Yikes! What should have been a straightforward sprint finish at the Flèche du Sud turned into confusion Friday after a race moto led much of the peloton the wrong way in the closing kilometres of stage 4.
Riders from Visma- Lease a Bike were among those caught behind the mistaken diversion after the lead vehicle entered the lane reserved for team cars. The Dutch team was leading the French stage race with Matisse Van Kerckhove. A large section of the bunch followed, which pretty much screwed up any chance of contesting the stage dub. (Strangely, isn’t the first time this has happened this year. At the women’s Strade Bianche, a whole bunch of the favorites went off course, too.)
The Dutch squad had spent most of the day carefully navigating a tense and technical parcours filled with narrow roads, roadworks and constant battles for position…and then everything went Sud. By the finale, the team still had its sprint train intact and appeared ready to launch Matthew Brennan for the win before the race just went to absolute merde.
Flèche du Sud 🇱🇺
#4 : Steinfort
Suite à une erreur dans le dernier kilomètre, il y a une grande discussion avec les DS et les commissaires
Qui sera le leader de la Flèche du Sud ? pic.twitter.com/DYngcKz4O6— Grand-Ducal Cycling (@DucalSports) May 16, 2026
“We lost an opportunity for the victory because of this,” directeur sportif Gaëtan Pons said afterward.
Some post-race drama
The bizarre finish prompted discussions between teams and race officials before organizers ultimately neutralized the time gaps. So in the end, everyone was awarded the same finishing time to all affected riders.
That decision allowed Van Kerckhove to hang onto the race lead heading into the final day. The Belgian will start the last stage with a slim five-second advantage in the GC.
Canadians (and sorta Canadians) in France
U.S.-based Gavin Hlady (EF Education – Aevolo) whose Canadian father Mark rode at the Continental level, took an excellent 7th, and now sits 11th overall. Similar to Toronto’s Ashlin Barry and Noah Ramsay, Hlady rides for a Conti team for a WorldTour team. All three of the young riders can ride “up” with the major league team for certain events.
British Columbia’s Monty Rigby (Tirol KTM Cycling Team) is having a fine ride after some impressive outings this spring, he sits 39th overall. One more Canadian is racing: Zach Webster, who rides for the Atom 6 Bikes – Cycleur de Luxe – Auto Stroo Team (quite the name), an Australian and Belgian Conti squad. He is 70th overall.
“Tomorrow’s closing stage promises to be another very nervous day,” Pons said. “Especially the technical finale with many corners could create extra stress in the peloton.”
Hopefully the moto will go the right way, at least.