Étoile de bessèges : Tim Wellens Final winner

Tim Wellens didn't let the final victory slip away in the Étoile de Bessèges time trial. Obviously very fit at the start of the season, the Trudonnaire even finished fourth in the stage. 
His very good performance allowed him to extend his lead by a few seconds in the general classification.
As yesterday, the stage victory went to Italy’s Filippo Ganna. Michal Kwiatkowski and Nils Politt accompany Wellens on the final podium.

The last stage was contested in the form of an individual 10 kilometer time-lapse with a finish perched at the top of a final difficulty. 
Early in the day, Briton Ethan Hayter set a very good first benchmark time with a time of 15’21 ’’. But the victory was promised to his teammate Ganna who covered ten kilometers in 15 minutes exactly. 
This is the second success in a row for the world time trial champion. Tim Wellens, the starting leader at Alès, started last to defend his 45 ’lead over his closest rivals. Wellens struggled to finish fourth on the day, 29 ’’ behind Ganna. 
A performance that also saw him relegate Kwiatkowski to 53 ’’ in the final standings.

Tim wellens
“This final victory was largely achieved at the end of the 3rd stage. 
To start the final stopwatch with more than 40 seconds in advance was quite comfortable. This morning already, I felt that I had good legs, but I was above all very motivated. 
You should know that Vic Swerts, founder and owner of Soudal, is celebrating his 81st birthday today and I wanted to give him this gift. This time suited me very well.
 I developed an average power greater than planned and I was finally able to clinch the final victory. The fact of having recognized the course before the race obviously served me well today. 
I knew that the final classification of the Etoile de Bessèges would be decided at the end of this stage. The team had therefore sent someone there before the race, everything was organized to perfection. 
I would like to thank the whole team for their very good work this week. It is promising for the rest of the season. "