Almost never seen. This Thursday, the 2nd stage of the Etoile de Bessèges, 170 km long and which was disputed between Bagard and Aubais in the Gard, was neutralized before the end. The cause: a monumental fall at the back of the peloton, while there were still 23 km to go, and which threw several runners to the ground. The mobilization of help at this place forced the organizers to neutralize the stage, for lack of available means in the event of a new problem. The remaining riders finished coasting. Without a winner.
A group of 18 riders, including Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), the sprint winner of the 1st stage, had then gone ahead for the stage victory when a cluster of riders found themselves on the ground on the way of a small stone bridge. In the lot: Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), and also Valentin Ferron (Team Total Energies), who finds himself clinging to the outside of the parapet while waiting for someone to hoist him up.
In front, it is first the questioning when the announcement is given, finally accepted: “With a little hindsight, everyone understood, explains Thierry Bricaud, the sporting director of Groupama-FDJ at the microphone of the ‘Crew. The decision of the organizers is right, with only one ambulance available. It’s a scenario that we rarely used to see. Several riders from the team were caught in the fall but in principle it’s fine. We’ll see that tonight. »
“The two race ambulances had to deal with injured runners and the race cannot therefore continue. The peloton will roll gently until the finish”, for its part indicated the Trek-Segafredo team, led by the Dane Mads Pedersen.
