Etoile de Bessèges: Mads Pedersen wins explosive sprint in Bellegarde

In a stage devastated by crosswinds, former world champion Mads Pedersen emerged to take the win on the opening day of the French race, becoming it's first leader.

There was a lot of tension and chaos emerging from the peloton as crosswinds swept through it. Several important riders were left behind, with the likes of Groupama desperately trying to close the gap, without success. INEOS and AG2R did a lot of the work in the group of around 30 riders, which managed to contest the finale between themselves.

It was far from a flat finish in Bellegarde, as is the case every year. TotalEnegies swarmed the front of the peloton with hopes of taking Chris Lawless and Edvald Boasson Hagen to a stage win but without success, as the Dane Mads Pedersen managed to attack and get a gap on the uphill gradients and kept it until the line.

Hugo Hofstetter just barely managed to pip Edvald Boasson Hagen to the line for second place, with the rest of the peloton coming to the line in small groups. The likes of Alberto Bettiol, Pierre Latour, Filippo Ganna and Richard Carapaz finished just a few seconds behind and set themselves as some of the main contenders for the overall classification.