Lilian Calmejane gave Direct Energie its first win of the 2017 season in the Etoile de Besseges, after a solo attack in the third stage.
Calmejane was six seconds faster than his nearest chaser, Katusha-Alpecin rider Mads Wurtz Schmidt. Delko Marseille Provence-KTM’s Mauro Finetto beat Samuel Dumoulin and Nils Politt in a group sprint to take third place.
As a result of today’s win, Lilian Calmejane also moves into first place in the general classification.
Etoile de Besseges 2017 – stage 3 results (Bessèges – Bessèges):
| 1 | Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) | 3:48:07 |
| 2 | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) | +07” |
| 3 | Mauro Finetto (Delko Marseille Provence KTM) | +09” |
| 4 | Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R) | ,, |
| 5 | Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 6 | Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) | ,, |
| 7 | Romain Hardy (Fortuneo – Vital Concept) | ,, |
| 8 | Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) | ,, |
| 9 | Frederik Backaert (Wanty – Groupe Gobert) | ,, |
| 10 | Reto Hollenstein (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
General classification after stage 3:
| 1 | Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) | 10:49:09 |
| 2 | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha-Alpecin) | +17” |
| 3 | Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) | +18” |
| 4 | Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) | +22” |
| 5 | Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) | +25” |
| 6 | Pierre Roger Latour (AG2R) | ,, |
| 7 | Reto Hollenstein (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 8 | Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 9 | Romain Hardy (Fortuneo – Vital Concept) | ,, |
| 10 | Maxime Vantomme (WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect) | +33” |
