Riccitello edges Rodríguez in snowy summit finish on stage 2 of the Tour de la Provence

Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM) won stage 2 of the Tour de la Provence, outsprinting Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) in the summit finish atop the snowy Montagne de Lure.

In his debut race with the French team, the American rider had found himself clear with Rodriguez on the final climb. Inside the final 200 metres, he launched his sprint and managed to stay clear of the Spanish rider, who continued to battle to the finish line, having been set up nicely on the climb by his Ineos teammates.

It marks the third professional win for the 23-year-old American, who finished 5th at the Vuelta a España in 2025 and won the youth classification. Riccitello leads Rodríguez in the GC by 0:04, with Smith Rivera in third at 0:20 and one final stage remaining.

There had been doubts about whether the stage would be able to go ahead due to snowy conditions on the summit finish to Montagne de Lure. 

In the lead-up to the final climb, a five-rider breakaway pushed on ahead of the peloton, which began to briefly split due to the wind. The breakaway riders included Esteban Foucher (Groupama-FDJ United), Baptiste Gillet (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur), Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies), Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta), and Gustav Wang (XDS Astana Development team).

However, the stage would ultimately be decided on the slopes of the Montagne de Lure, and Le Berre left his breakaway companions behind to lead into the base of the climb. Le Berre was caught shortly after the start of the climb under the pressure set by Ineos Grenadiers at the front of the peloton for team leader Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers).

The British team spent the majority of the climb whittling the peloton in size before Rodríguez launched his big acceleration with 4km remaining. Only Riccitello was able to follow the Spanish rider, though it took the American some time to latch onto the wheel of Rodríguez.

Teammates of the two leaders, Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Brandon Smith Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers), formed the second group on the road, and had the front duo in sight heading inside the flamme rouge. The gap between the two groups closed as Riccitello and Rodríguez both kept something in reserve

Riccitello launched like a coiled spring with 200 metres remaining, and with a few twisty corners and with the icy road conditions, the American had enough in the locker to hold off Rodríguez in a bike throw to the line.