Haddou tops final stage

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Anthony Ravard (Ag2r-La Mondiale) secured overall victory in the five-day Etoile de Bessèges stage race in the South of France after some excellent support work from his teammates on the final stage from Gagnières to Bessèges.

Ravard won stage five but started the last day on the same time as Jonny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM), with the Dutchman’s teammate Marco Marcato, also a major threat. However Ravard went on the hunt for time bonuses at the intermediate sprints to secure victory. He won the first sprint and then finished third on the stage to finish seven seconds ahead of both Marcato and Hoogerland.

The stage was won by Saïd Haddou (Team Europcar) who beat Sven Jodts (Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator) and Ravard in Bessèges.

“This is good payback for all my teammates. They did a lot of work,” Ravard said, admitting he had been nervous about sealing victory.

“Today my teammates helped me every time I was in difficulty and then helped me in the intermediate sprints and the final sprint. At the finish I based my sprint on Marcato to make sure I won overall. That perhaps cost me the stage win but it was only a matter of a few centimetres.”

“My teammates were there for me all week. The more experienced Martin Elmiger, Christophe Riblon and Sébastien Minard gave me a lot of advice, while Maxime Bouet and Hubert Dupont helped by going in breaks. Romain Lemarchand was also there to support me.”
Overall victory has boosted Ravard’s moral and he will now target success in the Le Tour Méditerranéen that begins on February 9.

“It feels good to win as early as February and I hope it continues, perhaps at the Tour Méditerranéen, where we’ll have a good team. This victory confirms Ag2r-La Mondiale deserves to have WorldTour status,” he said.

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