Tour de La Provence crash mars Martinelli win

Martinelli was supposed to lead out Colombian team mate Fernando Gaviria in the very technical sprint finish but a crash leading in to the finish reversed the outcome, with the Italian grabbing the win.

“In the finale I was at the front, as my job was to lead Fernando," Martinelli said."I came out of the last corner in first position with Fernando on my wheel, and when I took a look over my shoulder I saw that it was only me and him, as some riders have crashed.

"We had a good gap, looked one another in the eyes and agreed on the outcome, so Fernando gave me the win. He was class act and I can’t thank him enough for this. I will rest now and on Thursday I will give it my best to repay Fernando.

"We are roommates in La Provence, and I got to know him better and see what a great person he is. He has the DNA of a great champion and I’m sure he’ll win many races in the future. Today, he made a great gesture, and he has my gratitude for that.”

While Etixx-QuickStep and Martinelli were celebrating their 12th victory for 2016, no one else was happy with what happened in the finale, particularly the high speed left-hand turn into a speed hump.