2021 Étoile de Bessèges explained

2021 Étoile de Bessèges
Series:	2021 UCI Europe Tour
Date:	3–7 February 2021
Stages:	5
Distance:	614.79
Unit:	km
Time:	13h 56' 23"
First:	Tim Wellens
First Nat:	BEL
First Color:	orange
Second:	Michał Kwiatkowski
Second Nat:	POL
Third:	Nils Politt
Third Nat:	GER
Points:	Christophe Laporte
Points Nat:	FRA
Points Color:	yellow
Mountains:	Alexandre Delettre
Mountains Nat:	FRA
Mountains Color:	blue
Youth:	Jake Stewart
Youth Nat:	GBR
Youth Color:	white
Previous:	2020
Next:	2022

The 2021 Étoile de Bessèges was a road cycling stage race that took place between 3 and 7 February 2021 mostly in the French department of Gard. The race was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2021 UCI Europe Tour, and was the 51st edition of the Étoile de Bessèges cycling race.^[1]

Teams

Twenty-two teams were invited to the race. The invited teams include eleven UCI WorldTeams, eight UCI ProTeams, and three UCI Continental teams. Each team entered seven riders, except for, which entered five.^{[2] [3]} Before the race began, withdrew after one of the team's management was suspected of having COVID-19.^[4] Of the 145 riders that started the race, 135 finished.^[5]

UCI WorldTeams

UCI ProTeams

UCI Continental Teams

Route

Stage characteristics and winners^[6]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Stage winner
1	3 February	Bellegarde to Bellegarde	143.55km (89.2miles)		Hilly stage
2	4 February	Saint-Geniès-de-Malgoirès to La Calmette	154.12km (95.77miles)		Hilly stage
3	5 February	Bessèges to Bessèges	154.81km (96.19miles)		Hilly stage
4	6 February	Rousson to Saint-Siffret	151.6km (94.2miles)		Hilly stage
5	7 February	Alès to Alès	10.71km (06.65miles)		Individual time trial
Total		614.79km (382.01miles)

Stages

Stage 1

3 February 2021 – Bellegarde to Bellegarde, 143.55km (89.2miles)^[7]

Stage 2

4 February 2021 – Saint-Geniès-de-Malgoirès to La Calmette, 154.12km (95.77miles)^[8]

Stage 3

5 February 2021 – Bessèges to Bessèges, 154.81km (96.19miles)^[9]

Stage 4

6 February 2021 – Rousson to Saint-Siffret, 151.6km (94.2miles)^[10]

Stage 5

7 February 2021 – Alès to Alès, 10.71km (06.65miles), (ITT)^[11]

Classification leadership table

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Youth classification	Team classification
1	Christophe Laporte	Christophe Laporte	Christophe Laporte	Alexandre Delettre	Jordi Meeus
2	Timothy Dupont				Jake Stewart
3	Tim Wellens	Tim Wellens
4	Filippo Ganna
5	Filippo Ganna
Final		Tim Wellens	Christophe Laporte	Alexandre Delettre	Jake Stewart

Final classification standings

Team classification

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ineos, EF-Nippo, Israel Start-Up Nation among 11 WorldTour teams to ride Étoile de Bessèges. CyclingNews. 4 January 2021. 25 January 2021.
2. Web site: Équipes 2021. French. Teams 2021. Étoile de Bessèges. 25 January 2021.
3. Web site: Liste des Partants. French. Start List. 2021 Étoile de Bessèges. VotreCourse. 7 February 2021.
4. Web site: Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise out of Étoile de Bessèges after COVID-19 risk. CyclingNews. 3 February 2021. 3 February 2021.
5. Web site: Étoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard 2021 Startlist. ProCyclingStats. 25 January 2021.
6. Web site: Étoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard 2021 Overview. ProCyclingStats. 25 January 2021.
7. Web site: Stage 1 Info. Étoile de Bessèges. 25 January 2021.
8. Web site: Stage 2 Info. Étoile de Bessèges. 25 January 2021.
9. Web site: Stage 3 Info. Étoile de Bessèges. 25 January 2021.
10. Web site: Stage 4 Info. Étoile de Bessèges. 25 January 2021.
11. Web site: Stage 5 Info. Étoile de Bessèges. 25 January 2021.