Etoile de Bessèges: Gallopin wins in Laudun

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Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) won the penultimate stage of the Étoile de Bessèges with a rasping sprint that saw him overpower Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) and Edward Theuns (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) on the testing uphill finale at Laudun.

Gallopin was able to rely on the support of teammate Pim Ligthart in the final kilometre and he gauged his effort perfectly in the tough finishing straight, hitting the front with a shade over 200 metres remaining and holding off Laport.

Theuns’ third place finish means that he retains the overall lead and the Belgian will carry an advantage of three seconds over Kris Boeckmans (Lotto-Soudal) into Sunday’s short concluding time trial.

Gallopin’s impressive victory was his first of the new campaign and it also marked the continuation of Lotto-Soudal’s recent run of success in southern France. Boeckmans, of course, won the opening stage of Étoile de Bessèges, while Ligthart was victorious in the season-opening GP La Marseillaise last weekend

Saturday’s stage was again marked by bracing winds though the racing was just as brisk and the day’s action was marked by a determined delegation of escapees led by Thomas Voeckler (Europcar).

The Frenchman was joined by Arnaud Gérard (Bretagne-Séché Environnement), Gaëton Pons (Wallonie-Bruxelles), Kévin van Melsen (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Steven Tronet (Auber 93), Rudy Barbier (Roubaix-Lille Métropole), Xandro Meurisse (An Post-ChainReaction) and Thomas Vaubourzeix (Veranclassic-Ekoi), and they built a maximum lead of three minutes over the peloton before Lotto-Soudal and Topsport began to chase in earnest.

Voeckler and company put up fierce resistance but the finale of the race included four laps of a finishing circuit over the Mur de Laudun, and their unity began to fragment on the slopes of the 2km climb.

Behind, meanwhile, Lotto were forcing the pace in the main field and they duly split the peloton with two laps remaining after a show of strength in the crosswinds. Although their echelon later swelled in size, many more riders were unable to force their way back on.

The gap to the leaders dwindled to just 20 seconds inside the final twelve kilometres, prompting Voeckler to try his luck alone, but his act of defiance was soon snuffed out as Trek Factory Racing, with Fabio Felline in mind, combined with Lotto at the head of the bunch.

The stage was set for the fiercely contested uphill sprint and, it was expected, a head-to-head between Gallopin and Felline. The Italian could only manage fourth, however, while Gallopin found an extra gear to see of Laporte and Theuns.

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