Sep Vanmarcke (Bel/EF Education First) wins Stage 1 of Tour du Haut Var in 4:00:22 ahead of 2nd Julien El Fares (Fra/Delko Marseille Provence KTM) and 3rd Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Trek-Segafredo). “There was a false flat part with 30-kilometers to go,” said sport director Ken Vanmarcke, Sep’s older brother. “If the gap to the breakaway was small, we wanted to anticipate action with Sep and Matti [Breschel]. The gap wasn’t small enough to do anything then, but on the second to last climb, the gap was down to 40-seconds and Lachlan [Morton] tried to go across. The climb was too short for that.”Only 20 riders remained in contention over the top, Vanmarcke and Hugh Carthy among them. Crashes and splits on the technical descent further reduced the group. Fourteen riders hit the four-kilometer flat run-in to the line. | 
Your Stage 1 winner, Sep Vanmarcke (Bel/EF Education First): “I’m really happy to win,” said Vanmarcke. “It’s my first win in nearly three years. It feels so good to be back on the top step.” |
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