Cristián Rodríguez wins at Valberg

Race reportMay 26, 2025

World Team TeamMercan'Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes

Cristián Rodríguez set off alone on the Col de la Couillole, with almost 50 kilometers to go, to win the Mercan'Tour Classic in Valberg and claim his third professional victory. His teammate Victor Guernalec also finished 6th.

Cristián Rodríguez

This is my third professional victory in my career and it's an exceptional moment. I'm winning for the very first time in Europe. It's not easy to win races, and sometimes I've missed out. Four years after my last success, I've managed it. The tactics developed today with the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team were to make the race very tough very quickly. My mission was to attack on the second pass of the day, and then put in a long time trial in the mountains to make it to the finish line. I've lost a lot of races, and today I had to try to win this Mercan'Tour Classic. I had to try to run a good race, take risks, and in the end it all worked out perfectly. This success is the reward for all the effort I put into training, but it also rewards the whole ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team for its involvement, both staff and riders. I'm really happy to bring our team its seventh success of the season.

Maxime Bouet

Directeur sportif

It feels good to win! We took this event seriously, coming in with our full complement and an ambitious group. Everyone stuck to the plan from start to finish. And when that's the case, it's what we saw today on this Mercan'Tour. The Col de la Couillolle was the toughest of the day, and our aim on this event was to step up the pace from kilometer zero. All the riders did their bit by getting involved. And it worked. Cristian, for his part, took the risk of attacking where it was decided he should, and he forced the decision. He was never alone in a group of several units, and if we'd had to get up, we would have done so so that he could get back to the front. It was a great race from the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS riders. I'd also like to congratulate all the staff, because this success is also theirs. Victor Guernalec also put in a fine performance, finishing 6th and reinforcing his fine start to the season in his first year in the professional ranks. We need to keep up this momentum.

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