The 2024 Étoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard (transl. Star of Bessèges – Tour of Gard) was a road cycling stage race that took place between 31 January and 4 February 2024 almost entirely within the French department of Gard. The race was rated as a category 2.1 event on the 2024 UCI Europe Tour calendar and was the 54th edition of the Étoile de Bessèges.
| 2024 UCI Europe Tour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 31 January–4 February 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 654.415 km (406.6 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 11h 24' 34" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Teams
editSeven of the 18 UCI WorldTeams, eight UCI ProTeams, and four UCI Continental teams make up the 19 teams that participated in the race.[1] Each team entered a full squad of seven riders with the exception of Cofidis entering six, for a total of 132 riders who started the race.
UCI WorldTeams
UCI ProTeams
UCI Continental Teams
Route
edit| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Stage winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 January | Bellegarde to Bellegarde | 160.6 km (99.8 mi) | 
|
Flat stage | Cancelled |
| 2 | 1 February | Marguerittes to Rousson | 163.58 km (101.64 mi) | 
|
Hilly stage |  Axel Laurance (FRA)
|
| 3 | 2 February | Bessèges to Bessèges | 161.11 km (100.11 mi) |
|
Hilly stage |  Mads Pedersen (DEN)
|
| 4 | 3 February | Méjannes-le-Clap to Méjannes-le-Clap | 154.48 km (95.99 mi) |
|
Hilly stage | Samuel Leroux (FRA)
|
| 5 | 4 February | Alès to Alès | 10.645 km (6.614 mi) | 
|
Individual time trial | Kévin Vauquelin (FRA)
|
| Total | 654.415 km (406.635 mi) | |||||
Stages
editStage 1
edit- 31 January 2024 – Bellegarde to Bellegarde, 162.18 km (100.77 mi)[2]
Cancelled due to requests from the prefecture because of ongoing farmers protests.[3]
Stage 2
edit- 1 February 2024 – Marguerittes to Rousson, 163.58 km (101.64 mi)[4]
Stage 3
edit
|
|
Stage 4
edit- 3 February 2024 – Méjannes-le-Clap to Méjannes-le-Clap, 154.48 km (95.99 mi)[8]
|
|
Stage 5
edit
|
|
Classification leadership table
edit| Stage | Winner | General classification [a]
|
Points classification
|
Mountains classification
|
Young rider classification
|
Team classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | stage cancelled | |||||
| 2 | Axel Laurance | Axel Laurance | Axel Laurance | Jean-Louis Le Ny | Axel Laurance | Groupama–FDJ |
| 3 | Mads Pedersen | Mads Pedersen | Mads Pedersen | Jonas Abrahamsen | ||
| 4 | Samuel Leroux | Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | ||||
| 5 | Kévin Vauquelin | Kévin Vauquelin | ||||
| Final | Mads Pedersen | Mads Pedersen | Jonas Abrahamsen | Kévin Vauquelin | Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | |
Classification standings
edit| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Denotes the winner of the general classification |
|
Denotes the winner of the points classification |
|
|
Denotes the winner of the mountains classification |
|
Denotes the winner of the young rider classification |
General classification
edit| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mads Pedersen (DEN)
|
Lidl–Trek | 11h 24' 34" |
| 2 | Kévin Vauquelin (FRA)
|
Arkéa–B&B Hotels | + 2" |
| 3 |  Alberto Bettiol (ITA)
|
EF Education–EasyPost | + 32" |
| 4 |  Ben Healy (IRL)
|
EF Education–EasyPost | + 43" |
| 5 | Rémy Rochas (FRA)
|
Groupama–FDJ | + 51" |
| 6 | Aurélien Paret-Peintre (FRA)
|
Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | + 51" |
| 7 | Alex Baudin (FRA)
|
Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | + 54" |
| 8 |  Jenno Berckmoes (BEL)
|
Lotto–Dstny | + 56" |
| 9 | Brent Van Moer (BEL)
|
Lotto–Dstny | + 58" |
| 10 |  Kevin Geniets (LUX)
|
Groupama–FDJ | + 59" |
Points classification
edit| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mads Pedersen (DEN)
|
Lidl–Trek | 72 |
| 2 | Kévin Vauquelin (FRA)
|
Arkéa–B&B Hotels | 42 |
| 3 | Axel Laurance (FRA)
|
Alpecin–Deceuninck | 37 |
| 4 | Samuel Leroux (FRA)
|
Van Rysel–Roubaix | 35 |
| 5 | Alberto Bettiol (ITA)
|
EF Education–EasyPost | 30 |
| 6 |  Stefan Bissegger (SUI)
|
EF Education–EasyPost | 29 |
| 7 |  Rasmus Tiller (NOR)
|
Uno-X Mobility | 24 |
| 8 | Jenno Berckmoes (BEL)
|
Lotto–Dstny | 21 |
| 9 | Benoît Cosnefroy (FRA)
|
Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | 21 |
| 10 | Milan Menten (BEL)
|
Lotto–Dstny | 20 |
Mountains classification
edit| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonas Abrahamsen (NOR)
|
Uno-X Mobility | 42 |
| 2 | Jean-Louis Le Ny (FRA)
|
Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur | 16 |
| 3 | Alexis Gougeard (FRA)
|
Cofidis | 14 |
| 4 |  Simon Carr (GBR)
|
EF Education–EasyPost | 14 |
| 5 | Dries De Bondt (BEL)
|
Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | 12 |
| 6 | Mads Pedersen (DEN)
|
Lidl–Trek | 12 |
| 7 | Maximilian Juillard (FRA)
|
Van Rysel–Roubaix | 12 |
| 8 | Théo Delacroix (FRA)
|
St. Michel–Mavic–Auber93 | 12 |
| 9 | Thomas Gachignard (FRA)
|
Team TotalEnergies | 10 |
| 10 | Samuel Leroux (FRA)
|
Van Rysel–Roubaix | 8 |
Young rider classification
edit| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kévin Vauquelin (FRA)
|
Arkéa–B&B Hotels | 11h 24' 36" |
| 2 | Alex Baudin (FRA)
|
Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | + 52" |
| 3 | Jenno Berckmoes (BEL)
|
Lotto–Dstny | + 54" |
| 4 | Axel Laurance (FRA)
|
Alpecin–Deceuninck | + 1' 01" |
| 5 | Alec Segaert (BEL)
|
Lotto–Dstny | + 1' 29" |
| 6 |  Andrii Ponomar (UKR)
|
Team Corratec–Vini Fantini | + 2' 21" |
| 7 | Giacomo Villa (ITA)
|
Bingoal WB | + 3' 54" |
| 8 | Pierre Henry Basset (FRA)
|
CIC U Nantes Atlantique | + 4' 29" |
| 9 |  Marco Brenner (GER)
|
Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 4' 38" |
| 10 | Lukas Nerurkar (GBR)
|
EF Education–EasyPost | + 5' 08" |
Teams classification
edit| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale
|
34h 16' 26" |
| 2 | Groupama–FDJ
|
+ 24" |
| 3 | Lotto–Dstny
|
+ 41" |
| 4 |  EF Education–EasyPost
|
+ 53" |
| 5 | Cofidis
|
+ 1' 55" |
| 6 | Uno-X Mobility
|
+ 1' 57" |
| 7 | Team TotalEnergies
|
+ 3' 12" |
| 8 | St. Michel–Mavic–Auber93
|
+ 3' 15" |
| 9 | Tudor Pro Cycling Team
|
+ 3' 21" |
| 10 |  Equipo Kern Pharma
|
+ 3' 29" |
Notes
edit- ^ The general classification leader's jersey is known as the coral jersey.
References
edit- ^ "Équipes 2024" [Teams 2024] (in French). Étoile de Bessèges. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ "Étape 1" [Stage 1] (in French). Étoile de Bessèges. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Weislo, Laura. "French farmer protests force cancellation of Étoile de Bessèges opener". Cycling News. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ "Étape 2" [Stage 2] (in French). Étoile de Bessèges. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b Ostanek, Daniel (1 February 2024). "Etoile de Bessèges: Axel Laurance outlasts Mads Pedersen as race restarts for stage 2". CyclingNews. Future plc. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ "Étape 3" [Stage 3] (in French). Étoile de Bessèges. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b Moultrie, James (2 February 2024). "Etoile des Bessèges: Mads Pedersen sprints to first season win on stage 3". CyclingNews. Future plc. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "Étape 4" [Stage 4] (in French). Étoile de Bessèges. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b Farrand, Stephen (3 February 2024). "Etoile de Bessèges: Samuel Leroux holds off charging field to win stage 4". CyclingNews. Future plc. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ "Étape 5" [Stage 5] (in French). Étoile de Bessèges. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Farrand, Stephen (4 February 2024). "Mads Pedersen goes deep to win Etoile de Bessèges". CyclingNews. Future plc. Retrieved 4 February 2024.