Sara Poidevin third on Ventoux leads best young riders competition at Tour de l’Ardèche
22-year-old Canmore, Alta. native climbs GC with strong ride in the mountains
Canadian Sara Poidevin of Rally Cycling climbed to third place on Saturday on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during Stage 4 of the Tour de l’Ardèche. Poidevin was part of a select group that arrived at the base of the climb together and stuck with the leaders until the end to contest the win.
Eider Merino of Movistar won the stage atop Ventoux solo with a 32-second gap to Merino’s teammate Margarita Garcia and Poidevin. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon SRAM) would finish fourth and on Sunday took the race lead winning Stage 5.
The stage to Ventoux was 116-km and included a rolling route that reduced the peloton even before reaching the base of Ventoux.
“Today’s climb was brutal. A few girls attacked but I just knew I had to be patient and chase them back instead of trying to follow,” said Poidevin. “I was able to bring everyone back except for the winner and sprinted against her teammate at the top. It was really satisfying considering I crashed hard yesterday. There is no guarantee that things will go your way in a race and I’m pleased with today.”
On Sunday, Poidevin finished sixth on another day with a lot of climbing finishing on Mont-Lozere and remains fourth overall in the general classification while comfortably leading the young riders competition. Poidevin will represent Canada at the upcoming world championships in Innsbruck so her strong climbing performances bode well for the mountainous course in Austria.
“I’m super happy with my effort and am excited for more hard racing to come,” said Poidevin. “The Mont Ventoux climb was only a small part of the stage and we had to be attentive and in position all day. The team has been great and we’ll chase the opportunities as they come in the remaining stages.”
The Tour de l’Ardèche concludes on Tuesday in Privas.
