137, Nicolas Vogondy (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 23 mins 15 secs
138, Christophe Kern (Team Europcar) at 24 mins 34 secs
139, Juan Esteban Arango Carvajal (Colombia) at 26 mins 53 secs
140, Mattia Gavazzi (Androni Giocattoli) at 28 mins 29 secs