Already victorious on stage two of the Tour of the Mediterranean, Lars Boom grabbed his second victory of 2013 today when he scooped the second and final stage of the Tour du Haut Var.
The big Dutchman was involved in a large break which went clear during the 207 kilometre stage around Draguignan, then inside the final three kilometres he forged ahead from this selection with Daniel Oss (BMC Racing Team), Pierrick Fédrigo (FDJ) and Laurens Ten Dam (Blanco Pro Cycling Team). Arthur Vichot (FDJ) jumped across from the peloton and took second behind Boom, with Oss, Ten Dam and Fedrigo third, fourth and fifth.
“Immediately after the start, I felt confident,” said Boom afterwards. “Laurens and I initiated the early breakaway and controlled the climbs. Eventually, there were only five riders fighting for the stage win. When I initiated the sprint I won few meters, enough to win the stage.”
He was also aggressive yesterday and when that didn’t work out, he tried again today. “I decided to go for the attack after riding the Tour de Méditerranéen. During the first stage, I was caught just ten kilometers before the finish line. But in the final stage, I made sure I was in the early breakaway with Lars. Too bad Vichot made the jump to our group - we were on our way to take the first and second place overall. Still, I am very happy with my third place in the overall classification.”
Vicot’s bridge across to the move proved vital as he ended up the overall winner of the race. He finished level on time with Boom and Ten Dam, but prevailed due to better combined stage placings.
Thor Hushovd, who won yesterday’s opening stage and rode in the leader’s jersey today, led home the main bunch for sixth place. However their fourteen second deficit proved crucial for the overall, tumbling him down to fifth in the final general classification.
Regardless, he ended the weekend very motivated. “Of course I'm disappointed not to win the race overall, but my stage win Saturday and how I felt today is a big boost to my confidence,” he explained.
He had a tough season in 2012 due to illness and injury, but is clearly on the way back to very strong form.
As for Boom, he won today despite doing 35 kilometres of training after stage one. Ten Dam also did likewise, and their recovery is an encouraging sign. Boom will target a very strong performance in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad next weekend.
Tour du Haut Var, France (2.1)
Stage 2, Draguignan:
1, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) 207 kilometres in 5 hours 18 mins 6 secs
2, Arthur Vichot (FDJ)
3, Daniel Oss (BMC Racing Team)
4, Laurens Ten Dam (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
5, Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ) at 4 secs
6, Thor Hushovd (BMC Racing Team) at 14 secs
7, Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale)
8, Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
9, Justin Jules (La Pomme Marseille)
10, Julien Simon (Sojasun)
11, Mathieu Drujon (BigMat-Auber) 93
12, Cyrille Patoux (Roubaix Lille Metropole)
13, Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling)
14, Nicolas Roche (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
15, Vincent Jerome (Team Europcar)
16, Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale)
17, Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ)
18, Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling)
19, Maxime Monfort (RadioShack Leopard)
20, Lars Petter Nordhaug (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
21, Rudy Molard (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
22, Alexis Vuillermoz (Sojasun)
23, Thomas Rohregger (RadioShack Leopard)
24, Rémi Pauriol (Sojasun)
25, Mikael Cherel (AG2R La Mondiale)
26, Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Movistar Team)
27, Marcel Wyss (IAM Cycling)
28, Hubert Dupont (AG2R La Mondiale)
29, Gustav Larsson (IAM Cycling)
30, Lachlan Norris (Team Raleigh)
31, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
32, Rein Taaramae (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
33, Tom Jelte Slagter (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
34, Fabrice Jeandesboz (Sojasun)
35, Rudy Kowalski (Roubaix Lille Metropole)
36, Chris Anker Sörensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
37, Jean-Marc Bideau (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
38, Thierry Hupond (Team Argos-Shimano)
39, Manuel Quinziato (BMC Racing Team)
40, Christophe Le Mevel (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 42 secs
41, Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team)
42, Théo Vimpere (BigMat-Auber 93) at 1 min 6 secs
43, Sylvain Georges (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 min 38 secs
44, Alexandre Geniez (FDJ) at 2 mins 14 secs
45, Flavien Dassonville (BigMat-Auber 93) at 2 mins 21 secs
46, Dimitri Le Boulch (BigMat-Auber) 93
47, Mark Christian (Team Raleigh)
48, Steven Tronet (BigMat-Auber) 93
49, Jean-Pierre Drucker (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
50, Maarten Tjallingii (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
51, Michel Kreder (Garmin-Sharp)
52, Romain Zingle (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
53, Grégoire Tarride (La Pomme Marseille)
54, Anthony Geslin (FDJ)
55, Yann Huguet (Team Argos-Shimano)
56, Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
57, Florian Vachon (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
58, Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Movistar Team)
59, Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team)
60, Julien Duval (Roubaix Lille Metropole) at 2 mins 49 secs
61, Sébastien Turgot (Team Europcar)
62, Georg Preidler (Team Argos-Shimano)
63, Kevin Lalouette (Roubaix Lille Metropole)
64, David Veilleux (Team Europcar)
65, Moreno Hofland (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
66, Dominik Nerz (BMC Racing Team)
67, Floris Smeyers (Verandas Willems)
68, Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar)
69, Cédric Pineau (FDJ)
70, Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R La Mondiale)
71, Blel Kadri (AG2R La Mondiale)
72, Nicolas Vogondy (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 5 mins 28 secs
73, Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale)
74, Niels Vandyck (Verandas Willems)
75, Rob Britton (Team Raleigh) at 5 mins 35 secs
76, Bert De Backer (Team Argos-Shimano) at 8 mins 8 secs
77, Romain Lemarchand (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
78, Florian Guillou (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
79, Matthieu Sprick (Team Argos-Shimano)
80, Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano)
81, James Vanlandschoot (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
82, José Gonçalves (La Pomme Marseille)
83, Sébastien Reichenbach (IAM Cycling)
84, Armindo Fonseca (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
85, Antoine Lavieu (La Pomme Marseille)
86, Thomas Damuseau (Team Argos-Shimano)
87, Sylvester Szmyd (Movistar Team)
88, Laurent Didier (RadioShack Leopard)
89, Benjamin King (RadioShack Leopard)
90, Evgeny Petrov (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
91, Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
92, Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team)
93, Jens Voigt (RadioShack Leopard) at 11 mins 23 secs
94, Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp)
95, Jacob Rathe (Garmin-Sharp)
96, Dominic Klemme (IAM Cycling)
97, Evaldas Siskevicius (Sojasun) at 15 mins 44 secs
98, Jean Marc Marino (Sojasun)
99, Alexandre Blain (Team Raleigh) at 22 mins 19 secs
Final general classification:
1, Arthur Vichot (FDJ) 9 hours 28 secs
2, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
3, Laurens Ten Dam (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
4, Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ) at 4 secs
5, Thor Hushovd (BMC Racing Team) at 14 secs
6, Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R La Mondiale)
7, Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
8, Justin Jules (La Pomme Marseille)
9, Julien Simon (Sojasun)
10, Mathieu Drujon (BigMat-Auber) 93
11, Nicolas Roche (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
12, Vincent Jerome (Team Europcar)
13, Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale)
14, Maxime Monfort (RadioShack Leopard)
15, Cyrille Patoux (Roubaix Lille Metropole)
16, Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling)
17, Alexis Vuillermoz (Sojasun)
18, Tom Jelte Slagter (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
19, Stefan Denifl (IAM Cycling)
20, Lars Petter Nordhaug (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
21, Rudy Molard (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
22, Hubert Dupont (AG2R La Mondiale)
23, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
24, Fabrice Jeandesboz (Sojasun)
25, Chris Anker Sörensen (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
26, Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Movistar Team)
27, Gustav Larsson (IAM Cycling)
28, Thomas Rohregger (RadioShack Leopard)
29, Rein Taaramae (Cofidis, Solutions Credits)
30, Rémi Pauriol (Sojasun)
31, Jean-Marc Bideau (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
32, Alexandre Geniez (FDJ)
33, Daniel Oss (BMC Racing Team) at 17 secs
34, Mikael Cherel (AG2R La Mondiale) at 31 secs
35, Marcel Wyss (IAM Cycling) at 38 secs
36, Christophe Le Mevel (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 42 secs
37, Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team)
38, Thierry Hupond (Team Argos-Shimano) at 43 secs
39, Lachlan Norris (Team Raleigh) at 1 min 5 secs
40, Manuel Quinziato (BMC Racing Team)
41, Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ) at 1 min 22 secs
42, Théo Vimpere (BigMat-Auber 93) at 1 min 39 secs
43, Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team) at 2 mins 21 secs
44, Arnaud Gerard (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
45, Jean-Pierre Drucker (Accent Jobs-Wanty)
46, Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Movistar Team) at 2 mins 38 secs
47, Sylvain Georges (AG2R La Mondiale) at 2 mins 48 secs
48, Dominik Nerz (BMC Racing Team) at 2 mins 49 secs
49, Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R La Mondiale)
50, Sébastien Turgot (Team Europcar)
51, Thomas Voeckler (Team Europcar)
52, Moreno Hofland (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
53, Steven Tronet (BigMat-Auber 93) at 2 mins 50 secs
54, Mark Christian (Team Raleigh) at 2 mins 54 secs
55, Anthony Geslin (FDJ)
56, Yann Huguet (Team Argos-Shimano) at 3 mins 6 secs
57, David Veilleux (Team Europcar) at 3 mins 10 secs
58, Romain Zingle (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 3 mins 12 secs
59, Floris Smeyers (Verandas Willems) at 3 mins 13 secs
60, Georg Preidler (Team Argos-Shimano) at 3 mins 18 secs
61, Cédric Pineau (FDJ) at 3 mins 40 secs
62, Kevin Lalouette (Roubaix Lille Metropole) at 3 mins 49 secs
63, Michel Kreder (Garmin-Sharp) at 3 mins 55 secs
64, Grégoire Tarride (La Pomme Marseille)
65, Florian Vachon (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
66, Nicolas Vogondy (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 5 mins 28 secs
67, Niels Vandyck (Verandas Willems)
68, Flavien Dassonville (BigMat-Auber 93) at 6 mins 31 secs
69, Blel Kadri (AG2R La Mondiale) at 6 mins 59 secs
70, Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale) at 7 mins 2 secs
71, Romain Lemarchand (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) at 8 mins 8 secs
72, Armindo Fonseca (Bretagne-Seche Environnement)
73, Antoine Lavieu (La Pomme Marseille)
74, Amaël Moinard (BMC Racing Team)
75, Rudy Kowalski (Roubaix Lille Metropole) at 8 mins 30 secs
76, Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 8 mins 35 secs
77, Bert De Backer (Team Argos-Shimano) at 8 mins 37 secs
78, José Gonçalves (La Pomme Marseille)
79, Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Argos-Shimano)
80, Laurent Didier (RadioShack Leopard) at 9 mins 8 secs
81, Florian Guillou (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) at 9 mins 42 secs
82, Sébastien Reichenbach (IAM Cycling)
83, Sylvester Szmyd (Movistar Team)
84, Evgeny Petrov (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
85, Rob Britton (Team Raleigh) at 9 mins 45 secs
86, Maarten Tjallingii (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 10 mins 37 secs
87, Julien Duval (Roubaix Lille Metropole) at 11 mins 5 secs
88, Dimitri Le Boulch (BigMat-Auber 93) at 12 mins 11 secs
89, Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp) at 12 mins 14 secs
90, Benjamin King (RadioShack Leopard) at 12 mins 18 secs
91, Thomas Damuseau (Team Argos-Shimano) at 14 mins 17 secs
92, Dominic Klemme (IAM Cycling) at 15 mins 33 secs
93, Jacob Rathe (Garmin-Sharp)
94, Jean Marc Marino (Sojasun) at 17 mins 18 secs
95, James Vanlandschoot (Accent Jobs-Wanty) at 17 mins 58 secs
96, Matthieu Sprick (Team Argos-Shimano)
97, Jens Voigt (RadioShack Leopard) at 19 mins 39 secs
98, Evaldas Siskevicius (Sojasun) at 24 mins
99, Alexandre Blain (Team Raleigh) at 32 mins 9 secs