Etoile de Bessèges stage 2 - Live race coverage

Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage stage 2 of the Etoile de Bessèges.

-127km

As we pick up the action after 27km, a group of five riders has a lead of 2:40 over the peloton. Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma) escaped almost immediately after the start and they quickly amassed a lead of over three minutes before Cofidis and Total-Direct Energie began to pick up the pace in the main peloton. The escapees are over the day's first climb, the Côte de Montagnac, where their lead fell slightly.

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

Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) leads the race overall after his victory on yesterday's uphill finale in Bellegarde after a fine duel with his former teammate Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic). You can read Daniel Ostanek's full report here. Both Laporte and Bouhanni will expect to be in the mix again this afternoon on a finale in La Calmette that appears to lend itself to a bunch finish. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos), Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels) are other likely contenders.

-120km

The pace, meanwhile, has slackened again the peloton, and our five escapees - Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma) - have stretched their lead out to almost four minutes.

Yesterday's opening stage was marred by a crash in the finale, and Michael Valgren was among the fallers in what was his first race for EF Education First-Nippo. Although he managed to finish the stage in 127th place, he is a non-starter today after sustaining a fractured hand in the crash. He is due to undergo surgery today. "It’s not the best start, but it can only get better from now on," Valgren said. "It was great to race with the guys, even though it was only for one day, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and I know it will be a nice week." Read more here.

Egan Bernal (Ineos) was among the many riders caught behind the same crash, but he was not among the fallers and he finished safely in 115th place. It was his first day of racing since he abandoned the Tour de France with a back injury in September. "I’m feeling really happy to be back in the game and really excited to be starting my season here,” Bernal said prior to the opening stage in Bellegarde. Later on Wednesday, it was confirmed that Bernal will make his Giro d'Italia debut in 2021 at the head of an Ineos selection that will also include Pavel Sivakov, Daniel Martínez and Filippo Ganna. Read the full story here.

-109km

Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma)

Peloton at 3:10

South of the Alps, RCS Sport this morning confirmed the open secret that Turin will host the Grande Partenza of the 2021 Giro d'Italia on May 8. The race will underway with a decidedly Ganna-friendly time trial that finishes on the banks of the Po outside the striking Grand Madre church. After a flat run to Novara on stage 2, the race heads through the rolling hills of the Langhe en route to Canale on stage 3. The Giro will return to the Piedmont region in the final week for a summit finish at Alpe di Mera in Valsesia. Stephen Farrand has all the details here.

-104km

Back at the Etoile de Bessèges, Alexandre Delettre (Delko) has led the break over the Côte de Clarensac. There is no particular urgency in the chase from the peloton at this early juncture.

The break is heading towards the first passage across the finish line in La Calmette - and the day's first intermediate sprint - with a lead of 2:40 over the peloton.

-88km

Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole) claims the intermediate sprint in La Calmette ahead of Robeet and Hurel. 

Cofidis and Total-Direct Energie are setting the tempo in the peloton, which is 2:26 down on the five leaders. Cofidis are riding on behalf of overall leader Christophe Laporte, who won on this finale in La Calmette two years ago en route to final overall victory. Total-Direct Energie are working for their new arrival Edvald Boasson Hagen, who was among those caught behind the crashes in the finale yesterday.

-80km

Break:

Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma)

Peloton at 2:31

A curiosity of yesterday's opening stage was that all riders caught up in the late crashes were awarded the same time as the front group by the race jury, even though one of the two incidents took place with 6km to go, while the uphill finish meant that, technically, the 3km rule should not have been applied. Thierry Gouvenou, better known for his work with ASO, is the head of the race jury at Besseges, and he explained to DirectVelo that a technological malfunction of the transponder timing system at the 3km to go banner was behind the decision. "We were unable to identify the fifty or so riders who were hampered by the fall 6km from the finish," Gouvenou said. "Then there was a second big fall 500m from the finish on the hill. The road was completely blocked, so riders couldn't get through and the riders who were delayed 6km from the finish came to mix with those in the peloton. We had no technical way to identify all the groups. We determined that the best thing to do was to cancel all the times."

-73km

Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma) are still swapping turns smoothly at the head of the race, 2:30 ahead of the peloton, where Cofidis are setting the tempo.

The postponement and cancellation of so many races in the early part of the season has seen Etoile de Besseges attract its most star-studded field of the 21st century. Among the Besseges debutants on show this year is Geraint Thomas (Ineos), who is lining out for the first time since he broke his pelvis in a heavy crash on stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia last October. "I’m not thinking about the GC or any other objectives here this week. It’s just about getting some good, hard racing in, some intensity, some speed in the legs," Thomas said yesterday. "Obviously, I’ll give it everything in the TT on the last day, but until that point it’s just a case of doing everything that I can for the boys.” Peter Cossins has the full story here.

-62km

The break's lead remains steady at 2:27, as Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma) continue to work well together. They have one more categorised climb on the agenda this afternoon - the Côte de Montagnac, which they already encountered earlier today.

-57km

Cofidis continue to set the pace in the peloton for Christophe Laporte, who has a fine track record in this race. The Frenchman was the overall winner in 2019, second overall in 2018 and he has claimed four stages here over the years, including the Alès time trial in 2019.

A light drizzle is once again falling over the race, but the temperature is a relatively benign 13°C. It's interesting to note that a delegation from Bora-Hansgrohe is occupying real state near the front of the bunch, but Pascal Ackermann's teammates are content to allow Cofidis to perform the pace-making for the time being.

-53km

Break:

Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma)

Peloton at 2:15

-50km

Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) pushes on the pace in the break as they enter the final 50km of the stage. Their buffer is down to just above 2 minutes over a peloton where Cofidis are performing all of the pace-making. Delegations from Total-Direct Energie and Bora-Hansgrohe are perched behind them. 

The pace is ratcheting up slightly in the peloton and their deficit to the break is tightening accordingly. The gap is down to 1:42.

Meanwhile, the rain is starting to fall a little more steadily over the race, which could make the finale a little more complicated than previously envisaged. Riders will get another look at the finish line on Avenue Charles De Gaulle with 32km to go, when there will be another intermediate sprint to boot. 

-47km

The escapees Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma) hit the Côte de Montagnac with 1:27 in hand on the bunch.

-45.6km

Alexandre Delettre (Delko) leads Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) and the rest of the break over the Côte de Montagnac with a buffer of 1:20 over the peloton.

Robeet continues his effort over the top of the climb and the Belgian has struck out alone with a small lead over the rest of the break. Delettre, incidentally, will wear the king of the mountains jersey tomorrow. 

-44km

Robeet looks committed to his lone effort, but the rest of the break are beginning to orchestrate a chase. The Belgian's attack should, at the very least, bring a sense of urgency to this escape.

Robeet is alone in front but Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma) is almost within touching distance. Hurel, Picoux and Delettre weren't able to follow the Czech when he set off in pursuit.

Robeet's acceleration has seen him extend his lead over the Cofidis-led peloton to 1:44. The Belgian isn't hanging about, and Repa hasn't managed to bridge across.

-40km

Break:

Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB)

Chaser 1:

Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma)

Chasers 2:

Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko)

Peloton at 1:52

-36.5km

Ludovic Robeet has a lead of 1:54 over the peloton and it doesn't look like the rest of the break will catch back up to him. The Belgian has one victory on his palmares, a stage of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali in 2019, when he beat Mikkel Bjerg and Jacopo Mosca to the line in Crevalcore.

Robeet's lead over the bunch nudges out towards two minutes. Seven Cofidis riders now occupy the first seven positions in the peloton.

-32km

The lone leader Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) crosses the finish line in La Calmette for the penultimate time and picks up three bonus seconds. He has a decisive lead over his erstwhile companions Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma), Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole) and Alexandre Delettre (Delko), who are more interested in sprinting for the remaining bonus seconds than in forming a coherent chase.

-31km

Break:

Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB)

Chasers at 1:22:

Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma), Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko)

Peloton at 1:57

-30km

Cofidis finally have some help at the front of the peloton. Bora-Hansgrohe have sent a man forward to join the pace-making on behalf of Pascal Ackermann.

-29km

The remnants of the break - Repa, Hurel, Picoux and Delettre - have been caught by the peloton. Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-WB) remains alone in front, 1:46 clear of the peloton.

Robeet is putting in a spirited solo effort, but it's hard to see how he can hold off the peloton, which is now at 1:40. The day has worked out well so far for Cofidis and Christophe Laporte, who have seen the escapees sweep up all of the intermediate bonus seconds on offer. 

-25km

Cofidis and Bora-Hansgrohe lead in the peloton, and their pace-making has reduced Robeet's lead to 1:16.

-21km

The pace continues to rise in the peloton, which is now strung out in a long line behind the red and white jerseys of Cofidis. Robeet's lead stands at exactly one minute.

-20km

Into the final 20km, where Groupama-FDJ, AG2R-Citroen, Trek-Segafredo, Bora-Hansgrohe and Qhubeka-Assos are among the squads now vying for position towards the head of the bunch, which is still being led by Cofidis. 

Ineos Grenadeiers have moved up en masse to the front of the bunch, with Egan Bernal leading the way. Geraint Thomas is parked on the Colombian's wheel as they position themselves ahead of the finale. After yesterday's late crashes, nobody will want to risk getting caught out on the wrong side of a split.

-17km

Robeet's lead is beginning to crumble. It now stands at 22 seconds, and the peloton is almost in sight of the Belgian.

Trek-Segdafedo have also moved up towards the front of the bunch. Cofidis have dropped back and now no one team is dictating the terms. No matter, the pace is very, very high, and the bunch is on the cusp of catching the lone escapee Robeet.

-15km

Into the final 15km for Robeet, whose lead is down to just 9 seconds over a fast-moving peloton, where the various sprint trains are beginning to scramble for positioning at the front.

-13km

Ludovic Robeet still hasn't relented and the slightest lull in the peloton sees him inch his lead back out to 15 seconds. EF Education First-Nippo set the pace in the pelootn for the time being. Geraint Thomas (Ineos) is still tucked in near the front.

-10km

Ludovic Robeet's fine solo raid comes to an end. The Bingoal-WB rider attacked from the break just after the day's final climb but he is finally swept up by the bunch, where Trek-Segafredo and Ineos are prominent.

Vincenzo Nibali rides in the front row of the peloton on behalf of Trek-Segafredo. Bora-Hansgrohe also have numbers up here in support of Pascal Ackermann.

-9km

The roads aren't neither wide nor straight at this point on the run-in. Sharp elbows will be needed to pilot a sprinter to the front here.

-8km

Considering the speed, the narrow roads and the speed bumps, men like Nibali and Thomas are wise to be positioned as they are at the front of the peloton.

B&B Hotels are moving up for Bryan Coquard, while Arkea-Samsic are trying to beat a path for Nacer Bouhanni. Race leader Christophe Laporte is surrounded by Cofidis teammates a few rows back from the front.

-6km

Vincenzo Nibali has put in a long, long shift at the head of the peloton. Geraint Thomas, meanwhile, also remains posted a few rows back from the front. 

-5km

Cofidis, Arkea-Samsic and B&B Hotels occupy the front positions in the peloton, but the scramble for positions is quite intense, with Bora-Hansgrohe also forward in numbers.

-4km

Arkea-Samsic lead into the final 4km for Bouhanni.

-3.7km

A touch of wheels in the peloton sees a rider from AG2R-Citroen crash and three or four riders behind him can't avoid falling too.

-2.5km

Arkea-Samsic are still at the front, meanwhile, and setting the pace for Bouhanni. Bora move up for Ackermann.

-2km

Total-Direct Energie lead into the final 2km for Boasson Hagen. Trek, Arkea, Cofidis and Bora are also prominent. 

-1km

Into the final kilometre, where two Arkea-Samsic riders lead for Bouhanni...

The bunch splits around the roundabout in the final kilometre and there's another crash...

Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos) opens the sprint from distance...

Timothy Dupont (Bingoal-WB) wins stage 2 of Etoile de Besseges.

The final roundabout and that crash left only 10 or so riders still in contention for the sprint. Nizzolo went early - too early - while the race leader Laporte never really going. Dupont was in fourth position as Nizzolo opened the sprint, and he timed his effort well to deny Pierre Barbier (Delko) the win. Nizzolo took third ahead of Rudy Barbier (Israel Start-Up Nation). Laporte had to settle for 5th ahead of Bouhanni.

Like yesterday, two crashes marred the finale of this stage. The first, with 3.7km to go, saw four or five riders come down. The second came after the peloton split in two as it navigated the roundabout with 600 metres to go. The crash occurred initially on the left-hand side of that roundabout, but one of the fallers slid across the road and some of the riders merging from the right were unable to avoid crashing into him.

Result

1 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal WB 3:35:15
2 Pierre Barbier (Fra) Delko
3 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
4 Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
5 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis
6 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
7 Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
8 Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal
9 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix 0:00:02
10 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

General classification after stage 2

1 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis 6:49:37
2 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal WB 0:00:02
3 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:00:04
4 Pierre Barbier (Fra) Delko 0:00:06
5 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:00:08
6 Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:12
7 Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
8 Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
9 Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:00:14
10 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix

Trek-Segafredo have reported that Mads Pedersen was among the fallers in that crash on the final roundabout.

That’s the seventh victory of Timothy Dupont’s career and the Belgian’s first since he won a stage of the Tour de Wallonie in 2019. The 33-year-old spent the past three seasons at Circus-Wanty but didn't make the jump to the WorldTour with the Belgian squad in 2021. Instead, he remained at Pro Continental level with a move to Bingoal-Wallonie Bruxelles, and he has just pulled off something on an upset to win stage 2 at Etoile de Besseges.

Timothy Dupont speaks to L'Equipe TV after his victory: “I knew the finishing straight was very long, so I started out in 6th or 7th position, and I waited for the good moment to go. I started my sprint when it was already very fast. I think in the last 20km, it started to get very nervous it was very chaotic as far as the roundabout but after that, it was ok."

Asked about his recent move to Bingoal-WB, Dupont said: "Everybody says, ‘it’s only Bingoal’ but this is a good team and I’m very happy here, the riders are good. We’ve got two or three guys who can do well tomorrow. it’s hard but they can be up there.”

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Total-Direct Energie) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) have been concerned as being among the fallers in that crash in the final kilometre. 

Mads Pedersen has explained that the crash forced him to veer across the road, but the former world champion came away relatively unscathed from the incident. "Luckily, I didn’t crash, I only hit my finger on the fence. It’s a shit way to end a good sprint stage, but I’m just happy now that I didn’t crash because you can see how many guys are coming in with torn clothing.”

AG2R Citroen have confirmed that Julien Duval and Damien Touze were fallers in the finale of today's stage.

Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) keeps the overall lead but he cut a disappointed figure at the finish. “There was a lot of nervousness in the sprint," he tells L'Equipe TV. "I wanted at least to get 2nd or 3rd to take bonus seconds, but I couldn’t get around to get them. I heard the crash on the final roundabout. It was quite tense.”

Ineos Grenadiers have confirmed that Ethan Hayter was a faller in the crash with a little over 3km to go. The Briton was able to remount and complete the stage.

Result

1          Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal WB   3:35:15

2          Pierre Barbier (Fra) Delko     

3          Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos           

4          Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation     

5          Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis      

6          Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic  

7          Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team      

8          Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal  

9          Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix    0:00:02

10        Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo          

General classification after stage 2

1          Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis       6:49:37

2          Timothy Dupont (Bel) Bingoal WB   0:00:02

3          Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic   0:00:04

4          Pierre Barbier (Fra) Delko      0:00:06

5          Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos            0:00:08

6          Gerben Thijssen (Bel) Lotto Soudal   0:00:12

7          Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation     

8          Marc Sarreau (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team      

9          Bryan Coquard (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM  0:00:14

10        Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix

Patrick Fletcher's full report of today's action from Étoile de Bessèges is available here, along with photographs and results. Further information on the crashes during the finale of stage 2 is available here.

The full results from today's stage are now available here.

Thanks for following our coverage this afternoon on Cyclingnews. We'll be back with more live updates from stage 3 of Étoile de Bessèges on Friday.