Preview Star van Bessèges | Brutal queen stage returns in race packed with big names

Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Spain have already had their turn, and now it's time for races in France! After Sunday's GP Marseillaise, it's time for the Star van Bessèges. The French multi-day race is an excellent warm-up for spring, with a new challenge for the riders every day. IDLProCycling.com gives you a preview of all the stages.

The Star of Bessèges has been held since 1971, and from the beginning, the race was scheduled for February. So, it is now a regular event on the cycling calendar, and some big riders, like Robbie McEwen and Christophe Laporte, have added their names to the list of honors. Last year, Mads Pedersen was the best, and the Lidl-Trek star will try to defend his title—it will be tough.

Practical information Star of Bessèges 2025

• Wednesday, February 5 - Sunday, February 9
• Participants
• Classification: 2.1

Latest winners Star van Bessèges

2024 Mads Pedersen
2023 Neilson Powless
2022 Benjamin Thomas
2021 Tim Wellens
2020 Benoît Cosnefroy
2019 Christophe Laporte
2018 Tony Gallopin
2017 Lilian Calmejane
2016 Jerôme Coppel
2015 Bob Jungels

Stage 1 Star of Bessèges 2025: Bellegarde - Bellegarde (159 km)

The first stage is pretty flat. Because it is 159 kilometers through the south of France, there are only 521 meters of elevation. But then again, the finish is on a nasty little climb: the last 600 meters go up at 9%. One for the power sprinters, then.

Favorites
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step)

Times
Start: 06:00 AM EST
Finish: approx. 10:00 AM EST

Stage 2 Star of Bessèges 2025: Domessargues - Marguerittes (166 km)

Again, on paper, this is not a difficult stage, although the riders already have some more hills on their plate. The finale will include a lap of almost forty kilometers and two slopes. The last one, the Côte Cabrières (4.7 km at 3.2%), will be climbed 8.5 kilometers from the finish. Will anyone be able to make it difficult for the sprinters, or will we still see the same names as Wednesday?

Favorites
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step)

Times
Start: 06:15 AM EST
Finish: approx. 10:00 AM EST

Stage 3 Star of Bessèges 2025: Bessèges - Bessèges (164 km)

The trend continues as the stages get progressively more demanding. The third stage, which takes place around the city that gives the race its name, is the hardest yet. No less than six categorized mountains are included in the course. In the last 25 kilometers, the riders will face two more hills: the Col de Trélis (3.9 km at 5.6%) and the Col de Brousses (2.4 km at 5%). After that last hill, it's another 12.5 kilometers to the finish. We will see the same names at the front on Friday as we did on Thursday.

Favorites
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto)
Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quick Step)

Stage 4 Star of Bessèges 2025:Vauvert - Le Mont Bouquet (156 km)

What a queen's stage! The fourth stage is not at all difficult over 150 kilometers, but the finale is very brutal. The Mont Bouquet was not included in last year's route, but in 2023, Mattias Skjelmose won here, ahead of Neilson Powless so that it will be a day for the explosive climbers. The final climb is 4.6 kilometers long and has an average gradient of nine percent. The last 2.7 kilometers even run at a 10.2 percent average! It will be a wonderful spectacle on Saturday afternoon.

Favorites
Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels)
Dylan Teuns (Cofidis

Times
Start: 06:35 AM EST
Finish: approx. 10:00 AM EST

Stage 5 Star of Bessèges 2025 (time trial): Alès - L'Hermitage (10.6 km)

Traditionally, the Star of Bessèges concludes with a time trial. This is not a typical time trial: the stage may be pretty short (10.6 kilometers), but the finish is on top of a hill in the city of Alès. It is 1.8 kilometers long and has a gradient of 7.3. The final stage is great, but the GC can still be disrupted!

Favorites
Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers)
Josh Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers)
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)

Weather Star of Bessèges 2025

The weather forecast in the south of France is quite acceptable. The race will start in glorious winter sunshine, with a temperature topping 12 degrees—perfect weather for racing. During the weekend, it might change a bit, but the riders will be able to cope with a bit of rain: the weather will never be really bad.

Read more below the photo!

Mads Pedersen

Favorites Star of Bessèges 2025

Due to the addition of Mont Bouquet to the course, this race is entirely different from last year. Therefore, we can expect primarily different names than in 2024. However, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) won last year's final stage and came within two seconds of the overall victory. This course suits him better, so we should consider the young French rider.

However, The competition is fierce as Maxim Van Gils will debut for his new team, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. The Belgian packs a great punch and won the short-term Vuelta an Andalucían last year. He also gets help from Oier Lazkano, who can ride a GC. But Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) is the name at the start with the best record. The former Giro winner will have to pull out the stops for his team in the south of France.

Of course, Dylan Teuns (Cofidis) is also a top rider on steep finishes: his win in the Flèche Wallonne is still in our memories. Victor Lafay (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) is also good on short climbs.

Read more below the photo!

Kévin Vauquelin

Apart from these climbers, there are quite a few outsiders. Because what about Filippo Ganna? The Italian of INEOS Grenadiers continues to be surprised by his climbing skills and has decided to avoid track cycling. Who knows, with the final time trial in mind? Defending champion Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) is usually too heavy for this race, but the crazy Dane was already good at last year's climbing World Championships and has an intense time trial in his legs.

Who are the favorites for the 2025 Star van Bessèges, according to IDLProCycling.com?

Top favorite: Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Outsiders: Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Dylan Teuns (Cofidis)
Longshots: Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers), Victor Lafay (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), Oier Lazkano (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

TV broadcast Star of Bessèges 2025

Unfortunately, the Star van Bessèges will not be broadcast on TV. However, you can watch all stages if you subscribe to HBO Max! The streaming service will broadcast every stage. Each day, it will begin around 08:00 AM EST.

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