Rally Cycling's Gavin Mannion won the final two stages of the Tour de Savoie-Mont Blanc this weekend, marking the first European victory of his career.The 28-year-old American, winner of the 2018 Colorado Classic, also has a Tour de France stage win He beat big names including Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-Vital Concepts).

On Saturday, Mannion won the summit finish of stage 4, Notre Dame du Pré, against a select group of climbers to claim his first stage race victory in Europe. On Sunday, he also won the fifth stage, a 22.4-km mountain time trial from Aix-les-Bains to Mont Levall.

"I always thought this stage was winnable, but to win it again after yesterday is really special," said Mannion, who won the time trial by over a minute over GC winner Laurent.

"In the first few minutes of warm-up I knew it was going to be a good day. I was confident that if I rode the first half within my limits, I would not lose," added Mannion in a statement from the UCI Pro Continental team.

The UCI 2.2 race featured five stages over four days, including two mountain stages on Friday. Mannion came in second place on Friday morning's 97.4 km second stage and appeared in the GC contenders.

The third stage was shorter at 37.4 km, but Laurent dominated and challenged the riders' tired legs in the afternoon showdown from Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne to Valminier. Mannion was eliminated from the battle for the yellow jersey.

"It was a really tough stage," said Laurent. I was in a great mood and then completely bonked." I was looking at the stars and turning the pedals. That killed my GC chances, but I wanted to look at the positives and win the stage today."

The Tour de Savoie-Mont-Blanc in France marked the resumption of the road racing season for Rally Cycling since March 1 and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Traveling with Mannion from the U.S. to France were teammates Nate Brown and Nicholas Zukofsky and team director Pat McCarty, who were joined by trainee Mael Gegan and his French rider Jason Tesson.

"It's a great way to restart the season," said McCarty. We're back to where we were before the pandemic hit us."