Étoile de Bessèges 2021 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE] (french)

February 3, 2021

Étoile de Bessèges 2021 – Stage 1 – Bellegarde – Bellegarde : 141 km

The five-day Étoile de Bessèges kicks off on Wednesday with what is arguably its strongest field ever, featuring no fewer than three Tour de France winners in Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal and Vincenzo Nibali, as well as Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet, who will be making his first racing appearance for his new AG2R-Citroën team. There are 11 WorldTeams among the 22 squads participating in the 51st edition of France’s traditional season-opening stage race. It’s the first edition of Bessèges to be organised since race founder and long-time director Roland Fangille died after contracting COVID-19 last November.

Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) triumphed on the uphill finish in Bellegarde as stage racing returned to Europe with the opening stage of the Étoile de Bessèges on Wednesday afternoon.

The Frenchman takes the opening leader’s jersey of the five-day race after beating Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic) in a two-man showdown on the Côte de la Tour. The French pair were the class of the field in the tough finale, surging away in the closing 500 metres to distance the rest of the peloton, with Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) taking third place, two seconds back.

Bouhanni had leapt from the peloton as the road headed up towards the finish line on the 143-kilometre stage, but he soon found Laporte on his wheel and had no answer to his compatriot’s counter-move up the inside on the closing stretch.

The Arkéa-Samsic sprinter looked in one moment to have a second wind, but as the road flattened out in sight of the line, Laporte had enough to hold on and secure the 18th victory of his career.

Laporte now leads the race by four seconds ahead of Bouhanni, while Pedersen lies in third, eight seconds down. Qhubeka Assos sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo is fourth at 12 seconds.

How it unfolded

The 143-kilometre opener circled the town of Bellegarde, south of Nîmes, close to the Mediterranean coast. Just one classified climb came along the largely flat route – the 600-metre, 6.3 per cent Côte de la Tour, which lay 41 kilometres from the line and served as a preview for the uphill finish.

It was unsurprising that riders were keen to get going and kick off their seasons as the race kicked off just after 1pm local time. Three riders – Loius Louvet (St Michel-Auber 93), Alexandre Delettre (Delko) and Tom Paquot (Bingoal-Wallonie Bruxelles) – were the main attackers early on.

The trio, no threat for a stage win or overall bid, were let go by the peloton and quickly built up a three-minute lead up front. The gap only grew as the two Frenchman and the Walloon traversed the flatlands around the Rhône river, eventually hitting the seven-minute mark with 100 kilometres to run.

Back in the peloton, AG2R Citroën led the way, showing off their new-look jerseys at the front as they worked for sprinter Marc Sarreau. Qhubeka Assos, also sporting a new name and look for 2021, also worked on behalf of Giacomo Nizzolo, while Bora-Hansgrohe put in the hard yards for Pascal Ackermann.

All that work only served to eat away at the break’s advantage, with their lead slipping away minute after minute until just 2:40 remained. The trio did survive past the KOM point, however, with Delettre leading the way just a minute ahead of the peloton.

With AG2R Citroën and Qhubeka Assos still working on the front, Lotto Soudal (for John Degenkolb) and Cofidis (for Laporte) also maintained a presence up front, as the peloton zipped along the flat roads back to the finish on the Côte de la Tour.

After a tenacious effort to last out front, the battling breakaway trio were finally caught 10 kilometres from the line, leaving the final run-in for the sprint teams to fight among themselves.

Following the catch, Qhubeka Assos and Total Direct Énergie took control of proceedings, setting a high pace to deter any brave attacks in the finale. Ineos Grenadiers also maintained a presence as they sought to keep their star-studded lineup safe in the finale. It was a smart move, too, as a crash took out a swathe of riders in the middle of the peloton at the 6-kilometre mark.

Ineos’ Egan Bernal was held up, though not involved, while EF Education-Nippo’s Alberto Bettiol and Bora-Hansgrohe leader Felix Großschartner were also caught out. Up front, the race was on, though, and teams continued to battle for the prime places in the wind.

Cofidis led the way into the final kilometre, though a mix of teams were up front to start the climb. Bouhanni was the first man to make a move on the short ascent, at first stealing a march on the charging peloton, before Laporte distanced himself from the fray and moved across to his wheel.

Coming around the final bend, Bouhanni looked to slow and move across the road, leaving Laporte the perfect opportunity to grasp the mantle. The 28-year-old stole up the inside with a swift switch of pace, distancing Bouhanni by a good two bike lengths and leaving his rival little chance to come back.

Bouhanni tried, but the 70th win of his career eluded him, with Laporte taking the spoils – the first step on the way to repeating his 2019 overall win, perhaps?

Results :
1 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis 3:14:32
2 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
3 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:02
4 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
5 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
6 Jordi Meeus (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
8 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
9 Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
10 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
11 Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
12 Boris Vallee (Bel) Bingoal WB
13 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
14 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-up Nation
15 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
16 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
17 Milan Menten (Bel) Bingoal WB
18 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
19 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
20 August Jensen (Nor) Delko
21 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
22 Arjen Livyns (Bel) Bingoal WB
23 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
24 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
25 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
26 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
27 Dylan Kowalski (Fra) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
28 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
29 Nils Politt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
30 Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Education-Nippo
31 Michael Gogl (Aut) Team Qhubeka Assos
32 Johan le Bon (Fra) Cambodia Cycling Academy
33 Damien Touze (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
34 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko
35 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
36 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
37 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
38 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
39 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
40 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
41 Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix
42 Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Delko
43 Clément Carisey (Fra) Delko
44 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Qhubeka Assos
45 Romain Cardis (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
46 Yoann Paillot (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
47 Maximilien Picoux (Bel) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
48 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
49 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
50 Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
51 Clément Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
52 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
53 Bram Welten (Ned) Team Arkea-Samsic
54 Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
55 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
56 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) EF Education-Nippo
57 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
58 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
59 Lars van den Berg (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
60 Alexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
61 Joel Suter (Swi) Bingoal WB
62 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
63 Samuel Leroux (Fra) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
64 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
65 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
66 Pierre Latour (Fra) Total Direct Energie
67 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
68 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
69 Matis Louvel (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
70 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Delko
71 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
72 Christopher Lamaille (Fra) Cambodia Cycling Academy
73 Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
74 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Total Direct Energie
75 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
76 Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Delko
77 Sam Gaze (NZl) Alpecin-Fenix
78 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
79 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-Nippo
80 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
81 Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
82 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
83 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
84 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
85 Jonas Koch (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
86 Senne Leysen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
87 Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
88 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
89 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
90 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
91 Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
92 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Cofidis
93 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Cofidis
94 Simon Clarke (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos
95 Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
96 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
97 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
98 Emiel Vermeulen (Bel) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
99 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
100 Tom Paquot (Bel) Bingoal WB
101 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
102 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis
103 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
104 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
105 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
106 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-Nippo
107 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
108 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
109 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis
110 Samy Aurignac (Fra) Cambodia Cycling Academy
111 Barry Miller (USA) Cambodia Cycling Academy
112 Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto Soudal
113 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic
114 Tom Bohli (Swi) Cofidis
115 Egan Bernal Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
116 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo
117 Tony Hurel (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
118 Flavien Maurelet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
119 Jason Tesson (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
120 Marti Marquez Roman (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
121 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal WB
122 Valentin Tabellion (Fra) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
123 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
124 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
125 Mattias Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
126 Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
127 Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-Nippo
128 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
129 Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis
130 Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe
131 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Total Direct Energie
132 Sean Bennett (USA) Team Qhubeka Assos
133 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education-Nippo
134 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
135 Anthoine Berlin (Mon) Cambodia Cycling Academy 0:06:43
136 Pierre Barbier (Fra) Delko 0:00:02
137 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Bingoal WB
138 Ivan Centrone (Lux) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
139 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
140 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
141 Andreas Nielsen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos
142 Vojtech Repa (Cze) Equipo Kern Pharma
143 Louis Louvet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
144 Morné Van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel-Auber 93
DNS Lindsay De Vylder (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNS Rune Herregodts (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNS Jens Reynders (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNS Fabio Van Den Bossche (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNS Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNS Sasha Weemaes (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNS Thimo Willems (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Jordan Levasseur (Fra) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis 3:14:22
2 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:00:04
3 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:08
4 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:00:12
5 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
6 Jordi Meeus (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
8 John Degenkolb (Ger) Lotto Soudal
9 Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
10 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
11 Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
12 Boris Vallee (Bel) Bingoal WB
13 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
14 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-up Nation
15 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
16 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
17 Milan Menten (Bel) Bingoal WB
18 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
19 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
20 August Jensen (Nor) Delko
21 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
22 Arjen Livyns (Bel) Bingoal WB
23 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
24 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal
25 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
26 Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
27 Dylan Kowalski (Fra) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
28 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
29 Nils Politt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
30 Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Education-Nippo
31 Michael Gogl (Aut) Team Qhubeka Assos
32 Johan le Bon (Fra) Cambodia Cycling Academy
33 Damien Touze (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
34 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko
35 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
36 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
37 Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
38 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
39 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
40 Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
41 Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix
42 Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Delko
43 Clément Carisey (Fra) Delko
44 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Qhubeka Assos
45 Romain Cardis (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
46 Yoann Paillot (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
47 Maximilien Picoux (Bel) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
48 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
49 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
50 Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
51 Clément Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
52 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
53 Bram Welten (Ned) Team Arkea-Samsic
54 Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
55 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
56 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) EF Education-Nippo
57 Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
58 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
59 Lars van den Berg (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
60 Alexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
61 Joel Suter (Swi) Bingoal WB
62 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
63 Samuel Leroux (Fra) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
64 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
65 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
66 Pierre Latour (Fra) Total Direct Energie
67 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
68 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
69 Matis Louvel (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
70 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Delko
71 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
72 Christopher Lamaille (Fra) Cambodia Cycling Academy
73 Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
74 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Total Direct Energie
75 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
76 Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Delko
77 Sam Gaze (NZl) Alpecin-Fenix
78 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
79 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-Nippo
80 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
81 Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
82 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
83 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
84 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
85 Jonas Koch (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
86 Senne Leysen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
87 Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic
88 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
89 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
90 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
91 Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
92 Piet Allegaert (Bel) Cofidis
93 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Cofidis
94 Simon Clarke (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos
95 Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
96 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
97 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
98 Emiel Vermeulen (Bel) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
99 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
100 Tom Paquot (Bel) Bingoal WB
101 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
102 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis
103 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
104 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
105 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
106 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-Nippo
107 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Total Direct Energie
108 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
109 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis
110 Samy Aurignac (Fra) Cambodia Cycling Academy
111 Barry Miller (USA) Cambodia Cycling Academy
112 Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto Soudal
113 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic
114 Tom Bohli (Swi) Cofidis
115 Egan Bernal Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
116 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo
117 Tony Hurel (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
118 Flavien Maurelet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
119 Jason Tesson (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
120 Marti Marquez Roman (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
121 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal WB
122 Valentin Tabellion (Fra) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
123 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
124 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
125 Mattias Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
126 Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
127 Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-Nippo
128 Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
129 Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis
130 Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe
131 Christopher Lawless (GBr) Total Direct Energie
132 Sean Bennett (USA) Team Qhubeka Assos
133 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education-Nippo
134 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
135 Pierre Barbier (Fra) Delko
136 Ludovic Robeet (Bel) Bingoal WB
137 Ivan Centrone (Lux) Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Metropole
138 Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
139 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
140 Andreas Nielsen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos
141 Vojtech Repa (Cze) Equipo Kern Pharma
142 Louis Louvet (Fra) St Michel-Auber 93
143 Morné Van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel-Auber 93
144 Anthoine Berlin (Mon) Cambodia Cycling Academy 0:06:53