Bob Jungels takes final time trial to win Étoile de Bessèges, Hugo Houle 11th

Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels dominated Sunday’s final time-trial at the Étoile de Bessèges, beating his nearest rival Tony Gallopin by 19 seconds to win the stage and earn himself the overall champion’s jersey. Jungels’ Trek Factory Racing teammate Fabio Felline finished 20 seconds back to round out the podium. Canada’s Hugo Houle had a strong ride, finishing 11th on the day for his Ag2r-La Mondiale team.

The 11.9-km test began on the flats before moving to the slopes of the Montee de l’Hermitage for a 2-km finishing climb. Heading into the race, everything was still on the table in the general classification, with Topsport Vlaanderen- Baloise’s Edward Theuns leading second-placed Kris Boeckmans of Lotto-Soudal by just seven seconds, with 19 riders placed within 30 seconds of the lead. Jungels was 19th on that list but the best time triallist on paper, as the race had been dominated by bunch sprints throughout the first four stages. Still, his work was cut out for him, with so little distance to make a crucial difference. Unfazed, the 22-year-old Luxembourger rose to the challenge, putting on a show of power no one could match. Gallopin’s second place in the chrono was good enough to move him onto the second step on the overall podium. Boeckmans rode solidly to finish third in the classification while Theuns dropped down to fifth. Houle finished the race in 42nd.