Paul Seixas claimed the tough, challenging mountain prologue of the Tour de l'Avenir in Tignes. The Frenchman, perhaps the rider to beat in the stage race, won by a slim margin over Lorenzo Mark Finn. Isabella Holmgren, meanwhile, took the first leader's jersey in the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes. The Canadian climber from Lidl-Trek (racing for the Canadian national team in this event) pulled a considerable gap on her rivals during the prologue.
Over three kilometers, riders had to conquer 238 meters of elevation gain between Tignes-les-Brévières and Tignes 1800, averaging a gradient of 7.4 percent. A perfect warm-up for the ascent toward Lac du Chevril.
Just what suited Isabella Holmgren. The 20-year-old, already a winner of Durango-Durango and seventh overall in the Giro d'Italia, put more than 16 seconds into second-placed Eleonora Ciabocco. The Italian was narrowly faster than Australian Talia Appleton, who took third.
Mijntje Geurts was the best Dutch rider in fifth place, nearly 28 seconds behind Holmgren. Rosita Reijnhout (ninth) and Nienke Vinke (tenth) also finished in the top ten. Vinke recently secured the white jersey in the Tour de France Femmes. Belgian hopes Lore De Schepper put in a strong performance with sixth place. She was already 32 seconds behind the untouchable Holmgren but finished ahead of Marion Bunel. De Schepper’s compatriot Emma Siegers just missed out on the top ten.
After the last female finisher crossed the line, it was the men’s turn. The time gaps between first and second place were much smaller here. Paul Seixas fulfilled his favorite status, but Italian Lorenzo Mark Finn finished just seven tenths behind. Austrian Marco Schrettl took third place.
Jarno Widar lost nine seconds and nine tenths to Paul Seixas, which put him sixth in the standings. Otto van Zanden was the best Dutch rider of the day, finishing eighteenth.
The Tour de l'Avenir for both women and men concludes on August 29.
Tour de l'Avenir Femmes| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 08:43 | |
| 2 | + 17 | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | + 20 | |
| 5 | + 28 | |
| 6 | + 32 | |
| 7 | + 35 | |
| 8 | + 36 | |
| 9 | + 37 | |
| 10 | + 43 |
Tour de l'Avenir| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 07:19 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | + 07 | |
| 4 | + 08 | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | + 10 | |
| 7 | + 12 | |
| 8 | + 13 | |
| 9 | + 14 | |
| 10 | + 18 |
