La Méditerranéenne, previously known as Tour Méditerranéen, was a professional road bicycle racing event held in Spain, France and Italy, close to the Mediterranean.[1] Run over four days, it holds a 2.1 rating on the UCI Europe Tour.[2]
The event is part of a series of stage races being held in the south of France in February, alongside the Étoile de Bessèges, the Tour du Haut Var and the Tour La Provence.[3] These early-season races are competed mainly by French teams and are considered preparations for Paris–Nice, the first European World Tour event in March.[3]
In 2012 licensing problems between the organizers and the French Cycling Federation emerged, nearly spelling the cancellation of the event before a deal was ultimately reached.[7] Financial difficulties led to the discontinuation of the race in 2015 after organizers failed to pay debts from the previous edition.[8]
In 2016 the race was revived as La Méditerranéenne and scaled back to four days.[5] The rejuvenated edition was won by Ukrainian Andriy Hrivko.[9]
13 february 2016: third stage of La Méditerranéenne
Route
From 1974 until 2014 the race was held in the southern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, but also occasionally featured stages in Liguria, Italy. Traditionally, a summit finish on the Mont Faron in Toulon was staged every year. As from 2016, the re-invented La Méditerranéenne is contested over four days. The 2016 edition spanned three countries, starting with a team time trial in Banyoles, Spain, before heading into France for two stages close to the Mediterranean coast. The final stage started and finished in Bordighera, on the Italian riviera.[5]
