The 2016 Étoile de Bessèges ( en, Star of Bessèges) was a

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages ...

that took place between 3 and 7 February 2016. The race was rated as a

2.1 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, classifies races according to a rating scale. The rating is represented by a code made of two or three parts and indicates both the type or style ...

event as part of the

2016 UCI Europe Tour The 2016 UCI Europe Tour was the twelfth season of the UCI Europe Tour. The 2016 season began on 28 January 2016 with the Vuelta a Mallorca, Trofeo Santanyí-Ses Salines-Campos and ended on 23 October 2016 with the Chrono des Nations. French rid ...

. It was the 46th edition of the

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a sta ...

cycling race. The race included five stages. The first four were road stages; the fifth and final stage was a

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...

. The champion of the

2015 Étoile de Bessèges The 2015 Étoile de Bessèges (English: ''Star of Bessèges'') was the 45th running of the Étoile de Bessèges road cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour and took place from 4 to 8 February 2015 in southern France ...

Bob Jungels Bob Jungels (born 22 September 1992) is a Luxembourgish road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Rollingen, Mersch, Luxembourg, Jungels competed in the Tour de France for the first time in 2015, as part of the UCI World ...

, did not take part in the 2016 event as his team, , was not among those invited. The first two stages were won in sprints by

Bryan Coquard Bryan Coquard (born 25 April 1992) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He was a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Omnium. Career Youth and amateur career Coquard began cycling in 1999 at the age of sev ...

(), giving him the lead of the race. His teammate,

Sylvain Chavanel Sylvain Chavanel''Procycling'', UK, November 2008 (born 30 June 1979) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , and two spells with the / team. His brother Sébastien Chavanel ...

, won a reduced sprint on the following stage to take over the race lead. He retained this lead in the following stage, won in a breakaway by

Ángel Madrazo , birth_date = , birth_place = Santander, Cantabria, Spain , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = , amateuryears1 = 2007–2008 , amateurteam1 = Sa ...

(). He lost his lead, however, in the final stage time trial: he lost 30 seconds to

Jérôme Coppel Jérôme Coppel (born 6 August 1986) is a French former road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Career Born in Annemasse, Haute-Savoie, Coppel and compatriot Romain Sicard were the focus of a f ...

, who therefore won the race overall.

Tony Gallopin Tony Gallopin (born 24 May 1988) is a French professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Dourdan, Île-de-France, Gallopin currently resides in Angerville. After two seasons with the squad, Gallop ...

() came second, with

Thibaut Pinot Thibaut Pinot (born 29 May 1990) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Once considered one of the most promising talents in French cycling, he finished third overall in the 2014 Tour de France and first in the ...

() third. Chavanel finished fourth. Coquard won the points classification and FDJ won the team classification.

Roland Thalmann Roland Thalmann (born 5 August 1993 in Romoos) is a Swiss cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Major results ;2016 : 8th Tour du Doubs ;2017 : 9th Overall Tour of Rhodes ;2018 : 6th Overall Oberösterreichrundfahrt : 8th Trofeo Laigu ...

() won the mountains classification and

Pierre Latour Pierre Latour (born 12 October 1993) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He is a stage winner of the Vuelta a España, and twice the winner of French National Time Trial Championships. Career Latour was born in Romans-sur ...

() won the youth classification, having finished seventh overall.

Teams

Nineteen teams were invited to start the race. These included four

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

s, six

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

teams and nine

UCI Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

teams.

Stages

Stage 1

3 February 2016 – Bellegarde– Beaucaire,

Stage 2

4 February –

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

–

Méjannes-le-Clap Méjannes-le-Clap (; oc, Mejanas e lo Clap) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is located 30 km north east of Alès, close to the river Cèze. It is a centre for outdoor activities and environmental tourism. Geo ...

Stage 3

5 February –

Bessèges Bessèges (; oc, Besseja) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in France. It is situated on the river Cèze. History Historically Bessèges was a hamlet of Robiac-Rochessadoule, Robiac. Its importanc ...

–

Stage 4

6 February –

Tavel Tavel may refer to: Places * Tavel, Gard, a commune in France * Tavel AOC, a French wine ''appellation'' from the town of Tavel * Tafers (french: Tavel, link=no), a municipality in Switzerland People * Connie Tavel Connie Tavel is an Ameri ...

–

Laudun Laudun-l'Ardoise (; oc, Laudun) is a commune in the Gard department in Occitanie (southern France). The commune name was ''Laudun'' until February 1, 2001. Population Wine Laudun is one of the communes producing Côtes du Rhône Villages w ...

Stage 5

7 February –

Alès Alès (; oc, Alès) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie regions of France, region in southern France. It is one of the Subprefectures in France, su ...

–

, (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication * Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional type theory B ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2016 Etoile de Besseges Etoile de Besseges Etoile de Besseges

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...