2024-02-03 15:10:03
Published on February 3, 2024 at 4:10 p.m. – updated on February 3, 2024 at 11:52 p.m.
At the end of a long breakaway, Samuel Leroux was able to show himself to be the strongest in the final straight to win the 4th stage of the Etoile de Bessèges, his first professional success. Mads Pedersen retains the leader’s jersey on the eve of the final stage.
The day of glory has arrived for Samuel Leroux! Professional since 2017, the native of Boulogne-sur-Mer raised his arms as winner for the first time in his career this Saturday at the end of the 4th stage of the Etoile de Bessèges. A success which comes following a long breakaway and enormous resistance once morest the peloton. Unsurprisingly, the candidates for the breakaway came into the spotlight from kilometer zero. However, if an attempt by four riders including Ben Healy was able to take a little less than 30 seconds, it was a peloton still grouped which tackled the slopes of the first difficulty of the day, the Côte de Saint-Laurent-la-Vernède . It was once the ascent was concluded that a breakaway was able to escape. A group of five riders led by former European time trial champion Stefan Bissegger obtained an exit voucher with the gap stagnating for a long time around two and a half minutes. While the riders of the Lidl-Trek team took their responsibilities to lead the pace of the peloton for the leader of the general classification Mads Pedersen, winner of the 3rd stage this Friday.
The peloton broke its teeth on the breakaway
Axel Laurance’s Alpecin-Deceuninck came to lend them a hand as they approached the last 50 kilometers, quickly imitated by the Groupama-FDJ. The gap between the quintet at the front then began to gradually narrow, but this was without taking into account the resistance of the breakaways, who kept their rivals to two minutes for a long time. With 25 kilometers to go, the main groups of sprinters joined forces to try to come back. This, however, did not translate into the gap in the expected proportions. Indeed, there was still a little less than a minute and a half in favor of the five leading runners with ten kilometers to go. An unchanged difference at the foot of the Côte de Tharaux, justice of the peace for this 4th stage, the summit of which was located at the Flamme Rouge. The Lotto-Dstny then the Alpecin-Deceuninck imposed a hellish pace on a peloton which began to lose members, which made it possible to come back under a minute with four kilometers still to go. A change of situation which caused nervousness in the leading group.
Leroux smart then strong in the finale
Jonas Hvideberg climbed up on his pedals, making his escape companions give in one by one. Only Dries De Bondt was able to hang on to the Norwegian’s wheel 2000 meters from the goal. At the same time, it was Ben Healy who shook up the peloton to try to fill the thirty seconds separating the two groups. Once past the summit, the leading duo began to look each other in the eye, allowing Samuel Leroux and Samuel Bissegger to catch up once more. While the peloton came back very strong, the Frenchman was able to use a huge gear to get the first victory of his professional career. After intelligent management of the last ascent, carried out at your own pace, the rider from the Van Rysel-Roubaix team beat Stefan Bissegger and Dries De Bondt to the finish line. The peloton having come back very strongly in the final straight, failing by only two seconds, the gaps in the general classification do not change before the final time trial, this Sunday in Alès. Mads Pedersen will approach this last explanation six seconds ahead of Axel Laurance and twelve seconds ahead of Kévin Vauquelin.
CYCLING – UCI EUROPE TOUR / ETOILE DE BESSEGES
4th stage – Méjannes-le-Clap > Méjannes-le-Clap (158km) – Saturday February 3, 2024
1- Samuel Leroux (FRA/Van Rysel-Roubaix) and 3h28’32”
2- Stefan Bissegger (SUI/EF Education-EasyPost) mt
3- Dries De Bondt (BEL/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) mt
4- Jonas Hvideberg (NOR/Uno-X Mobility) à 2’’
5- Magnus Cort Nielsen (NOR/Uno-X Mobility) at 2”
…
General ranking following 4 stages (out of 5)
1- Mads Pedersen (DAN/Lidl-Trek) a 11h09’22”
2- Axel Laurance (FRA/Alpecin-Deceuninck) at 6”
3- Kévin Vauquelin (FRA/Arkéa-B&B Hotels) at 12”
4- Brent Van Moer (BEL/Lotto-Dstny) à 20”
5- Rémy Rochas (FRA/Groupama-FDJ) at 20”
…
1707012356
#Cycling #Etoile #Bessèges #Leroux #takes #victory #among #pros
