Powless powers to Etoile de Bessèges overall win in final time trial

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Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) won the stage 5 time trial on the final day of  Etoile de Bessèges while Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) grabbed the overall title by just one second.

Only four seconds separated race leader and stage 4 winner Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) from Powless headed into the race of truth. Powless powered through the crosswinds early in the course and then smoothly around the final corner of the uphill finish to take valuable time and snatched the GC win from Skjelmose.

Pedersen sat tight in the hot seat with the best time, 15 minutes, 25 seconds, from the early wave of riders, no one coming close on the 10.6km course. 

"That was painful. I wanted to go full gas to make some good split times for Mattias so he had something to race with and against. That was basically the main plan of today," Pedersen said at the end.

Before the favourites left the start house in Alès, the Ineos Grenadiers duo of Josh Tarling and Ben Tulett posted times to put them in the final spots on the podium, Tarling 8 seconds back for second and Tulett another two ticks back for third. 

All eyes were on the clock for the final two competitors charged on the twisting ascent of Côte de l'Ermitage, a now familiar finish for the five-day stage race. Powless set a time of 15:46 in eighth place, then Skjelmose, who seemed to go a bit wider on the final turn, crossed the line in ninth, a full five seconds slower, giving Powless the GC win. Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) held on to third overall.

“I knew I had to be first into that final corner, but Skjelmose knew the same thing. He just went earlier than I was anticipating so he got the better of me at the very end but I felt like I still had a lot left to give so I really wanted to make up for that today,” Powless said. 

“It’s not possible to win a race like this with all these cross winds and punchy finishes and stages where every day you have to have perfect position almost the whole day without an impeccable team, a good race plan, a good strategy, a good director.

“The crosswinds were tearing the race apart every day. To not put a foot wrong over five days of that is just such a testament to how strong our team is and how committed we were and how good of teammates I have here.”

The 26-year-old North American rider earned his second victory of the young season with his effort, coming off a victory at GP Marseille. The final stage brought a day of redemption from stage 4, where Powless was overtaken by Skjelmose on the final corner of the mountaintop finish at Le Mont Bouquet to finish second to the Dane.

"Of course, I am disappointed that I miss out by just one second but that's cycling sometimes. I am more disappointed that I couldn't finish off the job that the guys started yesterday," the Dane said after the TT.

"I didn't have super legs, this was the first race of the season for me and I still need some more anaerobic efforts to improve the recovery a little bit but it wasn't bad today either. I still finished top ten and had some really good names in front of me and also beat some really good names so, I think the TT was OK from me."

How it unfolded

From the field of 118 riders, Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost) led the way and posted a time of 16:14 to set the benchmark. It took 30 riders to move Carr off the hot seat, which was done by Pedersen, who was looking to move up one step of the podium from his runner-up spot in the time trial last year. 

Pedersen remained comfortable, only Tarling, a junior time trial world champion, would cross the finish under the 10-second margin.

Latour finished fifth in the time trial, 11 seconds off the winning pace, and secured his third place overall. The Frenchman came into the final day 22 seconds back in third place and closed that gap to 12 seconds. 

The closest challengers from behind for Letour were Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), 38 seconds off the podium, and former race leader Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), 57 seconds back.

The two fell back a few spots on GC, as Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-Samsic) vaulted to fourth overall with a fourth place in the time trial, one second away from Tulett. The Arkea rider bumped Sivakov to fifth, while Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) rode into sixth overall.

De Lie needed a stellar ride to vault back on the podium. He completed his ride in 31st position, 1:10 back, which dropped him to seventh overall. 

Powless punctuated the sky with a fist once he knew the outcome of his ride, a top 10 finish and a one-second advantage over Skjelmose for the overall.

“I knew I would have to ride the TT just off of feel,” the American said. “At the end of a stage race, it’s all just about what you feel and how much you have left in the tank. I’m just so happy I could repay all the hard work that my teammates gave and get some redemption for myself. This feels amazing.”

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