Road Roundup – February 8, 2020

In today’s road racing news, things change up at the Etoile de Bessèges and Phil Bauhaus takes the overall at the inaugural Saudi Tour.

Ben O’ Connor soloed to an impressive victory on stage 4 of Etoile de Bessèges for NTT Pro Cycling

It was an inspired team performance that set Ben O’Connor up for the win on stage 4 of the Etoile de Bessèges. Initially, O’Connor made it into the early break of the day with 6 other riders but with 55km to go of the 138km stage, NTT Pro Cycling looked to shake up proceedings by relentlessly attacking from the peloton.

With around 30km to go, Edvald Boasson-Hagen and Michael Valgren’s group caught O’Connor’s leading group almost simultaneously, giving NTT Pro Cycling 4 riders in a lead group of 11 riders. The quartet took charge of the front group and drove the pace all the way to foot of the 4.5km finishing climb, arriving at its base some 40″ ahead of the main field.

O’Connor set the pace as soon as they turned onto the uphill gradient and one-by-one, the remaining riders were distanced until only Simon Clarke (EF Education) remained.

It was the third surge that came at 1km to go from O’Connor that was the telling blow though. He got the gap on the EF rider and soloed to an incredible stage victory, just reward after a superb team performance.

“We got the stage win! It was awesome teamwork from the boys, they really took the race on. I was upfront early and then Michael (Valgren), Eddy and (Michael) Gogl came across and really took the race on. We gave it our best shot and blew it to pieces. In the end, I was able to finish off their work so it was a team win today. It was absolutely perfect, what we were able to do. It gives us confidence for the upcoming races, that we can be up there with the best in the world,” O’Conner said at the finish.

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Benoit Cosnefroy takes the lead at Etoile de Bessèges

Though he was aiming for a stage win today, Benoit Cosnefroy of the Ag2R-La Mondiale team put in a strong enough showing to take over the race lead after stage 4 of the Etoile de Besseges.

“In the final climb, I had to manage my effort as much as possible,” said Cosnefroy. “I had never made a fifteen minute effort like that in racing. Aurélien (Paret Peintre) rode the whole climb with me. We know each other very well and it was really perfect. We wanted to influence the race and my teammates did a great job. I sincerely thank them! We were aiming for the stage victory today, but the main thing now is that we have the leader’s jersey. Now it’s my turn to play tomorrow. My teammates have managed the race all week, now it’s my turn tomorrow. Perhaps the hardest part is yet to come, but I am focused and I will not give up. I’m calmly looking forward to the time trial.”

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Phil Bauhaus Takes Overall at Saudi Tour

After five days of racing at the Saudi Tour, a Bahrain-McLaren team effort ensured the green jersey was on Phil Bauhaus when it counted.

The last stage of inaugural Saudi Tour started from Princess Nourah University, consisting of a flat 144km passing through the centre of Riyadh and finishing by Al Masmak Palace. From the off, 4 riders formed a breakaway, gaining a maximum gap of around three minutes. With 25km to go the peloton started closing the gap, and caught breakaway inside 8km. Bahrain McLaren was in control at the front of the peloton for most of the race, but other teams were made to do their work. With 2km to go, they ensured Haussler, Sieberg and Cavendish were leading out for Bauhaus. In the end, it was a sprint between Bauhaus and Bouhanni, in which Phil prevailed, winning stage 5 and GC at the Saudi Tour.

Bauhaus was more than happy: “It’s just an awesome feeling. I’ve never experienced to win a GC. It’s really something special for me. And win straight at the first race it’s fantastic. Yesterday I was very unlucky with the flat tyre and today we showed again how strong we are. I’m super happy with today’s stage win. I couldn’t have done it without the team. They were super strong in every situation to help me. They worked all day. Also, the former World Champion Mark Cavendish did a great job for me today. It’s my first ever overall win”