Stage 3 of the Etoile de Bessèges has become one of the most memorable days in modern cycling but not for the best reasons. We share a few pictures from the extended neutralization early in the day, in which several teams decided to leave the race in protest of the lack of safety conditions.
During stage 2 a car steered on course causing a minor crash and so when in the first kilometers of stage 3 coming out of Bessèges the same thing happened - a car rode into a roundabout with the peloton racing by - there was an immediately stop in the race. Complaints were no longer just words from the riders, but now action was being taken. For a good 30 minutes there were talks between the race commissaires and the representative riders, in what was a moment of uncertainty - over the race's status, continuation, and in which conditions it could potentially continue.
Eventually, seven teams abandoned the race whole (six of them World Tour level) and many riders of other teams also left the race. Arnaud De Lie for example, the stage winner, only had one teammate with him, and this was most likely the difficulty in communication in the chaotic situation that had developed. The pictures below show some of the tense moments as they happened this morning including Soudal - Quick-Step's moment of departure from the race; Alex Kirsch of Lidl-Trek communicating with the race commissaires; the likes of Filippo Ganna, Arnaud De Lie and Dylan Teuns awaiting for the results of the talks, and more.
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*All pictures were taken by Sirotti.
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Front24223-03-2025