It’s certainly not the first premature celebration, and undoubtedly not the last, but boy oh boy, Tobias Halland Johannessen’s finish is something else. Lenny Martinez stole the win from the Groupama-FDJ rider in the final metres. The look on the Norwegian’s face said it all: utter disbelief.
The 184-kilometer route started in Saint-Raphaël, situated between Cannes and Saint-Tropez, and headed westward. The first categorized climb, a Cat. 3, reached its peak with 44 kilometres to go. Following that, the Cat. 2 ascent of Col du Corps de Garde, another manageable climb, crested 12.7 kilometers before the finish line. Ultimately, the significant battles unfolded on the Cat. 1 Mont Faron, spanning 5.7 kilometres with an average gradient of 8.5 percent.
As well as Johannessen and Martinez, six riders would contest the finale, including Israel – Premier Tech’s Michael Woods. The other three were David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ), Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Aurélien Paret-Peintre, (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team.)
With 1 km to go, the Canadian launched, followed by a counter attack from Johannessen. With 500 m to go Gaudu went for it, followed by a move by Bardet.
It was then Johannessen came around him, and thinking he had the race sewn up, began to celebrate. But unbeknownst to him. Martinez was coming in fast behind and would ultimately come around him.
L’incroyable erreur de Tobias Halland Johannessen à l’arrivée de la Classic Var au sommet du Mont Faron, qui profite à Lenny Martinez
The incredible mistake of Tobias Halland Johannessen at the finish of the Classic Var at the top of Mont Faron, which benefits Lenny Martinez… pic.twitter.com/eyeZtaqSwX
— Miroir du Cyclisme (@Miroir2Cyclisme) February 16, 2024
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