Despite rising costs and crumbling financial partners, Claudine Fangille's team, supported by its volunteers, is pulling out all the stops and offering a high-level edition.
“When we organize, we always talk about the year after but this year we are going to do 2025 and, even if for 2026 some municipalities have already positioned themselves, we are going to do things one after the other.” The preparation for the press conference of the 55th Étoile de Bessèges, by Claudine Fangille, from February 5 to 9, was tough. Before addressing the quality of the 21 teams present, and the aces who make them up and will delight fans, the president of the association wanted to play fair. Evoking the fear experienced, at one moment, of not being able to to start again in view of the insufficiency of the provisional assessment, it is the attachment of each person and the network of volunteers, activity in order to scrounge up €1,500 here, €2,000 there, which made it possible to complete the budget for this new edition (around €900,000).
Mads Pedersen, Jimmy Janssens, Rémi Cavagna and maybe Richard Carapaz…
The daughter of Roland, the founder of the event, did not hesitate to support her remarks with the recent announcement of the cancellation of the Classic Loire Atlantique as well as the sword of Damocles over the Mont Ventoux event. Times are tough for sport…
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Camera obscura – STEPHANE BARBIER
So, Wednesday January 22, throughout a long table on the top floor of the Hup in Alès, the partners are there. And we stick together. Once the budgetary mountain test was completed, Romain Le Roux, became the safety man thanks to the passing of an exam imposed by the international cycling union, an essential function long carried out by Patrick Herse (still in charge of the organization ), which detailed the quality of the teams entered including 10 world tour and 13 which will be lined up for the next Tour de France. “As a big name we find Lidl-trek with Mads Pedersen who regularly shone on the Star, Alpecin Deceunink with Jimmy Janssens (3rd on the Star in 2019), Arkea BB-Hotel with Kevin Vauquelin (great host of the Star who comes with Arnaud Demare, Soudal with Yves Lampaert and Paul Magnier, FDJ with Rémi Cavagna, former French time trial champion, Cofidis with Benjamin Thomas, recent Olympic track champion and recent winner of the Étoile, Ineos with Filipo Gana, former stage winner and Axel Laurence the Frenchman, Ag2r with Sam Bennett and Victor Lafay, Total Energie with the Gard Alexandre Delettre, Bora Red Bull who comes with Jordi Meeus, former winner of the Champs Elysées in 2023, the team flanders with Alex Colman, Lotto with Arnaud Delie, a great host of l'Étoile, the new French team Unibet, Uno-X with Magnus Cort Nielsen, Equipo with a great team of Spaniards, Wagner Bazin with Luca De meester, Cic with Ronan Auge and Joris Chaussinand, Van Rysel Roubaix with the return of Baptiste Planckaert, Nice metropolis with Girard Damien then Saint-Michel with Romain Cardis who sprints quickly…”
Missing are all the lieutenants working in the shadows to ensure the victory of the leader of course, but if this list is supplemented by the presence of Richard Carapaz, as he recently suggested on his networks, the Star will be upset even stronger. Then illuminating the faces of the two friends, Roland and Raymond, up there…
