Etoile de Bessèges: Mads Pedersen wins stage 1

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Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) claimed victory on the opening day of Étoile des Bessèges thanks to a sprint effort on the uphill finale in Bellegarde. The Dane proved the strongest from a reduced front group that formed after the race was splintered into echelons inside the final 70km, coming home a second clear of Hugo Hofstetter (Arkéa-Samsic) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies).

As the road reared upwards in the final kilometre, Total Energies took up the reins in front, with Chris Lawless ripping clear with a shade under 400 metres to race. Pedersen responded well to the Briton’s effort before kicking past him on the toughest section of the climb.

By the time the gradient began to level off in the final 200 metres, Pedersen already had a winning advantage and he kept his gear turning over to take the stage honours and the overall lead.

Hofstetter beat a fast-finishing Boasson Hagen to second, and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) took 4th ahead of Michael Burgaudeau (Total Energies), while the rest of the 27-strong front group fragmented in the final kick towards the line.

Lawless came home 6th at 4 seconds, while Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), so impressive in powering the front echelon in the final hour of racing, finished 7 seconds down in the company of another of the front group’s strongmen, Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R-Citroën). Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), another notable contributor to the success of the echelon, was unable to match the explosive efforts of Pedersen et al on the drag to the line, finishing in 12th place.

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) were among the riders to miss the pivotal split, and they reached Bellegarde in the main peloton, 41 seconds down on Pedersen, who will wear the cobalt jersey on stage 2 from Saint-Christol-les-Alès to Rousson.

Thanks to the stage winner’s time bonus, Pedersen holds a lead of 5 seconds over Hofstetter in the general classification, with Boasson Hagen third at 7 seconds and Bettiol 4th at 11 seconds.

How it unfolded

The drama on the opening day of Étoile des Bessèges was crammed into the second half of the 160km run around Bellegarde, and there was, at least by the bracing standards of early-season racing, a relatively gentle start to proceedings on Wednesday. Lindsay De Vylder (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) forged clear in the opening kilometres and the rest of the peloton was content to leave him to his lone endeavour for the first half of the stage.

The Belgian clocked 40km in the first hour of racing, gradually opening a lead of 3:30 over the peloton, before his advantage gradually started to contract again as the day drew on and the intensity rose steadily in the peloton.

De Vylder’s lead was down to 1:10 come the first of three ascents of the Côte de la Tour with 94k remaining, and he was already on the cusp of being caught by the bunch when the day’s decisive move took shape amid the brisk crosswinds the race encountered with 70km or so remaining.

Ineos Grenadiers, Arkéa-Samsic and TotalEnergies were prominent in setting a crisp tempo at the head of the peloton, which was stretched into a long line and quickly brought to breaking point. Ganna, Carapaz, Bettiol, Van Avermaet, Pedersen, Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Toms Skuijns (Trek-Segafredo) were among the strongmen in a front group that soon struck up a solid working alliance, combining to open a lead of 45 seconds over the rest of the peloton.

Uno-X were prominent in attempting to marshal a chase, but their efforts were unable to keep pace with those of Ganna et al. Meanwhile, Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), mindful that the uphill finish was perfectly tailored to his gifts, tried gamely to bridge across as part of a seven-man group that also included Bryan Coquard (Cofidis). He came within sight of the front group but the final junction proved beyond him and he eventually faded back into the peloton.

Out in front, Lukasz Wisniowski (EF Education-EasyPost) and Skuijns were to the fore in attempting to tee up their respective companions Bettiol and Pedersen ahead of the finale, while a delegation from EF Education-EasyPost also helped to disrupt the chase efforts of Groupama-FDJ and Israel-Premier Tech behind.

The gap dropped inside 40 seconds on the run-in, but the front group never looked in danger of being caught, and TotalEnergies looked to use their strength in numbers to dictate terms on the final kick towards the line. Lawless’ initial acceleration was ferocious, but Pedersen had his measure and the Dane produced a searing effort of his own to continue his fine start to 2022, following on from his second place finish at the Grand Prix de la Marseillaise on Sunday.