ProTeam Tim Wellens wins Etoile de Bessèges

Tim Wellens secured the overall victory during the closing individual time trial at the Etoile de Bessèges. Wellens once again demonstrated his excellent shape and time trialled his way to fourth place. Not only was that more than enough for the overall win, Wellens also extended his lead in the general classification by a few seconds. Just like yesterday, it was the Italian Filippo Ganna who took the stage win. On the final podium, Wellens was flanked by Michal Kwiatkowski and Nils Politt.

The 51st edition of the Etoile de Bessèges concluded with a ten kilometres long time trial, in which the riders had to overcome a short but tough climb at the very end. Early in the time trial, British rider Ethan Hayter set an excellent time of 15’21”, but his teammate Ganna once again impressed and finished in exactly 15 minutes. That delivered the time trial world champion a second consecutive stage win. Tim Wellens, leader in the general classification, was the last rider to start in Alès and defended a 44-second lead on his closest rival. Wellens rode an excellent time trial and finished 29 seconds behind Ganna, which resulted in a fourth place. That way, the Belgian Lotto Soudal rider even extended his lead in the general classification. In the end, Wellens wins the Etoile de Bessèges with a 53-second lead over Polish rider Kwiatkowski.

That way, Wellens gives a nice birthday present to Vic Swerts – founder and owner of Soudal – who celebrates his 81st birthday today.

“Of course, I’ve laid the foundations of my overall victory in stage three”, begins Tim Wellens. "It felt nice to start this closing time trial with a lead of more than 40 seconds. I had really good legs today, something I already noticed this morning. But most of all, I was really motivated to give Vic Swerts, founder and owner of Soudal, a nice gift for his 81st birthday.”

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“The time trial suited me. I managed to push more watts than I had initially planned. That is also why I was able to take the overall victory. Of course, it also helped that I already did a recon of the course beforehand. Already before the start of the Etoile de Bessèges, we knew that the time trial would be decisive for the overall victory. That is also why the team especially sent someone today. Everything was really well organised. A big thank you to the entire team, they were so strong all week long. That is really promising for the rest of the season”, concludes Tim Wellens.

The next race for Wellens will be the Tour de la Provence, which kicks off coming Thursday.

Pictures: Photo News.