Etoile de Bessèges: Dupont wins crash-marred stage 2

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Timothy Dupont (Bingoal-Wallonie Bruxelles) claimed victory on stage 2 of the Étoile de Bessèges, winning a sprint after a crash-ridden run-in to La Calmette. The Belgian left it late but surged past Pierre Barbier (Delko) on the right-hand side of the road, as Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka Assos) faded and settled for third. 

They were part of a small group sprinting just after a crash on a roundabout threw the race into disarray in the final 500 metres. Even before then, the narrow roads in the final 10km had created tension and sparked other crashes. 

Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) could only manage fifth on the stage, behind Rudy Barbier (Israel Start-Up Nation) and ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic) but retained his overall lead. 

The 154km stage, based on two loops north west of Nîmes, had passed in quiet fashion, with Ludovic Robeet making it a good day for Bingoal-WB by soloing off the front of the breakaway for 35km. However, once he was caught with 10km to go, it was a nervy run-in to La Calmette on narrow country roads and through small towns. 

The first nasty crash came with 3.5km to go when a ripple in the bunch caused Julien Duval (AG2R Citroën) to hit the deck, along with riders from Ineos, Israel Start-Up Nation and Bora-Hansgrohe. 

However, the major incident came just 500m shy of the finish line when the bunch split either side of a large roundabout. 

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Total Direct Energie), in third wheel on the left, slipped out, taking three others down in the process. The chaos wasn’t over, with Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) forced diagonally across the road.A Bingoal rider couldn’t avoid him and crashed hard. 

That left just a dozen riders in front to contest the sprint. Nizzolo hit out first, with Bouhanni in the wheel but he was never able to get out of the slipstream. 

Laporte made a better fist of it, and Pierre Barbier came soaring past in the middle, but arriving late with the highest speed of all was Dupont, who roared in delight as he crossed the line. 

“I knew it was a long final stretch. I was in sixth position and thought I’d lost the right moment to go, but then I really came up with speed, so it turned out to be good timing,” he said. 

“20km from the finish it started to get very hectic, until the roundabout. After the roundabout it was ok, for me, but it was very dangerous.”

How it unfolded

There was one non-starter on stage 2, as Michael Valgren had been diagnosed with fractures in his hands following a crash on the opening day, marring his debut with EF Education-Nippo.

Once underway, a breakaway formed with a minimum of fuss, and Robeet was joined by Tony Hurel (St-Michel-Auber 93), Maximilien Picoux (Xelloss-Roubaix Lille Métropole), Alexandre Delettre (Delko), and Vojtech Repa (Equipo Kern Pharma). They opened a lead of four minutes but were allowed no more than that as Cofidis guarded tight control in the peloton. 

After cresting the small climbs of the Côte de Montagnac and Côte de Clarensac, they dipped down to the finish line before embarking on a longer loop that would again take them over the Montagnac. It was this second ascent, with 45km to go, that ignited action in the break. Delettre sprinted for the mountains points, as he had done at the earlier climbs, but was tracked by Robeet, who turned his effort into a solo attack. 

Despite a counter-effort from Repa, he pulled further away, and the others were unable to mount a meaningful chase. By the second passage of the finish line, with 32km to go, Robeet had 1:20 in hand over his former companions, and two minutes over the peloton. 

The intensity was lifted in the bunch inside the final 20km, and Robeet’s lead fell steadily until he was caught with 10km to go. Arkéa-Samsic, Cofidis, Bora-Hansgrohe, B&B Hotels, and Trek-Segafredo were all prominent as position proved all important on the narrow roads, where small splits and spills grew more common. 

Geraint Thomas was also a constant figure near the front, though he had to look after himself rather than Ineos forming a train for the run-in. 

The first major crash came with 3.5km to go when Duval was sent sprawling as a ripple went through the bunch. He took out an Israel rider in the process, while the braking saw riders from Ineos and Bora fall heavily. 

There was another nervy moment when signals went up for traffic furniture in a small village, where one spectator was sat on the pavement with his legs stretched into the road. 

Trek-Segafredo punched their way to the front with 1.5km to go, before Arkéa-Samsic came to the fore for Bouhanni. However, the roundabout sparked further chaos and split the peloton, leaving a select few to sprint it out, and several others to lick their wounds.