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Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) took the overall victory at the Étoile de Bèsseges, with a last solid time trial to finish in fourth place on the stage and obtain the orange jersey at Alès.
Meanwhile, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) scored two victories in two days, unsurprisingly taking top honors on stage with a time of 3:00 p.m., 10 seconds better than second Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ), who had briefly occupied the hot plateau while the Italian was on track. Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) had spent much more time in the hot seat as the seventh man on track, eventually taking third place with a time of 15:21.
Ganna, who has now won each of the last seven time trials he’s competed in – including the Worlds in Imola and three of three at the Giro d’Italia – was the big favorite to take the win and duly delivered a trouble-free race to secure victory.
Wellens, who enjoyed a comfortable 44-second overall lead heading into the matchday, also took advantage of a quiet day, taking time off his rivals to underline the margin of victory in this seventh victory in career in stages.
The podium places behind the Belgian were snatched by Michal Kwiatkowski, who capped a good day for Ineos Grenadiers to set a time of 15:34 and revise Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation). Würtz Schmidt’s German teammate Nils Politt also climbed to the final podium, securing third place in the overall standings with a race of 15:38.
How it went
The Etoile de Bèsseges ended with the traditional 11-kilometer time trial in Alès. The course, largely identical to that of previous years, saw the runners cover 8.5 kilometers of flat road before an ascent of 2.5 kilometers, or 6%, until the arrival at the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame des Mines.
With Wellens at the helm, 44 seconds ahead of his closest rival in the GC, only a disaster would cause him to lose the overall title. Meanwhile, the next 11 riders were covered by 16 seconds, promising a much closer fight for the rest of the podium.
Samy Aurignac of Cambodia Cycling Academy kicked off the process as the first man on the starting ramp, but Ethan Hayter of Ineos Grenadiers was the fastest of the very first riders. The young Briton set a time of 3:21 p.m. which would have been good for second place in 2020 and by far the fastest in 2019 – it would take time to beat the 22-year-old.
Time trial specialists like Tom Bohli (Cofidis) and Ryan Mullen (Trek-Segafredo) came and went, but no one could come close to Hayter at the top of the table. Even the Grand Tour leaders far from their goals were behind, with Hayter 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 pass provisional second, but his effort was quickly beaten by Owain Doull (Ineos Grenadiers) with a 15:38, then his own teammate Alberto Bettiol, who posted a better effort to go second at 15:35.
By that time, however, all eyes were on another Ineos rider, time trial world champion Filippo Ganna, who was the big favorite to take the win after triumphing in Stage 4 and was undefeated in last year’s Vuelta a San time trial. Juan.
But while Ganna was halfway through, Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ) had moved the posts, the French time trial champion circling the course to sign a new best time of 3:10 pm. Ganna was, once again, supreme. As expected for a year, the Italian headed straight for the harness with a 15-minute time-out, a mark that was unlikely to be beaten by the remaining riders.
Elsewhere, Christophe Laporte (Cofidis), who won the race in 2019 thanks to victories in sprint and time trial stages, had an impressive race of 3:31 p.m. to go fourth. Back at the start house, the men of the GC began their efforts, with a group of men aiming for the podium as Wellens sought to avoid trouble and defend his lead.
Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) continued to compete on the podium with a solid race to go seventh faster, while a group of other riders in the same battle missed their time of 15:38. Neo-pro Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ) lost three seconds, Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën) lost 27 seconds and Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal) lost 56 seconds.
The versatile Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) however beat the German’s time, his 15:34 good for the provisional fifth and a guaranteed podium place after Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation) crossed the line with a time of 16:02.
Penultimate on the course, Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) finished in 16:21, also failing to defend his place on the podium 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 top 10 men, and good for the fourth. place of the general classification. After five days of racing, the 29-year-old added to his underrated stage race track record, which already included WorldTour races such as the Tour of Poland and two editions of the Eneco Tour.
| Pos. | Rider’s name (country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:15:00 |
| 2 | Thomas Benjamin (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:00:10 |
| 3 | Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:00:21 |
| 4 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:29 |
| 5 | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis | 0:00:31 |
| 6 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:00:34 |
| seven | Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-Nippo | 0:00:35 |
| 8 | Owain Doull (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:00:38 |
| 9 | Nils Politt (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
| ten | Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ | 0:00:41 |
| Pos. | Rider’s name (country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 13:56:23 |
| 2 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:00:53 |
| 3 | Nils Politt (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:59 |
| 4 | Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:02 |
| 5 | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-up Nation | 0:01:19 |
| 6 | Michael Gogle (Aut) Qhubeka Assos Team | 0:01:24 |
| seven | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team | 0:01:25 |
| 8 | Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | 0:01:36 |
| 9 | Clément Carisey (Fra) Delko | 0:01:41 |
| ten | Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | 0:01:45 |
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