Etoile de Bessèges Preview & Stage 1 Breakdown

A previously fringe French five-stage race is suddenly thrust into the center of the pro cycling universe

Etoile de what? Yeah, I hadn’t heard of this race before yesterday either.

But, due to the massive amount of early-season race cancellations in Spain and Portugal due to an increase in COVID cases in those regions, the stars of the sport has descended upon this small, five-stage race in the Occitanie region of France to get all-important race miles in t…