Matthew Riccitello Brings It Home for Second GC Win of His Career

Matthew Riccitello pulled off a big win on Sunday, finishing alongside his main rivals on the concluding stage of the Tour de la Provence and taking the final general classification win.

The Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider seized the race leader’s jersey on Saturday when he was best on the uphill finish of the Montagne de Lure, and began Sunday’s third stage with an advantage of four seconds over stage 2 runner-up Carlos Rodríguez and 20 over Brandon Smith Rivera (both Ineos Grenadiers).

All three were absent from a nine-rider breakaway which moved clear approximately 150km from the finish. That move gained close to three minutes, making Sam Oomen (Lidl-Trek) race leader on the road, but the gap tumbled towards the finish to remove the GC danger.

Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers) and Daniel Årnes (Van Rysel Roubaix) leaped clear of the break with 6.2km left, with Laurance then pulling off the inspired tactic of veering the shorter way around a roundabout with just over 1km to go to gap Årnes and to nab the stage win.

The French rider raced in four seconds ahead of the breakaway, while Riccitello finished in the peloton 15 seconds back.

He conserved his four second overnight advantage over Rodríguez to triumph overall.

“We knew it was going to be a stressful day, but the team was fully committed to try to finish it off today,” he said.

“They did everything perfect. It was a really difficult start to manage with the wind, it was a really tough start. There was a strong break up the road but they rode perfectly to keep the gap manageable and then kept me safe in the final. It was a really good day.”

Building on a stirring Vuelta performance

The victory is the fourth big win of Riccitello’s career, and follows a stage victory plus the GC in last year’s Sibiu Cycling Tour. He also took the lesser-ranked Istrian Spring Trophy in 2022.

His latest successes are a big boost to morale, and reward the team’s faith in him.

“It is a great start to the season for me, I think. I came to the race for sure with ambitions. To start the season like this is a really good feeling and gives me more motivation for the rest of the year.”

Just 23 years of age and starting the first of three years with the Decathlon CMA CGM Team, Tucson rider Riccitello is a specialist climber who is penciled in to ride the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and the Itzulia Basque Country this spring, plus the Vuelta a España in August.

He was a fine fifth in that grand tour last year and won the best young rider classification.

Next up is the five day Volta ao Algarve, which begins on Wednesday. Tour de France GC contenders João Almeida (UAE Emirates-XRG), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Oscar Onley (Ineos Grenadiers) are amongst the big names taking part.