Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) won the closing time trial of the Etoile de Besseges. Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) finished second, 13 seconds down, while Pierre Latour (AG2R) took third place at 17 seconds from the winner.
“Of course I am really satisfied with this victory, but I am also disappointed that I finished second again on GC,” Gallopin said. “I know the course of the time trial really well. I already finished fourth and second on this course. Today, I aimed for the stage win and I wanted to take the overall victory as well. Calmejane was really strong though, he already proved that when he won the stage on Friday.
“I went full gas today and don’t need to have any regrets. I am happy that I already got my first victory of the season. My performance is very reassuring. Next weekend I’ll race in Murcia and Almeria and then I go to the Volta ao Algarve, where I got sixth overall last year. This is a nice way to start the season and I’d like to thank the teammates for their support.”
Calmejane limited the damage and confirmed the final victory with a five-second advantage over Gallopin.
Etoile de Besseges 2017 – stage 5 results (Alès ITT):
| 1 | Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) | 0:17:05 |
| 2 | Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) | +13” |
| 3 | Pierre Roger Latour (AG2R) | +17” |
| 4 | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) | +20” |
| 5 | Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) | +22” |
| 6 | Olivier Pardini (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect) | +38” |
| 7 | Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) | +41” |
| 8 | Kevyn Ista (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect) | +51” |
| 9 | Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) | ,, |
| 10 | Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) | +52” |
General classification after stage 5:
| 1 | Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) | 14:42:51 |
| 2 | Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) | +05” |
| 3 | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) | +24” |
| 4 | Pierre Roger Latour (AG2R) | +29” |
| 5 | Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) | +31” |
| 6 | Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) | +53” |
| 7 | Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) | +59” |
| 8 | Maxime Vantomme (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect) | +1’18” |
| 9 | Reto Hollenstein (Katusha-Alpecin) | +1’33” |
| 10 | Romain Hardy (Fortuneo – Vital Concept) | +2’11” |
