# 2018 Étoile de Bessèges

The 2018 Étoile de Bessèges (transl. Star of Bessèges) was a road cycling stage race that took place between 31 January and 4 February 2018. The race was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2018 UCI Europe Tour, and was the 48th edition of the Étoile de Bessèges cycling race. The race included five stages; the first four were road stages while the fifth and final stage was a 10.7-kilometre (6.6 mi) individual time trial.

## Teams

Eighteen teams were invited to start the race. These included two UCI WorldTeams, twelve UCI Professional Continental teams and four UCI Continental teams.
UCI WorldTeams
* AG2R La Mondiale
* Groupama–FDJ
UCI Professional Continental teams
* Bardiani–CSF
* Caja Rural–Seguros RGA
* Cofidis
* Delko–Marseille Provence KTM
* Direct Énergie
* Fortuneo–Samsic
* Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise
* Vital Concept
* Vérandas Willems–Crelan
* WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
* Wanty–Groupe Gobert
* Euskadi–Murias
UCI Continental teams
* Amore & Vita–Prodir
* Cibel–Cebon
* St. Michel–Auber93
* Roubaix–Lille Métropole

## Route

Stage schedule :
| Stage | Date | Route | Distance | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 1 February | Bellegarde to Beaucaire | 157 km (98 mi) | Hilly stage | Marc Sarreau (FRA) |
| 2 | 2 February | Nîmes to Générac | 148.3 km (92 mi) | Hilly stage | Christophe Laporte (FRA) |
| 3 | 3 February | Bessèges to Bessèges | 152.6 km (95 mi) | Hilly stage | Marc Sarreau (FRA) |
| 4 | 4 February | Chusclan to Laudun-l'Ardoise | 152.9 km (95 mi) | Hilly stage | Sean De Bie (BEL) |
| 5 | 5 February | Alès to Alès | 10.7 km (7 mi) | Individual time trial | Tony Gallopin (FRA) |

## Stages
### Stage 1
#### 31 January 2018 — Bellegarde to Beaucaire, 157 km (98 mi)

Result of Stage 1 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | 3h 46' 10" |
| 2 | Thomas Boudat (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 0" |
| 3 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 0" |
| 4 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | + 0" |
| 5 | Sean De Bie (BEL) | Vérandas Willems–Crelan | + 0" |
| 6 | Amaury Capiot (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 0" |
| 7 | Enrico Barbin (ITA) | Bardiani–CSF | + 0" |
| 8 | Jordi Warlop (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 0" |
| 9 | Kenny Dehaes (BEL) | WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | + 0" |
| 10 | Romain Feillu (FRA) | St. Michel–Auber93 | + 0" |
General classification after Stage 1 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | 3h 46' 10" |
| 2 | Thomas Boudat (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 4" |
| 3 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 6" |
| 4 | Milan Menten (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 7" |
| 5 | Michiel Dieleman (BEL) | Cibel–Cebon | + 8" |
| 6 | Aritz Bagües (ESP) | Euskadi-Murias | + 9" |
| 7 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | + 10" |
| 8 | Sean De Bie (BEL) | Vérandas Willems–Crelan | + 10" |
| 9 | Amaury Capiot (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 10" |
| 10 | Enrico Barbin (ITA) | Bardiani–CSF | + 10" |

### Stage 2
#### 1 February 2018 — Nîmes to Générac, 148.3 km (92 mi)

Result of Stage 2 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | 3h 22' 05" |
| 2 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 0" |
| 3 | Timothy Dupont (BEL) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | + 0" |
| 4 | Amaury Capiot (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 0" |
| 5 | Emiel Vermeulen (BEL) | Roubaix–Lille Métropole | + 0" |
| 6 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 0" |
| 7 | Lorrenzo Manzin (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 0" |
| 8 | Romain Feillu (FRA) | St. Michel–Auber93 | + 0" |
| 9 | Kevyn Ista (BEL) | WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic | + 0" |
| 10 | Marco Maronese (ITA) | Bardiani–CSF | + 0" |
General classification after Stage 2 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | 7h 08' 05" |
| 2 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 0" |
| 3 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 0" |
| 4 | Thomas Boudat (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 4" |
| 5 | Timothy Dupont (BEL) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | + 6" |
| 6 | Milan Menten (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 7" |
| 7 | Pierre Idjouadiene (FRA) | Roubaix–Lille Métropole | + 7" |
| 8 | Dries Van Gestel (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 8" |
| 9 | Michiel Dieleman (BEL) | Cibel–Cebon | + 8" |
| 10 | Romain Combaud (FRA) | Delko–Marseille Provence KTM | + 9" |

### Stage 3
#### 2 February 2018 — Bessèges to Bessèges, 152.6 km (95 mi)

Result of Stage 3 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | 3h 56' 29" |
| 2 | Thomas Boudat (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 0" |
| 3 | Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 0" |
| 4 | Sean De Bie (BEL) | Vérandas Willems–Crelan | + 0" |
| 5 | Timothy Dupont (BEL) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | + 0" |
| 6 | Brenton Jones (AUS) | Delko–Marseille Provence KTM | + 0" |
| 7 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | + 0" |
| 8 | Amaury Capiot (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 0" |
| 9 | Damien Touzé (FRA) | St. Michel–Auber93 | + 0" |
| 10 | Laurent Pichon (FRA) | Fortuneo–Samsic | + 0" |
General classification after Stage 3 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | 11h 04' 24" |
| 2 | Thomas Boudat (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 8" |
| 3 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | + 10" |
| 4 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 10" |
| 5 | Benoît Cosnefroy (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 14" |
| 6 | Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 16" |
| 7 | Timothy Dupont (BEL) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | + 16" |
| 8 | Romain Combaud (FRA) | Delko–Marseille Provence KTM | + 16" |
| 9 | Milan Menten (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 17" |
| 10 | Dries Van Gestel (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 17" |

### Stage 4
#### 3 February 2018 — Chusclan to Laudun-l'Ardoise, 152.9 km (95 mi)

Result of Stage 4 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Sean De Bie (BEL) | Vérandas Willems–Crelan | 3h 43' 14" |
| 2 | Timothy Dupont (BEL) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | + 0" |
| 3 | Rudy Barbier (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 0" |
| 4 | Pierre Barbier (FRA) | Roubaix–Lille Métropole | + 0" |
| 5 | Damien Touzé (FRA) | St. Michel–Auber93 | + 0" |
| 6 | Anthony Turgis (FRA) | Cofidis | + 0" |
| 7 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 0" |
| 8 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 0" |
| 9 | Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 0" |
| 10 | Amaury Capiot (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 0" |
General classification after Stage 4 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | 14h 47' 38" |
| 2 | Thomas Boudat (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 8" |
| 3 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 10" |
| 4 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | + 10" |
| 5 | Sean De Bie (BEL) | Vérandas Willems–Crelan | + 10" |
| 6 | Timothy Dupont (BEL) | Wanty–Groupe Gobert | + 10" |
| 7 | Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 16" |
| 8 | Milan Menten (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 17" |
| 9 | Dries Van Gestel (BEL) | Sport Vlaanderen–Baloise | + 17" |
| 10 | Jonathan Hivert (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 17" |

### Stage 5
#### 4 February 2017 — Alès to Alès, 10.7 km (7 mi), individual time trial (ITT)

Result of Stage 5 :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Tony Gallopin (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | 15' 21" |
| 2 | Yoann Paillot (FRA) | St. Michel–Auber93 | + 20" |
| 3 | Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 22" |
| 4 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | + 25" |
| 5 | Jonathan Hivert (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 29" |
| 6 | Lilian Calmejane (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 29" |
| 7 | Alexis Gougeard (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 34" |
| 8 | Léo Vincent (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 39" |
| 9 | Johan Le Bon (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 44" |
| 10 | Sean De Bie (BEL) | Vérandas Willems–Crelan | + 45" |
Final general classification :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Tony Gallopin (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | 15h 03' 19" |
| 2 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Cofidis | + 15" |
| 3 | Yoann Paillot (FRA) | St. Michel–Auber93 | + 20" |
| 4 | Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 22" |
| 5 | Jonathan Hivert (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 26" |
| 6 | Lilian Calmejane (FRA) | Direct Énergie | + 29" |
| 7 | Alexis Gougeard (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | + 34" |
| 8 | Sean De Bie (BEL) | Vérandas Willems–Crelan | + 35" |
| 9 | Marc Sarreau (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 35" |
| 10 | Johan Le Bon (FRA) | Vital Concept | + 44" |