2026 Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard (2.1), France

56th edition: February 4 - 8, 2026

Etoile de Bessèges podium history | 2025 edition | Start list
Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5

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Sunday, February 8: 5th & final stage, Alès -Alès 10.3 km individual time trial

Stage 5 profile

Ewen Costiou finishes his race-winning ride.

Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the race city of Alès at 2:10 PM, local time: 9C (48F), raining, with the wind from the northwest at 11 km/hr (7 mph). The rain is forecast to continue through 7:00 PM.

The race: Here's the report from race winner Ewen Costiou's Team Groupama-FDJ United.

The win tally is officially open! This Sunday, Ewen Costiou claimed the first two victories of the 2026 season for the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team. The 23-year-old Breton dominated the closing time trial of the Étoile de Bessèges, while also securing the overall classification of the race. Maxime Decomble, an excellent second in the time trial, stood alongside him on the final podium in third place, which made for a perfect ending.

There were just 10 kilometers left to shake things up. This Sunday, as the final act, the Étoile de Bessèges-Tour du Gard featured its traditional time trial around Alès, with the decisive climb of the Ermitage. Before their scheduled start just before 3:30 p.m., Ewen Costiou and Maxime Decomble were 20 and 27 seconds behind the overall leader. “We certainly were a bit behind Kubis, and also Lapeira, but we were really confident with the physical condition of our leaders,” said Benoît Vaugrenard. “Since things didn’t explode as much as we hoped on the Bessèges stage, it all came down to this time trial for us. We knew our strengths, and we prepared really well for this day.”

“The time trial was slightly shorter than in previous years, but there was rain today,” added David Han, one of the team’s coaches. “Objectively speaking, it was a course that suited our two leaders well, and they also aren’t afraid of the rain.”

Before the two strong men from Groupama-FDJ United set off, Victor Loulergue made his mark again by posting the second-best provisional time at his arrival. Then, it was time for the battle for the overall. “The plan was to have a good start but not overcommit, and then gradually increase the pace during the time trial,” explained David. “We had a progressive strategy, and despite that, the guys still were among the best times at the bottom of the final climb.” After 7,500 metres, Ewen Costiou was in second place, just 3 seconds behind the best time, and Maxime Decomble was in fifth, 6 seconds behind. But they still had to face the final 2.8 kilometers of ascent at 5.3%, with some sections reaching over 9%. “That’s where the biggest gaps were made,” said David. “The steep gradients were really tough, and the guys had already shown they were among the top 3-4 in the climbs a couple of days ago. That was confirmed again today.” It was Maxime Decomble who made the first impression, improving the best time by 13 seconds at his arrival.

With a time of 15:02, the young rider claimed the “hot seat,” but only briefly, as his teammate Ewen Costiou quickly overtook him with a time of 14:57. With just 10 riders still on the course, Groupama-FDJ United held the top two positions, and only Paul Lapeira came close to threatening them, but he couldn’t surpass them for the stage win. Ewen Costiou could then celebrate his first victory, but the icing on the cake came shortly after when Lukas Kubis crossed the line with a 35-second deficit. This was more than enough to secure the overall victory for the young Breton!

“I knew that if I was having a good day, this course was ideal for me,” Ewen said. “It’s amazing! The plan worked perfectly. We had two cards for the overall, and we both finished on the final podium. We were a little frustrated after the third stage, and I was worried about having a bad day in the time trial. But in the end, I felt great this morning, just like all week, and I put in a great time trial. I’m happy.”

In his first stage race and his first time trial with his new team, Ewen Costiou pulled off the perfect double. “Anthony [Bouillod] did a great job working with Ewen on his position, first in Calpe, then in the wind tunnel before the altitude camp,” David added. “The position was well optimized, and we also did some specific work during the camp, with what we call ‘Bessèges simulations.’ In any case, this will boost his confidence for the future. The team knows it can count on him, both for achieving results and supporting the leaders. It’s important for him to come into the team and win two races straight away, seizing the opportunity given to him. It will further solidify his status, and I think he’s looking forward to what comes next.” “I’m really happy with my preparation and my integration,” Ewen said. “The goal wasn’t to be 100% at the start of the season, but to be good enough to win at Bessèges, and that’s exactly what happened!”

Most importantly, the young rider secured Groupama-FDJ United’s first two wins of the year, while Maxime Decomble took third place on the final podium and claimed the white jersey for the best young rider. “Victories are hard to achieve today, given the current level of competition, so winning two races straight away really boosts the team’s morale, and it’s especially important for working in a calm environment,” concluded Benoît. “It’s very promising from Ewen and Maxime, and it will also boost their confidence. We know their qualities, but it’s never easy to step up when the moment comes. I also want to highlight the collective effort, which was excellent this week.”

Complete results:

10.3 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.338 km/hr

1	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	14min 57sec
2	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	@ 5sec
3	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	0:06
4	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:14
5	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	0:19
6	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	0:21
7	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
8	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	0:22
9	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	0:23
10	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
11	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:26
12	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:30
13	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	0:31
14	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	0:34
15	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:35
16	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	0:37
17	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:38
18	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
19	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	0:39
20	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
21	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	0:40
22	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
23	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:43
24	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	0:46
25	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
26	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:47
27	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	0:48
28	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	0:49
29	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	0:54
30	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	0:55
31	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	0:56
32	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:58
33	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
34	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	1:00
35	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	1:02
36	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
37	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	1:05
38	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	1:06
39	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	1:08
40	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:10
41	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
42	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	1:11
43	Jan Maas	Cofidis	1:12
44	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	1:13
45	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:15
46	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	1:17
47	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:18
48	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
49	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	1:19
50	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:21
51	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:22
52	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	1:24
53	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	1:26
54	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
55	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:27
56	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	1:29
57	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
58	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:30
59	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:34
60	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
61	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	1:36
62	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
63	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	1:37
64	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	1:38
65	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	1:39
66	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	1:43
67	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	1:44
68	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	1:46
69	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:47
70	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:48
71	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
72	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:50
73	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
74	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
75	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:55
76	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:58
77	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	2:02
78	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	2:03
79	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	2:04
80	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	2:06
81	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	2:11
82	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
83	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	2:13
84	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	2:18
85	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	2:23
86	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	2:41

 

Final GC after stage 5:

• GC winner: Ewen Costiou (Groupama-FDJ United)
• Mountains classification winner: Victor Papon (Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur)
• Points classification winner: Lukas Kubis (Unibet Rose Rockets)
• Best young rider: Maxime Decomble (Groupama-FDJ United)
• Teams classification winner: Groupama-FDJ United

640.3 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.770 km/hr

1	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	13hr 59min 22sec
2	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	@ 2sec
3	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	0:12
4	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:15
5	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:17
6	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	0:32
7	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
8	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	0:36
9	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:38
10	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	0:39
11	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:40
12	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:41
13	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	0:43
14	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	0:46
15	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	0:49
16	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
17	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	0:57
18	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:58
19	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	1:02
20	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:03
21	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	1:07
22	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:08
23	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	1:12
24	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	1:13
25	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:23
26	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	1:25
27	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	1:26
28	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	1:27
29	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	1:39
30	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	1:40
31	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:52
32	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:55
33	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:56
34	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:58
35	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	2:11
36	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	2:23
37	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	2:29
38	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	2:30
39	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:35
40	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	2:37
41	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	3:01
42	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	3:46
43	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	4:14
44	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	5:01
45	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	5:05
46	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	6:05
47	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	7:03
48	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	7:43
49	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	8:26
50	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	8:37
51	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	8:49
52	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	8:56
53	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	8:57
54	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	9:01
55	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	9:10
56	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	9:22
57	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	9:28
58	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	9:38
59	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	9:58
60	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	10:39
61	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	11:01
62	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	11:59
63	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	12:12
64	Jan Maas	Cofidis	12:20
65	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	12:37
66	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	12:42
67	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	13:00
68	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	13:04
69	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	13:43
70	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	14:14
71	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	14:19
72	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	14:36
73	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	15:35
74	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	15:53
75	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	16:27
76	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	16:32
77	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	16:35
78	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	16:39
79	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	16:47
80	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	18:27
81	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	19:25
82	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	19:45
83	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	21:10
84	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	21:42
85	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	21:44
86	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	22:03

 

Stage 5 profile:

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Saturday, February 7: Stage 4, Saint Christol lez Ales - Vauvert, 154.8 km

Stage 4 profile

Joppe Heremans wins stage four.

Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 1: 1903 - 1975 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Vauvert at 2:25 PM, local time: 52F (11C), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the west-northwest at 5 mph (8 km/hr). There is just a 2% chance of rain.

The race: Here's the report from sixth-place Axel Huens' Team Groupama-FDJ United.

The Étoile de Bessèges–Tour du Gard will therefore be decided on Sunday in the hills above Alès. On the eve of the traditional closing time trial, the fourth stage of the French race concluded this Saturday with an uphill sprint, in which Axel Huens claimed seventh place. Ewen Costiou finished in the same time, while Maxime Decomble lost seven seconds ahead of the final act.

Heading towards Vauvert, a mostly flat route awaited the peloton of the Étoile de Bessèges–Tour du Gard this Saturday for the penultimate stage. As a result, a fairly classic scenario unfolded despite a lively start to the race. “A three-man breakaway quickly went clear, but on a classified climb the peloton closed to within a minute, and we could see that some teams wanted to open up the race again,” Benoît explained. “We had to be careful not to get caught out, and I warned the guys. They reacted well and we had our three leaders in a group of eight. It caused a bit of panic before everything quickly settled back down.” From then on, the race eased off, the day passed without incident, and the main challenges remaining were the technical approach to the finish, as well as the final 500 metres at 5%, far from ideal for pure sprinters.

A compact peloton was nevertheless expected at the foot of the final ramps, despite two previous passages over the finishing “climb.” “We were a bit wary of this circuit, which we went to recon on Monday,” Benoît commented. “We knew there could be splits.” That’s why Groupama-FDJ United moved into the front positions on the final lap, inside the last ten kilometres. “The team was very present, but unfortunately Maxime was missing,” Benoît added. “He had a bit of apprehension and I think the fight for position was a bit too intense for him. He lost the team’s wheels, and it was difficult to move back up afterwards.”

As the final uphill hectometres began, Groupama-FDJ United managed to position Axel Huens and Ewen Costiou, with the sprinter digging deep to secure seventh place while the Breton held his position in the front group. On the other hand, Maxime Decomble was caught behind a split and finished seven seconds down on the day’s winner, Joppe Heremans.

On the eve of the final time trial in Alès (10.3 km) finishing atop the Hermitage climb (2.8 km at 5.3%), Ewen Costiou sits 11th overall, 20 seconds behind race leader Lukas Kubis, while Maxime Decomble is 14th at 27 seconds. “It’ll be full gas tomorrow and we’ll see how it turns out. But I’m confident,” Benoît concluded.

Complete results:

154.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 46.748 km/hr

1	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	3hr 18min 41sec
2	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
3	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
4	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
5	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
6	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
7	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
8	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
9	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
10	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
11	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
12	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
13	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	s.t.
14	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
15	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
16	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
17	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
18	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
19	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
20	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
21	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
22	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
23	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
24	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
25	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
26	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
27	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
28	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	@ 7sec
29	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
30	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
31	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
32	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
33	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
34	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
35	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
36	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
37	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
38	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
39	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
40	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
41	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
42	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
43	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
44	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
45	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
46	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
47	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	0:15
48	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
49	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
50	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
51	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
52	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
53	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
54	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	0:20
55	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
56	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
57	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
58	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
59	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
60	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
61	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
62	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
63	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
64	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	s.t.
65	Jan Maas	Cofidis	s.t.
66	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	0:27
67	NoaIsidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
68	Bayer Tobias	Alpecin-Premier Tech	0:30
69	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:31
70	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:32
71	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	0:35
72	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	0:40
73	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
74	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	0:47
75	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	0:50
76	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
77	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	0:59
78	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:12
79	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
80	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	1:16
81	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
82	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	1:37
83	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
84	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:53
85	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:59
86	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:05
87	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	3:26
88	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
89	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	3:30
90	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
91	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	4:31
92	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	4:42
93	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	4:47
94	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
95	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
96	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	5:11
97	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	7:45
98	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	8:00

 

GC after stage 4:

• GC leader: Lukas Kubis (Unibet Rose Rockets)
• Mountains classification leader: Victor Papon (Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur)
• Points classification leader: Lukas Kubis (Unibet Rose Rockets)
• Best young rider Mathieu Kockelmann (Lotto-Intermarché)
• Teams classification leader: Team Polti-VisitMalta

630 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 44.869 km/hr

1	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	13hr 44min 5sec
2	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	@ 13sec
3	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	0:16
4	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	s.t.
5	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
6	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	0:18
7	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	0:20
8	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
9	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
10	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
11	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
12	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:23
13	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
14	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	0:27
15	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	0:28
16	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
17	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
18	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
19	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
20	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	0:30
21	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:35
22	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
23	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
24	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
25	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
26	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
27	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	0:42
28	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
29	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
30	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
31	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
32	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
33	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:43
34	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	0:50
35	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	0:55
36	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	1:01
37	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:09
38	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	1:32
39	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	1:39
40	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	1:39
41	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:07
42	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	2:13
43	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	2:20
44	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	2:39
45	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	3:04
46	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	3:43
47	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	4:06
48	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	4:59
49	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	5:54
50	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	6:28
51	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	6:48
52	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	7:06
53	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	7:20
54	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	7:52
55	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	7:52
56	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	7:54
57	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	7:59
58	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	8:05
59	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	8:12
60	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	8:23
61	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	9:11
62	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
63	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	9:12
64	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	9:19
65	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	10:01
66	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	10:39
67	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	10:44
68	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	10:58
69	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	11:11
70	Jan Maas	Cofidis	11:28
71	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	11:39
72	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	11:40
73	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	12:06
74	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	12:07
75	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	12:23
76	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	12:26
77	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	12:49
78	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	13:03
79	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	13:29
80	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	14:05
81	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	14:17
82	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	14:23
83	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	14:36
84	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	14:52
85	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	15:03
86	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	15:06
87	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	15:09
88	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	15:15
89	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	15:53
90	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	16:57
91	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	17:23
92	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	18:11
93	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	18:59
94	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	19:21
95	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	19:46
96	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	20:10
97	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	20:28
98	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	36:43

Stage 4 profile:

 

---

Friday, February 6: Stage 3, Bessèges - Bessèges, 162.3 km

Stage 3 profile

Henri Uhlig takes the stage.

Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the start/finish city of Bessèges at 2:50 PM, local time: 14C (58F), fair, with the wind from the west-southwest at 11 km/hr (7 mph). There is a 75% chance of rain.

The race: Here's the report from fourth-place Victor Loulergue's Team Groupama-FDJ United.

Around Bessèges, this Friday, the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team really tried to make the most of the most demanding terrain of the week. However, the climbs featured on stage three of the Étoile de Bessèges–Tour du Gard were not enough to prevent a sprint finish. Aggressive right until the final moments, Ewen Costiou and Maxime Decomble therefore finished in a small bunch, within which young Victor Loulergue delivered another strong performance, taking fourth place.

On paper, it was the toughest stage of the week — in other words, the queen stage. With 2,000 metres of elevation gain on the menu, including a double ascent of the Col de Trélis (3.5 km at 5.5%) and three climbs of the Col des Brousses (2 km at 5%), the route around Bessèges had the potential to create significant gaps in the general classification. On the road, the action really kicked off with about fifty kilometres to go, while a breakaway of ten riders — including Groupama-FDJ United’s Blake Agnoletto — was still out front.

The gaps then began to shrink on the penultimate loop around Bessèges, and Benoît Vaugrenard’s riders took control of the race before the final ascent of the Col de Trélis, less than thirty kilometres from the finish. “The goal was to make the race hard, especially on the penultimate climb, which is exactly when the guys started pushing,” explained Benoît. “The idea was to test some of the GC contenders, or even drop them.” “We were all in the mix,” added Victor Loulergue. “On the last long climb, we really tried to push the pace for Ewen and Maxime.”
The Breton rider briefly took advantage of the situation by going clear with a handful of riders, before being joined at the summit of the Col de Trélis by several others, including Maxime Decomble and Victor Loulergue. After the descent, the leading group got bigger, although it was shaken once more on the final climb of the day, the Col des Brousses.

At the top, Ewen Costiou even tried to go solo, but his move was soon brought back. A group of about twenty riders, then forty, regrouped and headed towards Bessèges in the final five kilometres. “We tried again to get away on the kicker three kilometres from the finish, but it came back once more,” said Maxime Decomble, who was off the front with Ewen Costiou and others until the flamme rouge. The stage was therefore decided in a sprint, won by Henri Uhlig, while Victor Loulergue produced a superb effort to take fourth place. “When we saw we were going to be sprinting in a group of 30–40 riders, I told the guys I was going to do my sprint,” said the rider from La Conti. “I’m happy with fourth place — it’s a good day for the team, even if it’s frustrating that everything came back together after the climbs.”

That frustration was shared within the Groupama-FDJ United team on Friday. “We didn’t expect to have so many riders in the sprint,” said Benoît. “The race was hard, but not hard enough. We’re a bit disappointed because it was a stage in which we wanted to put some rivals under pressure, but we couldn’t have done more. That said, we were right there and it’s promising. We saw a strong team performance, and hats off to Victor, who rode a great race and still had the legs to sprint to fourth. It bodes well!”

In the general classification, Ewen Costiou and Maxime Decomble now sit forty seconds behind new leader Lukas Kubis. “We gave everything with the team, who did a great job,” said Ewen. “We can only regret that the course wasn’t hard enough. But we showed today that we’re very strong, and there’s a lot of positive to take away. We didn’t gain time overall, but it’s promising for what’s to come. I’m usually not at my best early in the season, but I’ve got good legs, and the team trusts me. Now the GC will likely be decided in the time trial, and on that course, the strongest will win.” Before the final showdown in Alès, a stage more suited to the sprinters will take place on Saturday towards Vauvert.

Complete results:

162.3 kilometers raced at an average speed of 44.91 km/hr

1	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	3hr 36min 50sec
2	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
3	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
4	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
5	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	s.t.
6	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
7	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
8	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
9	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
10	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
11	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
12	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
13	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
14	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
15	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
16	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
17	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
18	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
19	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
20	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
21	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
22	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
23	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
24	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
25	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
26	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
27	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
28	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
29	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
30	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
31	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
32	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
33	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
34	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
35	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	s.t.
36	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
37	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
38	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
39	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
40	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
41	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
42	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
43	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
44	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
45	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
46	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
47	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	@ 17sec
48	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	0:57
49	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	@ 0sec
50	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	@ 0sec
51	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	2:20
52	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	2:45
53	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	6:38
54	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
55	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
56	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
57	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
58	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
59	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	s.t.
60	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	s.t.
61	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
62	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
63	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
64	Nicolò Parisini	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
65	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
66	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
67	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
68	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
69	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
70	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	8:01
71	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
72	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	9:51
73	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
74	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
75	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
76	Victor Vercouillie	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
77	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
78	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
79	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
80	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
81	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
82	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
83	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
84	Jan Maas	Cofidis	s.t.
85	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
86	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
87	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
88	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
89	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
90	Nate Pringle	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
91	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
92	Killian Théot	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
93	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
94	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
95	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
96	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	12:54
97	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
98	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
99	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
100	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
101	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	14:19
102	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
103	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
104	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	20:37

 

GC after stage 3

• GC leader: Lukas Kubis (Unibet Rose Rockets)
• Mountains classification leader: Victor Papom (Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur)
• Points classification leader: Lukas Kubis (Unibet Rose Rockets)
• Best young rider: Mathieu Kockelmann (Lotto-Intermarché)
• Teams classification leader: Unibet Rose Rockets

475.2 kilometerrs raced so far at an average speed of 45.583 km/hr

1	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	10hr 25min 30sec
2	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	@ 7sec
3	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	0:10
4	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	s.t.
5	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	0:12
6	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	0:14
7	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
8	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
9	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
10	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
11	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
12	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
13	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:17
14	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
15	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
16	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:22
17	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
18	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
19	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
20	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
21	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
22	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
23	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
24	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
25	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
26	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
27	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
28	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	0:29
29	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
30	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
31	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
32	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
33	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
34	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
35	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
36	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
37	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	0:40
38	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	0:48
39	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	1:11
40	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	s.t.
41	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	1:18
42	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	1:19
43	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	1:26
44	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	1:47
45	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	1:54
46	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	2:13
47	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	2:18
48	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:31
49	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	3:07
50	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	3:16
51	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	3:53
52	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	6:52
53	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	7:00
54	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
55	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	7:07
56	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	7:22
57	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	7:26
58	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	7:28
59	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	7:31
60	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	7:39
61	Nicolò Parisini	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	7:42
62	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	7:57
63	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
64	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	8:06
65	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	8:34
66	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	8:45
67	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	8:51
68	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	9:48
69	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	9:53
70	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	9:55
71	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	10:13
72	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
73	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	10:31
74	Victor Vercouillie	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
75	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	10:35
76	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	10:50
77	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	10:52
78	Jan Maas	Cofidis	11:02
79	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	11:08
80	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	11:10
81	Killian Théot	Van Rysel-Roubaix	11:21
82	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	11:26
83	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	11:33
84	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	11:45
85	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	12:03
86	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	12:04
87	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	12:22
88	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	12:24
89	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	12:55
90	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	13:16
91	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	13:32
92	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	13:34
93	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	13:47
94	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	13:48
95	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	14:22
96	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	14:26
97	Nate Pringle	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	14:33
98	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	14:57
99	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	15:03
100	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	15:17
101	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	15:27
102	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	17:38
103	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	19:00
104	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	28:52

 

Stage 3 profile:

---

Thursday, February 5: Stage 2, Saint Gilles - Domessargues, 162.8 km

Stage 2 profile

Mathieu Kockelmann wins stage two.

Stoic philosopher Epictetus' Golden Sayings is available in both audiobook & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Domessargues at 3:25 PM, local time: 10C (50F), rain, with the wind from the southeast at 24 km/hr (15 mph). The rain is likely to continue for several hours.

The race: Late in the race Arnaud Tissières (Elite Fondations Cycling) abandoned.

Here's a machine translation of the organizer's report:

Under torrential rain for more than 90 km, the peloton experienced another challenging day on the second stage of the Étoile de Bessèges between Saint-Gilles and Domessargues on Thursday. ​​This didn't deter a group of four courageous riders – Samuel Leroux (TotalEnergies), Arnaud Tendon (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Axel Bouquet (Auber-Saint-Michel), and Maël Guégan (CIC) – from launching a breakaway.

They built up a lead of more than 3 minutes. The young Frenchman from Auber-Saint-Michel cracked 22 km from the finish, but his three breakaway companions held on. The gap narrowed significantly in the last 10 kilometers, dropping to under 20 seconds with 2 km to go.

This was the moment Arnaud Tendon chose to launch an attack on the final uphill false flat. It was almost a successful gamble, but the Swiss rider was caught just 200 meters from the line. In the sprint, and after a photo finish review that took several minutes, it was ultimately the Luxembourger Mathieu Kockelmann of Lotto-Intermarché who won by a whisker, ahead of Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rockets) and Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q 36.5).

In the general classification, Tom Crabbe (Flanders - Bâloise) remains the leader.

Complete results:

162.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.902 km/hr

1	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	3hr 32min 48sec
2	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
3	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
4	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
5	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
6	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
7	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	s.t.
8	Killian Théot	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
9	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
10	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
11	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	s.t.
12	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
13	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
14	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
15	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
16	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
17	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
18	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
19	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
20	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
21	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
22	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
23	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
24	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
25	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	s.t.
26	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
27	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
28	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
29	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
30	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
31	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
32	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
33	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
34	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
35	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
36	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
37	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
38	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
39	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
40	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
41	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
42	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
43	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
44	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
45	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
46	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
47	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
48	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
49	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
50	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
51	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
52	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
53	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
54	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
55	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
56	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
57	Nicolò Parisini	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
58	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
59	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
60	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
61	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
62	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
63	Victor Jean	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
64	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
65	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
66	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
67	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
68	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
69	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
70	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
71	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
72	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
73	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
74	Victor Vercouillie	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
75	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
76	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
77	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
78	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
79	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
80	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
81	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
82	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
83	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
84	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	s.t.
85	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
86	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
87	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
88	Jan Maas	Cofidis	s.t.
89	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
90	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
91	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
92	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
93	Guillaume Bagou	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
94	Nate Pringle	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
95	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
96	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
97	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
98	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	@ 3min 13sec
99	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
100	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
101	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
102	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
103	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	@ 0sec
104	Kévin Avoine	Van Rysel-Roubaix	@ 0sec
105	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	@ 0sec
106	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	6:47
107	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	11:51

 

GC after stage 2:

• GC leader: Tom Crabbe (Team Flanders-Baloise)
• Mountains classification leader: Maël Guégan (CIC Pro Cycling Academy)
• Points classification leader: Lukas Kubis (Unibet Rose Rockets)
• Best young rider: Tom Crabbe (Team Flanders-Baloise)
• Teams classification leader: Unibet Rose Rockets

312.9 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 45.839 km/hr

1	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	6hr 48min 42sec
2	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	@ 4sec
3	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	0:08
4	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	0:10
5	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	0:12
6	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
7	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
8	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
9	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
10	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
11	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
12	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
13	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
14	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	0:15
15	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
16	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
17	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
18	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	0:20
19	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
20	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
21	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
22	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
23	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
24	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
25	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
26	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
27	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
28	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
29	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
30	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
31	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
32	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
33	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
34	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
35	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	0:27
36	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
37	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
38	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
39	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
40	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
41	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
42	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
43	Victor Jean	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
44	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
45	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
46	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
47	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:36
48	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
49	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	0:38
50	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
51	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
52	Victor Vercouillie	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
53	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:42
54	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
55	Kévin Avoine	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
56	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	0:46
57	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	s.t.
58	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	0:48
59	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:51
60	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
61	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	0:54
62	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	0:57
63	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	0:59
64	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
65	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
66	Nicolò Parisini	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:02
67	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	1:09
68	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	s.t.
69	Jan Maas	Cofidis	s.t.
70	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:15
71	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	1:17
72	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
73	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
74	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
75	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:26
76	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
77	Killian Théot	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:28
78	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	1:33
79	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:40
80	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	1:45
81	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
82	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	1:52
83	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
84	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
85	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:54
86	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	2:05
87	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	2:07
88	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	2:10
89	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
90	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	2:11
91	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
92	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	2:16
93	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:29
94	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:29
95	Guillaume Bagou	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
96	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	2:31
97	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	3:02
98	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	3:17
99	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	3:51
100	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	3:55
101	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	4:33
102	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	4:39
103	Nate Pringle	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	4:40
104	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	5:24
105	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	8:13
106	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	8:47
107	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	13:14

 

Stage 2 profile:

---

Wednesday, February 4: Stage 1, Bellegrade - Bellegrade, 150.1 kilometers

Stage 1 map & profile

Tom Crabbe wins the first stage. Adrien Pittore photo

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Weather at the start/finish city of Bellegrade at 2:45 PM, local time: 12C (53F), raining, with the wind from the southeast at 19 km/hr (12 mph). The rain is forecast to continue through 8:00 PM.

The race: Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech) did not start.

Here's a machine-translation of the race organizer's report:

Under the rainy conditions in the Gard region, the first stage of the Étoile de Bessèges was won by Belgian Tom Crabbe (Flanders-Baloise).

After an hour of racing, a breakaway of four riders formed, consisting of Victor Vercouillie (Team Flanders Baloise), Finn Jaakko Hanninen (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur), Léandre Huck (Van Rysel Roubaix), and Guillaume Bagou (Elite Fondations Cycling Team). This group built up a lead of up to 3 minutes over the peloton, and Vercouillie very nearly managed to hold on for the win.

Another view of Tom Crabbe winning the first stage.

However, he was caught 400 meters from the finish line, and it was ultimately his young Belgian teammate (20 years old), Tom Crabbe, who triumphed and claimed the red jersey at the end of this first stage.

Complete results:

150.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.933 km/hr

1	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	3hr 16min 4sec
2	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
3	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	@ 2sec
4	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
5	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
6	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
7	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
8	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
9	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
10	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
11	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
12	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
13	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	0:05
14	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
15	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
16	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
17	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	0:10
18	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
19	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
20	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
21	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
22	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
23	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
24	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
25	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
26	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
27	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
28	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
29	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
30	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
31	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
32	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
33	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
34	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
35	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	0:17
36	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
37	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
38	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
39	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
40	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
41	Victor Jean	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
42	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
43	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
44	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
45	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
46	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
47	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:26
48	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
49	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	0:28
50	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
51	Victor Vercouillie	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
52	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
53	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
54	Kévin Avoine	Van Rysel-Roubaix	32
55	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
56	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
57	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
58	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	0:36
59	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	s.t.
60	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	0:38
61	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:41
62	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
63	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	0:44
64	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	0:47
65	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:49
66	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
67	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
68	Nicolò Parisini	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:52
69	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	0:59
70	Jan Maas	Cofidis	s.t.
71	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
72	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:05
73	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:07
74	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
75	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	s.t.
76	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
77	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:13
78	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:16
79	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
80	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
81	Killian Théot	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:18
82	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	1:23
83	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:30
84	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	1:35
85	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
86	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	1:42
87	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
88	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
89	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:44
90	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	1:50
91	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	2:00
92	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	2:01
93	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
94	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
95	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
96	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
97	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
98	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	2:06
99	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:19
100	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
101	Guillaume Bagou	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
102	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	2:21
103	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	2:52
104	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	3:07
105	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	4:23
106	Nate Pringle	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	4:30
107	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	4:50
108	Arnaud Tissières	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	12:56

 

GC after stage 1:

• GC leader: Tom Crabbe (Team Flanders-Baloise)
• Mountains classification leader: Victor Vercouille (Team Flanders-Baloise)
• Points classification leader: Tom Crabbe (Team Flanders-Baloise)
• Best young rider: Tom Crabbe (Team Flanders-Baloise)
• Teams classification leader: Unibet Rose Rockets

1	Tom Crabbe	Team Flanders-Baloise	3hr 15min 54sec
2	Lukas Kubis	Unibet Rose Rockets	@ 4sec
3	Clement Izquierdo	Cofidis	0:08
4	Maxime Decomble	Groupama-FDJ United	0:12
5	Paul Lapeira	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
6	Sandy Dujardin	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
7	Léandre Lozouet	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
8	Louis Hardouin	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
9	Matys Grisel	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
10	Joppe Heremans	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
11	Ewen Costiou	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
12	Francisco Muñoz	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
13	Henri Uhlig	Alpecin-Premier Tech	0:15
14	Niklas Larsen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
15	Andrea Mifsud	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
16	Dylan Teuns	Cofidis	s.t.
17	Alfie George	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	0:20
18	Alexandre Delettre	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
19	Tomas Kopecky	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
20	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
21	Tobias Bayer	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
22	Siebe Deweirdt	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
23	Théo Delacroix	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
24	Victor Guernalec	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
25	Jan Sommer	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
26	Ben Granger	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
27	Lorenzo Rota	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
28	Mathieu Kockelmann	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
29	Davide Bais	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
30	Lenaic Langella	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
31	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
32	Walter Calzoni	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
33	Ramses Debruyne	Alpecin-Premier Tech	s.t.
34	Xabier Azparren	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
35	Baptiste Gillet	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	0:27
36	Liam Slock	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
37	Valentin Retailleau	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
38	Lorenzo Germani	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
39	Maxime Vezie	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	s.t.
40	Dario Giuliano	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
41	Victor Jean	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
42	Valentin Darbellay	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
43	Sander De Pestel	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
44	Victor Papon	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
45	Thomas Champion	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
46	Alexandre Balmer	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	s.t.
47	Gabriele Raccagni	Team Polti-VisitMalta	0:36
48	Lorenz Van de Wynkele	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
49	Brem Deman	Team Flanders-Baloise	0:38
50	Tommaso Bessega	Team Polti-VisitMalta	s.t.
51	Victor Vercouillie	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
52	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
53	Tom Mainguenaud	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
54	Kévin Avoine	Van Rysel-Roubaix	0:42
55	Léandre Huck	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
56	Elmar Reinders	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
57	Kamil Malecki	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
58	Andrea Piras	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	0:46
59	Paul Ourselin	Cofidis	s.t.
60	Simon Guglielmi	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	0:48
61	Nickolas Zukowsky	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:51
62	Antoine Raugel	Van Rysel-Roubaix	s.t.
63	Sébastien Grignard	Lotto-Intermarché	0:54
64	Cyril Barthe	Groupama-FDJ United	0:57
65	Wessel Mouris	Unibet Rose Rockets	0:59
66	Nicola Marcerou	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
67	Jérémy Lecroq	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
68	Nicolò Parisini	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:02
69	Jenthe Biermans	Cofidis	1:09
70	Jan Maas	Cofidis	s.t.
71	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
72	Clément Davy	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	1:15
73	Arnaud Tendon	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:17
74	Romain Cardis	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	s.t.
75	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	s.t.
76	Ward Vanhoof	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
77	Axel Bouquet	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	1:23
78	Felix Meo	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:26
79	Alexander Konijn	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
80	Shunsuke Imamura	Lotto-Intermarché	s.t.
81	Killian Théot	Van Rysel-Roubaix	1:28
82	Mathias Sanlaville	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	1:33
83	Attilio Viviani	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	1:40
84	Lennert Belmans	Alpecin-Premier Tech	1:45
85	Baptiste Vadic	Team TotalEnergies	s.t.
86	Victor Loulergue	Groupama-FDJ United	1:52
87	Blake Agnoletto	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
88	Axel Huens	Groupama-FDJ United	s.t.
89	Aimé De Gendt	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	1:54
90	Alexys Brunel	Team TotalEnergies	2:00
91	Dusan Rajovic	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	2:10
92	Maël Guégan	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	2:11
93	Matteo Moschetti	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
94	Jaakko Hänninen	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
95	Laurens Huys	Nice Métropole-Côte d’Azur	s.t.
96	Ronan Augé	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
97	Dylan Groenewegen	Unibet Rose Rockets	s.t.
98	Nils Aebersold	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	2:16
99	Noa Isidore	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	2:29
100	Kasper Haugland	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	s.t.
101	Guillaume Bagou	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	s.t.
102	Morne Van Niekerk	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93	2:31
103	Samuel Leroux	Team TotalEnergies	3:02
104	Manuel Peñalver	Team Polti-VisitMalta	3:17
105	Luca Verrando	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali	4:33
106	Nate Pringle	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	4:40
107	Similien Hamon	CIC Pro Cycling Academy	5:00
108	Arnaud Tissières	Elite Fondations Cycling Team	13:06

Stage 1 map & profile:

Stage 1 map

Stage 1 profile

Start list with back numbers, February 3, 2026

	Groupama-FDJ United
1	Ewen Costiou
2	Cyril Barthe
3	Maxime Decomble
4	Lorenzo Germani
5	Axel Huens
6	Blake Agnoletto
7	Victor Loulergue
	Alpecin-Premier Tech
11	Hugo Houle
12	Tobias Bayer
13	Lennert Belmans
14	Ramses Debruyne
15	Henri Uhlig
16	Siebe Roesems
17	Noah Ramsay
	Decathlon CMA CGM Team
21	Paul Lapeira
22	Sander De Pestel
23	Kasper Haugland
24	Noa Isidore
25	Jordan Labrosse
26	Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen
27	Nate Pringle
	Lotto-Intermarché
31	Sébastien Grignard
32	Matys Grisel
33	Mathieu Kockelmann
34	Lorenzo Rota
35	Liam Slock
36	Shunsuke Imamura
37	Lorenz Van de Wynkele
	Cofidis
41	Dylan Teuns
42	Jenthe Biermans
43	Alexis Renard
44	Clement Izquierdo
45	Jan Maas
46	Paul Ourselin
	Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
51	Xabier Azparren
52	Walter Calzoni
53	Aimé De Gendt
54	Kamil Malecki
55	Nicolò Parisini
56	Matteo Moschetti
57	Nickolas Zukowsky
	Team TotalEnergies
61	Alexandre Delettre
62	Sandy Dujardin
63	Samuel Leroux
64	Baptiste Vadic
65	Alexys Brunel
66	Valentin Retailleau
67	Nicola Marcerou
	Team Flanders-Baloise
71	Tom Crabbe
72	Siebe Deweirdt
73	Brem Deman
74	Vincent Van Hemelen
75	Dylan Vandenstorme
76	Ward Vanhoof
77	Victor Vercouillie
	Team Polti-VisitMalta
91	Tommaso Bessega
92	Dario Giuliano
93	Francisco Muñoz
94	Manuel Peñalver
95	Gabriele Raccagni
96	Andrea Mifsud
97	Davide Bais
	Unibet Rose Rockets
101	Dylan Groenewegen
102	Ronan Augé
103	Elmar Reinders
104	Tomas Kopecky
105	Lukas Kubis
106	Niklas Larsen
107	Wessel Mouris
	Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali
111	Attilio Viviani
112	Luca Verrando
113	Alexandre Balmer
114	Felix Meo
115	Ben Granger
116	Andrea Piras
117	Dusan Rajovic
	Van Rysel-Roubaix
121	Joppe Heremans
122	Arnaud Tendon
123	Antoine Raugel
124	Louis Hardouin
125	Killian Théot
126	Léandre Huck
127	Kévin Avoine
	St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93
131	Romain Cardis
132	Axel Bouquet
133	Théo Delacroix
134	Simon Guglielmi
135	Jérémy Lecroq
136	Thomas Champion
137	Morne Van Niekerk
	Nice Métropole-Côte d'Azur
141	Jaakko Hänninen
142	Alexander Konijn
143	Tom Mainguenaud
144	Laurens Huys
145	Baptiste Gillet
146	Victor Papon
147	Clément Davy
	CIC Pro Cycling Academy
151	Maxime Vezie
152	Victor Guernalec
153	Maël Guégan
154	Mathias Sanlaville
155	Léandre Lozouet
156	Lenaic Langella
157	Similien Hamon
	Elite Fondations Cycling Team
161	Alfred George
162	Arnaud Tissières
163	Guillaume Bagou
164	Nils Aebersold
165	Jan Sommer
166	Victor Jean
167	Valentin Darbellay