2022 Étoile de Bessèges explained

2022 Étoile de Bessèges
Series:	2022 UCI Europe Tour
Date:	2–6 February 2022
Stages:	5
Distance:	630.06
Unit:	km
Time:	14h 39' 32"
First:	Benjamin Thomas
First Nat:	FRA
First Color:	salmon
Second:	Alberto Bettiol
Second Nat:	ITA
Third:	Tobias Halland Johannessen
Third Nat:	NOR
Points:	Mads Pedersen
Points Nat:	DEN
Points Color:	yellow
Mountains:	Jay Vine
Mountains Nat:	AUS
Mountains Color:	blue
Youth:	Tobias Halland Johannessen
Youth Nat:	NOR
Youth Color:	white
Previous:	2021
Next:	2023

The 2022 Étoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard was a road cycling stage race that took place between 2 and 6 February 2022 almost entirely within the French department of Gard. The race was rated as a category 2.1 event on the 2022 UCI Europe Tour calendar, and was the 52nd edition of the Étoile de Bessèges.^[1]

Teams

Nine of the 18 UCI WorldTeams, nine UCI ProTeams, and three UCI Continental teams made up the 21 teams that participated in the race.^[2] Each team entered a full squad of seven riders, for a total of 147 riders who started the race,^[3] of which 123 finished.^[4]

UCI WorldTeams

UCI ProTeams

UCI Continental Teams

Route

Stage characteristics and winners^{[5] [6]}

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Stage winner
1	2 February	Bellegarde to Bellegarde	160.86km (99.95miles)		Flat stage
2	3 February	Saint-Christol-lès-Alès to Rousson	156.21km (97.06miles)		Hilly stage
3	4 February	Bessèges to Bessèges	155.65km (96.72miles)		Hilly stage
4	5 February	Saint-Hilaire-de-Brethmas to	146.71km (91.16miles)		Mountain stage
5	6 February	Alès to Alès	10.63km (06.61miles)		Individual time trial
Total			630.06km (391.5miles)

Stages

Stage 1

2 February 2022 – Bellegarde to Bellegarde, 160.86km (99.95miles)^[7]

Stage 2

3 February 2022 – Saint-Christol-lès-Alès to Rousson, 156.21km (97.06miles)^[8]

Stage 3

4 February 2022 – Bessèges to Bessèges, 155.65km (96.72miles)^[9]

Stage 4

5 February 2022 – Saint-Hilaire-de-Brethmas to, 146.71km (91.16miles)^[10]

Stage 5

6 February 2022 – Alès to Alès, 10.63km (06.61miles), (ITT)^[11]

Classification leadership table

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Team classification
1	Mads Pedersen	Mads Pedersen	Mads Pedersen	Matis Louvel	Arne Marit
2	Bryan Coquard			Martí Márquez	Tobias Halland Johannessen
3	Benjamin Thomas	Benjamin Thomas	Alberto Bettiol	Jérémy Cabot
4	Tobias Halland Johannessen		Tobias Halland Johannessen
5	Filippo Ganna		Mads Pedersen	Jay Vine
Final		Benjamin Thomas	Mads Pedersen		Tobias Halland Johannessen

• On stage 2, Hugo Hofstetter, who was second in the points classification, wore the yellow jersey, because first-placed Mads Pedersen wore the coral jersey as the leader of the general classification. For the same reason, Mathieu Burgaudeau wore the yellow jersey on stage 3.
• After stage 3, Bruno Armirail was deemed to be leading the mountains classification and was presented with the blue jersey after the stage. However, before stage 4, the results of the KOM sprint atop the Col de Portes from stage 3 were corrected, so Jérémy Cabot became the new leader of the mountains classification and wore the blue jersey on stage 4.
• On stage 5, Pau Miquel, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because first-placed Tobias Halland Johannessen wore the yellow jersey as the leader of the points classification.

Final classification standings

Team classification

Notes and References

1. Web site: Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard. UCI. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131072420/https://www.uci.org/competition-details/2022/ROA/66939. 31 January 2022.
2. Web site: Équipes 2022. French. Teams 2022. Étoile de Bessèges. Union Cycliste Bessègeoise. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131072504/https://www.etoiledebesseges.com/equipes-2022/. 31 January 2022.
3. Web site: Liste des Partants - Start List. Nicolas. Philippon. Étoile de Bessèges. Votrecourse. 1 February 2022. 2 February 2022.
4. Web site: Startlist for Étoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard 2022. ProCyclingStats. 6 February 2022.
5. News: Cyclisme : tout savoir du tracé de l'Étoile de Bessèges dans les Cévennes gardoises. French. Cycling: everything you need to know about the Étoile de Bessèges route in the Cévennes in the Gard. Midi Libre. 30 January 2022. 31 January 2022.
6. Web site: Etoile de Bessèges 2022: Route, predictions and contenders. Joe. Timms. Rouleur. Gruppo Media. 31 January 2022. 1 February 2022.
7. Web site: Étape 1. French. Stage 1. Étoile de Bessèges. Union Cycliste Bessègeoise. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131073235/https://www.etoiledebesseges.com/etape-1-2022/. 31 January 2022.
8. Web site: Étape 2. French. Stage 2. Étoile de Bessèges. Union Cycliste Bessègeoise. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131073427/https://www.etoiledebesseges.com/etape-2-2022/. 31 January 2022.
9. Web site: Étape 3. French. Stage 3. Étoile de Bessèges. Union Cycliste Bessègeoise. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131073434/https://www.etoiledebesseges.com/etape-3-2022/. 31 January 2022.
10. Web site: Étape 4. French. Stage 4. Étoile de Bessèges. Union Cycliste Bessègeoise. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131073611/https://www.etoiledebesseges.com/etape-4-2022/. 31 January 2022.
11. Web site: Étape 5. French. Stage 5. Étoile de Bessèges. Union Cycliste Bessègeoise. 31 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220131073619/https://www.etoiledebesseges.com/etape-5-2022/. 31 January 2022.