The Irish-sponsored pro team An Post Grant Thornton Sean Kelly had another strong showing on yesterday’s second stage of the Etoile de Bessèges, with Belgian sprinter Niko Eeckhout placing third in the big bunch gallop into St. Ambroix.
The 141 kilometre stage was won by Wednesday’s victor, Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team), after a 61 kilometre breakaway containing Frenchmen Laurent Lefevre (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) and Benoît Vaugrenard (Francaise Des Jeux) was hauled back.
Former Belgian champion Eeckhout crossed the line just behind Bozic and Arnaud Molmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole).
Irish road race champion Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) rolled in 34th, while compatriots Connor McConvey and Paídi O’Brien plus the remainder of the An Post Grant Thornton Sean Kelly team also came home in the main bunch.
Team manager Kurt Bogaerts was encouraged by Eeckhout’s strong finish, which followed up from his second place on Wednesday.
The squad has had a good start to the season and he is hoping that they can land a stage win before the race ends on Sunday.
“The team did their job perfectly again and all we need now is a little bit of luck,” he stated after the 141 kilometre race to St. Ambroix. “Tomorrow’s stage is very similar to today’s with two climbs and another local stage finish around the town, so I’m hoping for more of the same.”
Bozic is now ten seconds clear of Molmy and Eeckhout in the general classification. Most of the other riders in the race are a further ten seconds back.
The Etoile de Bessèges continues today with a 148 kilometre race from Gran Prix du CC Rhone to Ceze-Languedoc.
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Etoile de Bessèges, France (2.1, February 3- 7)
February 4, Stage 2: Nimes - St. Ambroix:
1, Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team) 141 kilometres in 3 hours 27 mins 38 secs
2, Arnaud Molmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole)
3, Niko Eeckhout (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
4, Dominique Rollin (Cervelo Test Team)
5, Sébastien Chavanel (Francaise Des Jeux)
6, Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne) all same time
Other :
27, Marc Mc Nally (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
34, Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale)
52, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
55, Kenny Lisabeth (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
103, Connor Mc Convey (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
104, Maxim De Busschere (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
122, Paidi O'Brien (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
133, Stijn Minne (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly) all same time
General classification after stage 2:
1, Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team) 7 hours 10 mins 7 secs
2, Arnaud Molmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole) at 10 secs
3, Niko Eeckhout (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
4, Julien Loubet (AG2R La Mondiale) at 15 secs
5, Floris Goesinnen (Skil - Shimano)
6, Laurent Lefevre (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) at 17 secs
Other:
10, Sébastien Chavanel (Francaise Des Jeux) at 20 secs
28, Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale)
43, Kenny Lisabeth (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
68, Marc Mc Nally (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
72, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
105, Stijn Minne (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
107, Connor Mc Convey (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
117, Paidi O'Brien (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
125, Maxim De Busschere (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly) all same time
Points classification:
1, Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team) 50 pts
2, Arnaud Molmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole) 36
3, Niko Eeckhout (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly) 36
1, Arnaud Molmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole)
2, Kris Boeckmans (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) at mins 9 secs
3, Jocelyn Bar (Roubaix Lille Metropole) at 10 secs
12, Marc Mc Nally (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
16, Connor Mc Convey (An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly)
Teams classification:
1, Roubaix Lille Metropole 2) at 1 hours 31 mins 21 secs
2, Big Mat - Auber93
3, Skil - Shimano
4, Francaise des Jeux
5, Vacansoleil
6, Bretagne – Schuller, all same time
Other:
12, An Post - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly
13, AG2R La Mondiale, each same time
