Étoile de Bessèges pledges enhanced security measures after team exodus in 2025

Eight teams withdrew from the 2025 edition of the race after repeated instances of motor vehicles entering the course. Incidents in the finale of stage 2 and again in the opening kilometres of stage 3 sparked particular concern in the peloton and triggered the mass exodus.

All five stages were ultimately completed, with Kévin Vauquelin claiming overall victory, but the episode has had a significant impact on Étoile de Bessèges standing in the peloton.

Indeed, there were initially concerns that the 2.1 race would not return to the calendar at all. Speaking to L’Équipe, the race’s security director, Romain Leroux – formerly a pro rider with Arkéa – explained that a number of changes have been enacted for 2026. “We had things to change,” he said. “We thought about a different way of working.”

Those changes include closing the roads 20 minutes before the passage of the peloton rather than 10 minutes as in previous years. The 20 police motorbikes will be deployed entirely to forming the protective bubble around the peloton, while an additional 10 civilian motorcyclists have been hired to flag hazards along the course.

According to L’Équipe, the race’s budget remains unchanged at €980,000, which means the organisation was compelled to reduce the number of teams from 21 to 16 in order to save on costs.

While last year’s race featured 10 WorldTour teams, there are only four in the field this time around – Groupama-FDJ United, Lotto-Intermarché, Decathlon CMA-CGM and Alpecin-Premier Tech.

It’s a far cry from February 2021, when many of the peloton’s top teams and riders flocked to Étoile de Bessèges, given the paucity of early-season racing available that Spring amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Organiser Claudine Fangille admitted that she had considered not inviting the teams who withdrew last year. Decathlon were among the squads who opted to leave the race, but they are back on the start line in 2026.

“The first teams invited were those that made it to the end last year,” Fangille told L’Équipe. “Afterwards, I sent invitations to the others. But if a team like Lidl, for example, had accepted, I wouldn’t have said no because they’ve been present for years. Whereas Soudal and Bora only came last year and they’re the ones who bashed us.”

The 2026 Étoile de Bessèges gets under way in Bellegarde on Wednesday and concludes with a 10km time trial to L’Hermitage on Sunday. The field includes Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Paul Lapeira (Decathlon) and Dylan Teuns (Cofidis).