While many riders prefer to head to the Middle East to do their early racing kilometres, some riders still prefer the traditional way of preparing for the new season. For almost 50 years, the Etoile de Besseges has offered riders a chance to do a very early stage race on European soil and even though the race has often been hampered by the weather conditions, it remains the preferred early testing ground for a group of tough riders that will prepare themselves for further objectives in a race that has traditionally been dominated by sprinters.

 

Before events started to pop up in warmer areas, the place to start racing was Southern Europe. Hence, it is no surprise that the traditional opener of the European season has been the combination of the one-day race GP La Marseillaise and the Etoile de Besseges in Southern France. For the second year in a row, racing kicked off unusually early as the Challenge Mallorca again had an earlier date but for many riders, the two French events are still the best place to start the season.

 

With the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana returning to the calendar and being held concurrently, the French race has faced harder competition and this year it seems like the Iberian Peninsula has beaten both France and Middle East in the battle for the best line-ups. However, the French teams still prefer their home races and as a revamped Tour of the Mediterranean is back on the calendar and the new race La Provence will be held later in the month, France can boast a very comprehensive February schedule with the GP La Marseillaise, Etoile de Besseges, Tour of the Mediterranean, Tour du Haut-Var, La Provence and the one-day races Classic du Sud-Ardeche and Drome Classic.

 

While the GP La Marseillaise has lost its position as the first European one-day race, Etoile de Besseges remains the first stage race in cycling’s traditional heartland – now alongside the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. Even though it is held in Southern France, it has often been plagued by very bad weather, with stages having had to be cancelled or shortened in past editions. Last year the riders even protested on stage 2. However, the terrain is perfect for an early-season race as it is not too hard. The organizers usually design pretty short stages that are dominated by the sprinters who have plenty of opportunities to shine. A couple of hilly stages have made it possible to make some kind of selection and strong escapees have managed to win the race in past editions, mainly if the weather has been bad. In recent years, however, the organizers have introduced a time trial which has tipped the balance to a new kind of riders.

 

Last year it was a time trial specialist that took the win when Bob Jungels used a winning ride in the TT to claim overall victory ahead of Tony Gallopin and Kris Boeckmans. Tobias Ludvigsson, Jonathan Hivert and Jerome Coppel are the other riders to have won since the TT was introduced while a mix of sprinters and classics riders dominated in the first part of the millennium.

 

The course

The race has had a time trial since 2012 when Jerome Coppel used a splendid performance in the race against the clock to win the race overall and since then, the race has had a pretty similar format, with many stages being used unchanged from year to year. This year the organizers have again decided to use their trusted formula and the race is very similar to last year’s event.

 

As said, the terrain in this part of France is not very tough and the organizers wisely avoid the biggest climbs. This means that there will be lots of room for the sprinters but the organizers traditionally have a hillier stage that often comes down to a sprint from a reduced group and requires a bit more toughness. In recent years, however, it has not been hard enough to make a difference and so the GC is likely to come down to the final time trial.

 

The course includes four road stages of which some include a few climbs but they are usually all decided in some kind of sprint finish. Then it all comes down to the final time trial which includes a tough climb in the end.

 

Stage 1:

The race kicks off with the traditional 152km stage from Bellegarde to Beaucaire. It includes two passages of the category 2 Cote de la Tour which the riders will pass for the last time at the 98.2km mark. The stage ends with 4 laps of a 6.6km flat finishing circuit that has been used several times in the past. Importantly, there are bonus seconds on offer at the first passage of the line. Unless the wind wreaks havoc on the field, it will be a day for the sprinters

 

The finishing circuit has been used for the first stage three years in a row. Kris Boeckmans and Michael van Staeyen took sprint wins in 2013 and 2015 respectively while Sander Helven won from a breakaway in 2014.

 

 

 

Stage 2:

The second stage will see the riders head to a new finish in Mejannes Le Clap as they tackle 153.16km staring in Nimes. It’s an almost completely flat course with just a category 2 climb at the 111.5km mark. In the end, the riders will do 5 laps of a flat 7.7km finishing circuit, with bonus seconds being offered at the second passage of the line.

 

As there will be lots of sprinters in attendance and a GC has been established, only the wind can prevent a full bunch sprint in this new stage.

 

 

 

Stage 3:

The queen stage has traditionally come on the third day when the riders have often tackled the same 152.6km course around the city of Besseges. It will be no different in 2016. It mainly consists of three laps of a tough 44.65km circuit around the city and this means that the riders will go up the hard Col de Treylis and the uncategorized Col des Brousses three times. However, the climb comes in the early part of the circuit and as the race ends with three laps of a 6.8km finishing circuit, there is time for a regrouping to take place ahead of what is usually a sprint from a reduced peloton. There will be bonus seconds on offer at the end of the first and third laps of the big circuit.

 

Bryan Coquard has won this stage twice in a row but Jerome Cousin and Pierre Rolland proved in 2012 and 2013 respectively that it is possible to deny the sprinters.

 

 

 

Stage 4:

The fourth stage is a tricky affair that could come as a surprise for some of the sprinters if they have not done the race before. The 148.46km course brings the riders from Tavel to Laudun where the Mur de Laudun is the main feature. The finish line comes on the lower slopes and the riders will tackle it for the first time after 27.3km of racing. Then they do a lap of a moderately hilly circuit with no categorized ascents before they end the stage with four laps of a 15.4km finishing circuit that includes the Mur. There will be intermediate sprints on offer at the first, second and third passage of the line.

 

The finish line doesn’t come at the top of the climb and the Mur is usually not hard enough to challenge the sprinters. An uphill sprint has decided the stage in the past two editions, with Tony Gallopin and Bryan Coquard coming out on top in a stage suited to puncheurs and strong sprinters.

 

 

 

Stage 5

For the fifth year in a row, the race is set to be decided in the final time trial which is almost identical to the one that has been used for the past three years. At 11.9km, it is a short affair and the first 9km are completely flat. However, the final 2.7km will take the riders to the top of the Montee de l’Hermitage on the outskirts of Alés, meaning that the stage is one for the powerful puncheurs who can handle both the flat opening section and the tough climb in the finale. This year the flat part has been made slightly longer.

 

The stage is likely to decide the overall classification and has been won by Bon Jungels, Tobias Ludvigsson, Anthony Roux and Jerome Coppel, with three of those going on to win the overall classification too.

 

 

 

The weather

In the past, stages of the Etoile de Besseges have been shortened or cancelled and last year the riders protested due to very windy and cold conditions. Unfortunately, the unusually warm temperatures of the last few days will have decreased a bit when the race starts but the riders can still expect bright sunshine, temperatures of 11-13 degrees and very little wind for the first three stages.

 

However, Saturday is set to be an extremely wet day, with 12mm of rain forecasted in the finishing city of Laudun. It will be slightly windier but it will play no major role. 8mm of rain are forecasted for the final day which will offer very little wind. However, none of the days in the weekend will be cold as the temperature will be around 12-13 degrees.

 

The favourites

Since the time trial was introduced in 2012, the race has always been decided on the final day and it was only in 2013 that the winner of the time trial was not the overall winner. Back then, Jonathan Hivert was only ninth in the TT but he had gained enough time in the previous stages to take overall victory. Apart from that, the gains in the time trial have been enough to secure overall victory.

 

This year the course is almost identical to the one that was used last year as the only major change comes in stage 2 which is still just a pretty ordinary sprint stage. Every year since the introduction of the time trial, a breakaway has managed to stay away in one of the stages – in 2014 Sander Helven denied the sprinters on the opening stage while Pierre Rolland and Jerome Cousin managed to win the queen stage in 2012 and 2013 respectively – but their time gains have always been very small and the trend was broken in 2015 when all the road stages were decided in sprint.

 

This year there are several ambitious time triallists that want to control things before the final stage and there are three top sprinters in Arnaud Demare, Matteo Pelucchi and Bryan Coquard that will target victory in every road stage. Furthermore, the weather conditions will be very good and this makes breakaway success much less likely. It will be hard for anyone to prevent sprint finishes and this means that the race is likely to be decided in the TT.

 

The sprinters always manage to take some bonus seconds but it has never been strong enough to defend their advantage in the TT which doesn’t suit them very well. Kris Boeckmans managed to finish third in 2015 and John Degenkolb was on the podium in 2014 but they have to be very dominant in the sprints and do a very good time trial to take the overall win. This year the TT is even a bit longer which will make things even more difficult for the fast finishers.

 

The biggest opportunity to change the predicted outcome will come in what is set to be a rainy stage 4 which both includes an uphill finish and terrible weather conditions. There is a chance that a breakaway can create a surprise on the finishing circuit but the most likely outcome is that it will be four sprint stages. Then it will all come down to a combination of bonus seconds and the time trial.

 

The time trial is a bit unusual as it ends with a pretty hard climb and this can make a big difference. Climbers may do a very good performance in this stage as they can gain a lot of time in the final few kilometres. This means that you often see some surprise names near the top of the standings while the pure time triallists may have a hard time. The race is usually dominated by the versatile riders that can go fast in both parts of the course.

 

At this point of the year, form is a very important factor and this makes the outcome of the race less predictable. However, one rider has reportedly shown outstanding condition. Jerome Coppel. When the IAM riders tested their form at the Mallorca training camp by climbing Coll d’Orient, the Frenchman beat all his teammates. That proves that he is ready to go at the start of the season which is no big surprise as he has usually been very strong at this time of the year.

 

Coppel has had a couple of difficult seasons but found his best form in the second half of 2015 where he won a surprise bronze medal at the World TT Championships.  He has always been very strong on rolling courses but he has clearly stepped up his level an extra bit. This time trial should suit him excellently as he is both strong on the flats and powerful on the climbs and it is no surprise that he is a former winner. He tested his legs with an attack in the GP Marseillaise and again underlined that the form is good. On paper, he is the best time triallist in this race so if he can avoid any mishaps in the road stages, he should win the race.

 

Tony Gallopin was second in 2015 and hopes to go one better this time around. He is always in good form right from the start and this seems to be the case in 2016 as he rode solidly in Marseille. He is clearly showing constant signs of improvement so there is no reason to suggest that he won’t be even better than he was 12 months ago.

 

Gallopin is not a real TT specialist but he is strong in shorter tests. This stage suits him really well as he is one of the best on this kind of short climb. More importantly, he is a fast sprinter and last year he even won the uphill sprint on stage 4. Unlike Coppel, he can pick up bonus seconds in the road stages and if he can repeat his win in Laudun while also gaining time in the intermediate sprints, he may go into the TT with an advantage that could be enough to win the race.

 

On paper, only Sylvain Chavanel should be able to match Coppel in this kind of time trial. However, the Frenchman often emphasizes that his diesel engine takes more time to get going and he needs more time to reach peak condition. However, he still managed to finish in the main group in Marseille and so the form can’t be too bad. This is almost his favourite distance for a time trial and he is both strong on the climb and on the flats. In the past years, he has been the dominant French time triallist and he would love to prove his status by beating Coppel already at the start of the year while also getting his time at Direct Energie off to the best possible start.

 

Arthur Vichot had a terrible 2015 season and his only goal for 2016 is to find his good legs again. However, he showed sign of progress in the second half of 2015 and he rode strongly in protection of Thibaut Pinot’s breakaway in Marseille. He has been fourth and fifth in this TT in the past and the short, steep climb obviously suits his puncheur skills well. He will have to work for Demare in the road stages but as he is aiming for the GC, he may use his speed to pick up bonus seconds in the intermediate sprint. If he can finish it off with another good time trial, it could be the perfect comeback for the strong Frenchman.

 

Arnaud Demare makes his season debut in Besseges and he is reportedly in winning condition right from the start as he wants to make up for a bad 2015. He is one of three major sprinters in the race and will be up against Pelucchi and Coqard. The Italian will only be a rival in the flat first two stages while Coquard and Demare should be up there in all the sprint stages. Demare likes the harder sprints in stages 3 and 4 and he has the benefit of support from his trusted lead-out man Mickael Delage. If he can win a couple of stages, he can gain lots of bonus seconds and he is no bad time triallist. In 2014, he was 12th in the short Tirreno TT and even though he has never repeated that kind of performance, it proves that the potential is there. If he can limit his losses in the time trial, bonus seconds could be enough to win the race.

 

Thibaut Pinot has already proved that he is in excellent condition as he was second in Marseille. He has no big ambitions for this race but he still wants to use the TT as an important test. He has improved his time trialling a lot and it is no longer one of his weaknesses. In fact, he was 10th in this TT in 2015 and he was fourth over a similar distance at the Criterium International. He failed to deliver similar performances in the final part of the 2015 season but he is still improving. As his form is obviously very good, he should do even better than he did last year.

 

Pierre-Roger Latour is one of the biggest French climbing talents. He is not known for his TT skills but last year he defied expectations by being fifth in this time trial. Since then, he has only become stronger and this makes him an outsider for this race. The longer flat section will be a disadvantage and his form is uncertain as he has not raced yet. However, if he has the 2015 condition, one year of experience will make him a big threat.

 

Jean-Christophe Peraud is one of the best French time triallists but he is never very good in his first races. He is usually off the pace in San Luis and it was no different this time around. However, he has often been in race-winning form when he has returned to France and is a multiple winner of the Tour of the Mediterranean queen stage. However, this race comes a bit earlier and we doubt that his form is good enough to win the race. Furthermore, he would have preferred a harder and longer course for the time trial.

 

Coquard is the other sprinter that can potentially pick up enough bonus seconds and climbs well enough to be an overall contender. However, the Frenchman has never been very good time triallist. Nonetheless, he was 19th in this TT 12 months ago and he was 20th in 2013. Since then he has only become stronger. It will still be hard enough to limit his losses sufficiently and his lack of consistently in the sprints will make it a challenge. If he can perform well in all four road stages, it won’t be impossible though.

 

Jonathan Hivert is a former winner of this race which proves that he can do well in the time trial. In fact, he was once a bit of a prologue specialist if the course included a punchy climb. He was reportedly aiming for a very good start to the season but surprisingly he was off the pace in Marseille. Furthermore, he probably lacks a bit of power for the flat part of the time trial. On the other hand, he is fast and can pick up bonus seconds in the road stages.

 

Dries Devenyns deserves a mention won the GP La AMrseillaise which proves that his form is excellent. Unfortunately, he is not a TT specialist and it will be hard for him to match the best riders in the TT. On the other hand, there is no reason that he can’t do relatively well on a course that includes a short climb. It won’t be enough for him to win the race but he is one of the few riders that is strong enough to potentially create a surprise in one of the road stages.

 

Stephane Rossetto has developed into a bit of a TT specialist after he was second at the French Championships in 2015. He wants to get selected for the Olympics and this race will be an important test for him. Unfortunately, he has never done very well in short time trials and his form was not outstanding in Mallorca.

 

***** Jerome Coppel

**** Tony Gallopin, Sylvain Chavanel

*** Arthur Vichot, Arnaud Demare, Thibaut Pinot, Pierre-Roger Latour

** Jean-Christophe Peraud, Bryan Coquard, Jonathan Hivert, Dries Devenyns, Stephane Rossetto

* Maxime Monfort, Ignatas Konovalovas, Adrien Petit, Anthony Delaplace, Asbjørn Kragh Andersen