Route d’Occitanie 2020 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

August 1, 2020

Route d’Occitanie 2020 – Stage 1 – Saint-Affrique – Cazouls-lès-Béziers : 187 km

Racing returns to France on Saturday with the start of the four-day Route d’Occitanie, which features a host of Tour de France hopefuls – notably defending champion Egan Bernal and four-time winner Chris Froome, both of Team Ineos, and a trio of French favourites in the shape of Thibaut Pinot (Gropupama-FDJ), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and road race national champion Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic). What was for many years the Route du Sud – a race that stuck extremely close to the Pyrenees – the Route d’Occitanie (pronounced ‘Oxy’ rather than ‘Ocky’) now covers a huge swathe of terrain across southern France, including much of the ground that once featured in the much-missed GP de Midi Libre. Its format, however, remains essentially the same as it was under its Route du Sud guise, with two relatively straightforward stages to begin with, a tough stage in the mountains on day three that’s very likely to decide the overall winner, and a sprinter-friendly finale to finish.

Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) took his first win since last August’s Arctic Race of Norway, judging his finishing burst to perfection to edge out Elia Viviani by half a wheel and deny the Italian a first success for Cofidis. Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain McLaren) was third at the opening stage of Route d’Occitanie.

Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) were the best of the GC favourites, several of whom either went down or were held up by a large crash that halted most of the bunch during a complicated run-in to the line at Cazouls Lès Béziers.

Thibaut Pinot was among those who hit the deck, but his Groupama-FDJ team said he finished with only minor injuries. All those affected were given the same finishing time as Coquard.

“It was a difficult finish,” said Coquard. “Jens Debusschere got me into a very good position, and then just before the last bend Colbrelli and Viviani went through on my inside. Colbrelli opened his sprint right away and I got onto Viviani’s wheel. Colbrelli faded about 50 metres from the line and I just managed to get past Elia before the line.

“It was a good day for me and for the team. We all worked hard during the training camp coming into this race and to start like this shows that we’re all at a good level,” the French sprinter continued. “You can feel good in training, but racing can be very different, so it’s great to start with a win and it’s even better that I managed to beat someone as good as Viviani.”

The first day of racing in France since Paris-Nice came to a premature end back in March was run on one of the hottest days of the summer. It was already above 30°C when the bunch rolled out of Saint Affrique in front of large crowds, and the temperature continued to rise during the stage, touching 40°C as the riders crested the high ridge between the departments of Aveyron and Hérault.

The first significant action occurred on an initial loop out of and back into Saint Affrique. A break of five went away featuring Lilian Calmejane (Total Direct Energie), Théo Delacroix (Circus-Wanty Gobert), Antonio Angulo (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Andreas Kron (Riwal Readynez) and Marti Marquez (Kern Pharma).

With Cofidis, B&B Hotels and Ineos maintaining a good tempo on the front of the bunch, the break’s advantage was kept to around four minutes. The quintet’s lead began to drop climbing the Col des 13 Vents, a second-cat ascent halfway into the stage, where not one of those 13 winds was offering any kind of relief from the intense heat.

Angulo was reeled in by the peloton just after this climb. On the first pass through the finish with 35km remaining, the other four riders were still together. But within a handful of kilometres, Calmejane and Kron went clear in an attempt to hold off the peloton. With 25km left, the pair had an advantage of just 40 seconds and were, inevitably, caught with 15km to the line.

Ineos and the sprinters’ teams retained tight control at the front of the peloton, making a sprint was equally inevitable. Coquard admitted to being stressed as he considered the prospect, the layoff leaving him – and everyone else, he acknowledged – with no idea how their condition matched up to their direct rivals.

“Of course everyone’s been working hard during that break and at the same time our main focus is the Tour de France,” he said. “But this is an important step towards that. It shows that I trained well during the long break we’ve had.”

Results :
1 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm 4:35:00
2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
3 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain – McLaren
4 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Circus – Wanty Gobert
5 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Team Ineos
7 Josef Černý (Cze) CCC Team
8 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Anthony Maldonado (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
10 Nick Van der Lijke (Ned) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
11 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Total Direct Energie
12 Flavien Maurelet (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
13 Mathias De Witte (Bel) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
14 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
15 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
16 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek – Segafredo
17 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek – Segafredo
18 Marti Marquez Roman (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
19 Jhojan Orlando Garcia Sosa (Col) Caja Rural – Seguros Rga
20 Thibault Ferasse (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
21 Fausto Masnada (Ita) CCC Team
22 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
23 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
24 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkéa – Samsic
25 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
26 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Circus – Wanty Gobert
27 José Gonçalves (Por) Nippo Delko Provence
28 Alessandro Monaco (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
29 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain – McLaren
30 Julien Trarieux (Fra) Nippo Delko Provence
31 Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
32 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana pro Team
33 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
34 Simone Petilli (Ita) Circus – Wanty Gobert
35 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek – Segafredo
36 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
37 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
38 Martin Bouzas Rey (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
39 Pierre Idjouadiene (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
40 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos
41 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
42 Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkéa – Samsic
43 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
44 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek – Segafredo
45 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana pro Team
46 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
47 Rémy Rochas (Fra) Nippo Delko Provence
48 Ibon Ruiz Sedano (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
49 Jeremy Bellicaud (Fra) Circus – Wanty Gobert
50 Romain Combaud (Fra) Nippo Delko Provence
51 Adne Van Engelen (Ned) Bike Aid
52 Frederik Dombrowski (Ger) Bike Aid
53 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
54 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain – McLaren
55 Ibai Azurmendi Sagastibeltza (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
56 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Team Arkéa – Samsic
57 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama – FDJ
58 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain – McLaren
59 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
60 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek – Segafredo
61 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Astana pro Team
62 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Bahrain – McLaren
63 Adrien Guillonnet (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
64 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
65 Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain – McLaren
66 Georg Zimmermann (Ger) CCC Team
67 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
68 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) CCC Team
69 Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Col) Astana pro Team
70 Erik Bergström Frisk (Swe) Bike Aid
71 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros Rga
72 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis
73 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos
74 Andreas Lorentz Kron (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
75 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Team Ineos
76 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Team Arkéa – Samsic
77 Andrey Amador (CRc) Team Ineos
78 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros Rga
79 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Team
80 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
81 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos
82 Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
83 Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Astana pro Team
84 Aritz Bagües Kalparsoro (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros Rga
85 Matteo Malucelli (Ita) Caja Rural – Seguros Rga
86 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek – Segafredo
87 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bahrain – McLaren
88 Frederik Backaert (Bel) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm 0:01:38
89 Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue (Col) Astana pro Team
90 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Circus – Wanty Gobert 0:01:46
91 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama – FDJ
92 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama – FDJ
93 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama – FDJ
94 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama – FDJ 0:01:56
95 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana pro Team
96 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
97 David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros Rga
98 Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Total Direct Energie
99 Christoffer Lisson (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
100 Bram Welten (Ned) Team Arkéa – Samsic
101 Emil Nygaard Vinjebo (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
102 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis 0:04:26
103 Piotr Havik (Ned) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
104 Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis 0:06:49
105 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis 0:10:12
106 Marco Mathis (Ger) Cofidis
107 Julien Morice (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
108 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
109 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
110 Tony Hurel (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
111 Yoann Paillot (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
112 William Clarke (Aus) Trek – Segafredo
113 Nikodemus Holler (Ger) Bike Aid
114 Jesse De Rooij (Ned) Bike Aid
115 Lucas Carstensen (Ger) Bike Aid
116 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Nippo Delko Provence
117 Théo Delacroix (Fra) Circus – Wanty Gobert
118 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama – FDJ
119 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
120 Alan Riou (Fra) Team Arkéa – Samsic
121 Alexander Evans (Aus) Circus – Wanty Gobert
122 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros Rga
123 Unai Cuadrado Ruiz de Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
124 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Nippo Delko Provence
125 Louis Louvet (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
126 Sergio Nestor Araiz Michel (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
127 Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
128 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama – FDJ 0:13:23
129 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team
130 Arvid De Kleijn (Ned) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
131 Maxime Cam (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm 0:16:54
132 Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Team Arkéa – Samsic
133 Samuel Leroux (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
134 Dzmitry Zhyhunou (Blr) Euskaltel – Euskadi
135 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis
136 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
137 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team 0:24:44
138 August Jensen (Nor) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
139 Marco Benfatto (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
140 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
141 Morné Van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel – Auber 93 0:24:54
142 Emiel Vermeulen (Bel) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole 0:24:55
143 Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie
144 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Matthias Schnapka (Ger) Bike Aid
DNF Jordan Levasseur (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
DNF Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo Delko Provence

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm 4:34:50
2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis 0:00:04
3 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:00:05
4 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain – Mclaren 0:00:06
5 Andreas Lorentz Kron (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team 0:00:09
6 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Circus – Wanty Gobert 0:00:10
7 Clement Venturini (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
8 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Team Ineos
9 Josef Černý (Cze) CCC Team
10 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
11 Anthony Maldonado (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
12 Nick Van der Lijke (Ned) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
13 Flavien Maurelet (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
14 Mathias De Witte (Bel) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
15 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
16 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
17 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek – Segafredo
18 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek – Segafredo
19 Marti Marquez Roman (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
20 Jhojan Orlando Garcia Sosa (Col) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
21 Thibault Ferasse (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
22 Fausto Masnada (Ita) CCC Team
23 Ivan Moreno Sanchez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
24 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
25 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea – Samsic
26 Pierre Latour (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
27 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Circus – Wanty Gobert
28 José Gonçalves (Por) Nippo Delko Provence
29 Alessandro Monaco (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
30 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain – Mclaren
31 Julien Trarieux (Fra) Nippo Delko Provence
32 Jordi Lopez Caravaca (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
33 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana pro Team
34 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
35 Simone Petilli (Ita) Circus – Wanty Gobert
36 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek – Segafredo
37 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
38 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
39 Martin Bouzas Rey (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
40 Pierre Idjouadiene (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
41 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos
42 Cyril Barthe (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
43 Connor Swift (GBr) Team Arkea – Samsic
44 Jens Debusschere (Bel) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
45 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek – Segafredo
46 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana pro Team
47 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
48 Rémy Rochas (Fra) Nippo Delko Provence
49 Ibon Ruiz Sedano (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
50 Jeremy Bellicaud (Fra) Circus – Wanty Gobert
51 Romain Combaud (Fra) Nippo Delko Provence
52 Adne Van Engelen (Ned) Bike Aid
53 Frederik Dombrowski (Ger) Bike Aid
54 Mikael Cherel (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
55 Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain – Mclaren
56 Ibai Azurmendi Sagastibeltza (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
57 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Team Arkea – Samsic
58 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama – FDJ
59 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain – Mclaren
60 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) Ag2r la Mondiale
61 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek – Segafredo
62 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Astana pro Team
63 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Bahrain – Mclaren
64 Adrien Guillonnet (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
65 Jose Felix Parra Cuerda (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
66 Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain – Mclaren
67 Georg Zimmermann (Ger) CCC Team
68 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
69 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) CCC Team
70 Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Col) Astana pro Team
71 Erik Bergström Frisk (Swe) Bike Aid
72 Alvaro Cuadros Morata (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
73 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis
74 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos
75 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Team Ineos
76 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Team Arkea – Samsic
77 Andrey Amador (CRc) Team Ineos
78 Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
79 Michal Paluta (Pol) CCC Team
80 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
81 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos
82 Julien Antomarchi (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
83 Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Astana pro Team
84 Aritz Bagües Kalparsoro (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
85 Matteo Malucelli (Ita) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
86 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek – Segafredo
87 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bahrain – Mclaren
88 Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue (Col) Astana pro Team
89 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama – FDJ
90 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama – FDJ
91 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama – FDJ
92 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana pro Team
93 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Total Direct Energie
94 David Gonzalez Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
95 Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) Total Direct Energie
96 Christoffer Lisson (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
97 Bram Welten (Ned) Team Arkea – Samsic
98 Emil Nygaard Vinjebo (Den) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
99 Piotr Havik (Ned) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
100 Julien Simon (Fra) Total Direct Energie
101 Frederik Backaert (Bel) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm 0:01:48
102 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Circus – Wanty Gobert 0:01:56
103 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama – FDJ 0:02:06
104 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis 0:04:36
105 Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis 0:06:59
106 Théo Delacroix (Fra) Circus – Wanty Gobert 0:10:19
107 Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
108 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis 0:10:22
109 Marco Mathis (Ger) Cofidis
110 Julien Morice (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
111 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
112 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
113 Tony Hurel (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
114 Yoann Paillot (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
115 William Clarke (Aus) Trek – Segafredo
116 Nikodemus Holler (Ger) Bike Aid
117 Jesse De Rooij (Ned) Bike Aid
118 Lucas Carstensen (Ger) Bike Aid
119 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Nippo Delko Provence
120 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama – FDJ
121 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
122 Alan Riou (Fra) Team Arkea – Samsic
123 Alexander Evans (Aus) Circus – Wanty Gobert
124 Hector Saez Benito (Spa) Caja Rural – Seguros RGA
125 Unai Cuadrado Ruiz de Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
126 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Nippo Delko Provence
127 Louis Louvet (Fra) St Michel – Auber 93
128 Sergio Nestor Araiz Michel (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
129 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama – FDJ 0:13:33
130 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team
131 Arvid De Kleijn (Ned) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
132 Maxime Cam (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm 0:17:04
133 Thibault Guernalec (Fra) Team Arkea – Samsic
134 Samuel Leroux (Fra) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole
135 Dzmitry Zhyhunou (Blr) Euskaltel – Euskadi
136 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis
137 Kevin Reza (Fra) B&B Hotels – Vital Concept p/b Ktm
138 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team 0:24:54
139 August Jensen (Nor) Riwal Readynez Cycling Team
140 Marco Benfatto (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizanè
141 Adrien Petit (Fra) Total Direct Energie
142 Morné Van Niekerk (RSA) St Michel – Auber 93 0:25:04
143 Emiel Vermeulen (Bel) Natura4ever – Roubaix – Lille Metropole 0:25:05
144 Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie