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.
“It’ll be full gas tomorrow” – Benoît Vaugrenard
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 Ermitage 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.
