Etoile de Besseges: Paul Magnier takes stage 1 sprint win

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The opening stage of the 2025 Étoile de Bessèges promised crosswinds and echelons but, in the end, the whole peloton hurtled into the final kick to the line in Bellegarde with Paul Magnier of Soudal-QuickStep out-sprinting Jordi Meeus of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Marijn van den Berg of EF Education-EasyPost to victory.

Starting in Bellegarde, the race took on three loops around the town with two category three climbs along the way, before eventually finishing up the 600 metre final kicker of the Cote de la Tour after 159km of racing.