As in recent years, an uphill sprint in Bellegarde hosted the finish of the Étoile de Bessèges’ first stage this Wednesday. In the punchy final, Kevin Geniets and Paul Penhoët tried to sneak into the first row, but both finished just outside the top 10, in eleventh and fourteenth positions respectively, two seconds behind the winner Paul Magnier. A more traditional sprint is expected tomorrow in Marguerittes.
Three different loops around Bellegarde therefore made up the opening stage of the 2025 Étoile de Bessèges on Wednesday. On the menu, nearly 160 kilometres and an explosive finish (600m at 9%) in Bellegarde. The morning breakaway, which formed quite early with Victor Vercouillie, Axandre Van Petegem, Célestin Guillon and Axel Mariault, didn’t get a strong chance of succeeding today, especially with ten WorldTeams at the start and the weather conditions for this first act. “It was a very nervous day in the peloton,” confirmed William Green. “All the riders knew that there was going to be a risk of crosswinds today. We had three critical points for the day, and one was fifty kilometres to go. We knew that it would be very exposed, and the bunch did indeed slip apart. As a result, we had six riders in front, we were very safe and comfortable. Other teams not so much. We were really confident.”
“It was an ok day for the team,” William Green
This acceleration meant the peloton caught the day’s breakaway more than thirty kilometres from the finish. The pack eventually reformed before heading back towards Bellegarde, and the approach was once again very stressful. “In the final, we had good placement at the beginning, in the crosswind section, thanks to Rémi,” William said. “However, by the looks of it, we lost the position with four kilometres to go. We tried to come back before the corner at 1,6km, but the team lost each other a bit. This meant Paul started the final climb around twentieth position and had to make an effort to move up before the steep section.” Slightly boxed-in before the last few hundred metres, the French sprinter was eventually unable to join the fight for victory, finishing in 14th place while his teammate Kevin Geniets took 11th. “They finished just outside the top 10,” William said. “It’s not bad, it’s not good. Kevin just lost two seconds on GC on Van Gils. It was an ok day for the team. Normally, this will be a sprint tomorrow, and we will discuss with the guys to make some improvements.”
On Thursday, ten kilometers before the finish in Marguerrites, the peloton will only have to get over the very rolling climb of the Côte Cabrières (4.7 km at 3.2%).
