Tim Wellens wins Étoile de Bèsseges

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Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) took the overall victory at the Étoile de Bèsseges, riding a solid final time trial to finish in fourth place on the stage and secure the orange jersey in Alès. 

Meanwhile, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) made it two wins in two days, unsurprisingly taking the honours on the stage with a time of 15:00, 10 seconds better than second-placed man Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ), who had briefly occupied the hot set while the Italian was out on course. Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) had spent far longer in the hot seat as the seventh man out on course, eventually taking third with a time of 15:21.

Ganna, who has now won each of the last seven time trials he has entered – including the Imola Worlds and three out of three at the Giro d'Italia – was the overwhelming favourite to take victory and duly delivered a trouble-free run to secure the win.

Wellens, who enjoyed a comfortable 44-second GC lead heading into the day, also enjoyed a quiet day out, taking time on his rivals to emphasise the margin of victory at this, his seventh career stage race win.

"Of course, I've laid the foundations of my overall victory in stage three," Wellens said after the race. "It felt nice to start this closing time trial with a lead of more than 40 seconds. I had really good legs today, something I already noticed this morning. But most of all, I was really motived to give Vic Swerts, founder and owner of Soudal, a nice gift for his 81st birthday.

"The time trial suited me. I managed to push more watts than I had initially planned. That is also why I was able to take the overall victory. A big thank you to the entire team, they were so strong all week long. That is really promising for the rest of the season."

The podium spots behind the Belgian were snatched up by Michał Kwiatkowski, who capped off a good day for Ineos Grenadiers to post a time of 15:34 and overhaul Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation). The latter's ex-teammate Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) also moved onto the final podium, nabbing third overall with a ride of 15:38.

How it unfolded

The Étoile de Bèsseges concluded with the traditional 11-kilometre time trial in Alès. The course, largely the same as previous years, saw riders take on 8.5 kilometres of flat road before a 2.5-kilometre, six per cent climb to the finish at the Sanctuaire Notre-Dame des Mines.

With Wellens in the driving seat, 44 seconds up on his nearest GC rival, only a disaster would see him lose the overall title. Meanwhile, the next 11 riders were covered by 16 seconds, promising a much tighter fight for the other podium spots.

Cambodia Cycling Academy's Samy Aurignac kicked off proceedings as first man down the start ramp, but it was Ethan Hayter of Ineos Grenadiers who was fastest of the very early runners. The young Briton set a time of 15:21, which would've been good for second in 2020 and easily the quickest in the 2019 – it would take some doing to best the 22-year-old.

Time trial specialists such as Tom Bohli (Cofidis) and Ryan Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) came and went, but nobody could get close to Hayter at the top of the leaderboard. Even Grand Tour leaders a long way away from their goals were some way down, with Hayter's teammates Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal posting times of 15:58 and 16:09.

Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo) fared better, posting a time of 15:44 to go provisional second, but his effort was quickly bested by Owain Doull (Ineos Grenadiers) with a 15:38, and then his own teammate Alberto Bettiol, who posted a top effort to go second at 15:35.

By that point, though, all eyes were on another Ineos rider, the world time trial champion Filippo Ganna, who was the hot favourite to take the win having triumphed on stage 4 and been unbeaten in time trials dating back to last year's Vuelta a San Juan.

But while Ganna was mid-effort, Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ) had moved the goalposts, the French time trial champion flying around the course to set a new best time of 15:10. Ganna was, once again, supreme though. As we've come to expect in the past year the Italian headed straight to the hot seat as he posted a time of 15 minutes dead, a mark which was unlikely to be beaten by the remaining riders.

Elsewhere, Christophe Laporte (Cofidis), who won the race in 2019 thanks to sprint and time trial stage wins, put in an impressive ride of 15:31 to go fourth. Back at the start house, the GC men were starting their efforts, with a cluster of men aiming for the podium as Wellens aimed to stay out of trouble and defend his lead.

Politt kept himself in podium contention with a strong ride to go seventh fastest, while a cluster of other riders in the same battle falling short of his time of 15:38. Neo-pro Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ) shed three seconds, Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën) losing 27 seconds, and Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal) losing 56 seconds.

All-rounder Kwiatkowski beat the German's time, though, his 15:34 good for provisional fifth, and a guaranteed podium spot after Würtz Schmidt crossed the line with a time of 16:02.

Second-last man on the course Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) finished in 16:21, also missing out on defending his podium spot as Kwiatkowski and Politt moved up to second and third overall.

Wellens, meanwhile, had a trouble-free time trial, crossing the finish line with a time of 15:29 – faster than any of the other men in the top 10, and good for fourth overall on the stage. After five days of racing, the 29-year-old added to his underrated stage racing palmarès, which already included WorldTour races such as the Tour de Pologne and two editions of the Eneco Tour.