Arkéa - B&B Hotels delight on stage 1 of La Route d'Occitanie as Raúl García Pierna edges Cristian Rodriguez for one-two finish

Raúl García Pierna of Arkéa - B&B Hotels has time trialled his way into the race lead at the 2025 La Route d'Occitanie, winning the opening stage time trial by 4 seconds from teammate Cristian Rodriguez in a dramatic finale to the day.

German talent Anton Schiffer had spent much of the first half of the day in the hotseat, thanks to his effort of 16:02. Finally though, the BIKE AID rider was unseated from the stage by a brilliant time of 15:46 by Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team's Dorian Godon. A short while later, Godon too saw his time beaten as Cristian Rodriguez powered to a new fastest time: 15:32.

Sander De Pestel came close to bettering Rodriguez, but eventually crossed the line 4 seconds slower. Just as Rodriguez would have been dreaming of the stage win and the early race lead though, he was beaten at the last by Raul Garcia Pierna.