Beating Mads Pedersen required deadly effort from Axel Laurance: "The last 50 meters were horrible"

Axel Laurance popped into the big scene back in 2022, but following the demise of B&B Hotels-KTM, he actually struggled to find a contract. It was with Alpecin-Deceuninck that he found a new outfit, racing for the development team, but in 2024 he's become a world-class winner right from the get-go.

Laurance became under-23 World Champion last year in Glasgow and confirmed his potential. The Frenchman is a strong classics rider and puncheur, and today he beat none other than Mads Pedersen in the 900-meter long ascent to Rousson at the Etoile de Bessèges, in gradients of 10%. It was an early sprint launched by the 22-year old, which ultimately proved to be the right decision as he outsprinted the Dane.

“The last 50 meters were horrible... I really wanted it, the team did a crazy job all day, I owed them at least that," Laurance shared with L'Équipe. "I know that it suits me as a finish, I saw the 150 meter sign and I said to myself 'like in training, hard, we don't stop'. It's liberating, last year I've had a good season, there's definitely pressure, everyone's waiting for me, so it's good to confirm straight away."

This sees Laurance become the first race leader, and the overall classification is not too distant of a goal. “We know that on the Étoile de Bessèges the general classification is often decided by bonuses. I still have stages that suit me, so we will try to do good things. Afterwards, there will be a time trial, it will be hard to keep the jersey. But first we will try to do two beautiful days," he concludes.