Stage 3 of the Étoile de Bessèges, on Friday, did indeed finish with a bunch sprint, although it wasn’t a complete one. Due to an incident at the start of the stage, several teams left the race, while the route was reduced to 136 kilometers. Groupama-FDJ continued the race, under pouring rain, and Paul Penhoët eventually took third place at the finish, which put him in second place on GC. The latter should change quite a lot on Saturday, at the summit of Mont Bouquet.
Despite gloomy weather, everything started in a rather classic way on Friday on the Étoile de Bessèges. In this third stage designed around Bessèges, precisely, a rider was leading the race in the first few kilometres when the peloton decided to stop after an incident. “We were going through a village, and a postman’s car came from the right, and inserted itself between the breakaway and the peloton,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “This morning, there was a meeting following the traffic incidents of the first two days. Some teams warned that they would withdraw if it happened again. Unfortunately, it did, and they immediately wanted to stop.” After a forty-five-minute interruption, then a thirty-minute neutralisation to join the “new start”, the peloton set off again with only 78 riders in it, almost half as many as an hour earlier. “For French cycling, the Étoile de Bessèges couldn’t stop and that’s why most of the French teams remained in the race”, explained Frédéric. That said, it could have been more serious. I left the choice to the riders, but they understood this well. They know that the organizer is doing their utmost and that it’s not easy to control everything.” “I think it was a good decision to continue, out of respect for the organizers, we know that it’s very complicated for them,” said Paul Penhoët. “If there had been another car on the course, however, it would surely have been too much…”
Race safety is a major concern for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team. The team trusts the organizer and the commissaires to make sure that the next two stages take place in the best safety conditions.
“We managed to get back into it,” Paul Penhoët
Also, the remaining riders resumed racing with a different course on the menu since the last loop and the last two climbs were removed. “Restarting was difficult because we stopped for over an hour, and everyone thought the race was going to be cancelled,” Paul testified. “Mentally, it was hard to get back into it, especially since we were cold after stopping for so long. It was really difficult, but we managed to get back into it with the guys. Olivier went to pull straight away, which also allowed us to get back into the game. Then, we quickly got back to normal racing.” Four riders then led the race, and still had a minute’s lead entering the last forty kilometres, approaching the Col des Brousses (2.4 km at 5%). “It got lively because there were two nice little climbs in the final, and nine riders went away with Kevin,” reported Frédéric. “He was supposed to be up there. He is our best climber here, so if there were attacks, he had to follow, also thinking about the general classification.” This group joined the breakaway after a few minutes, then took up to thirty seconds on the peloton before tackling the last climb of the day, twenty kilometres from the finish.
“The boys put on a good fight”, Frédéric Guesdon
At the top, things finally got back together, or almost. Only Dylan Teuns kept on going while heading towards Bessèges. “With Clément and Cyril, we had to stay calm to save energy”, said Paul. “I felt very good on the last climb, and that gave me confidence”. A peloton of about forty men eventually caught Teuns four kilometres from the finish, at which point the Groupama-FDJ train got on the move. “It’s true that we had trouble getting into position on the first two stages”, said Frédéric. “Today, with a smaller peloton, they were able to set things up as we wanted. They did a good job, and it was a good rehearsal for what’s to come”. Rémi Cavagna, Kevin Geniets, Cyril Barthe and Clément Russo took turns at the head of the peloton, before finally launching Paul Penhoët in the final straight. “Everyone did a great job,” said the young man. “All I had to do was to finish it off. Unfortunately, when I started to launch the sprint, I felt like I was completely frozen, that my legs were blocked. I’m really gutted for the boys because they did a great job, and it was a great opportunity for the team and for me to take our first victory. It’s a shame, but we can’t have many regrets.”
On the line, Paul Penhoët took third place, his first podium of the season, while Arnaud De Lie claimed victory. “It’s still a positive day, the boys put on a good fight,” concluded Frédéric. “We got third place and Kevin is still there in the general classification. It was a difficult day, but the guys managed it well. Tomorrow, there is again a lot of rain forecast at Mont Bouquet, so we will wait and see what happens.” On the eve of the queen stage, Paul Penhoët sits in second place in the general classification, six seconds behind the leader, while Kevin Geniets is seventh, ten seconds off.
