Nazon wins stage 3; Eeckhout leads Etoile des Bessèges

• Results

By VeloNews Interactive wire services, Copyright 2001 AFP

French rider Damien Nazon of the Bonjour team won the third stage of the season-opening Etoile de Bessèges race on Friday but Belgium’s Nico Eeckhout kept the leader’s jersey he has held from the start. Nazon leapt into second place overall after winning the 140km stage from Nimes to Ales in southern France. Jan Svorada of the Czech Republic was second in Friday’s stage and lies third overall. The stage was marked by a number of falls, before a group of 22 riders broke away 10km from Ales. Denmark’s Nicolay Larsen led in the closing kilometers before falling, allowing Nazon to pedal to victory. The race is close, with just 44 seconds separating Eeckhout from 10th-placed Jurgen Van De Walle in the overall standings.

Results

Stage 3

1. Damien Nazon (F), 140km in 3:19:15.
2. Jan Svorada (Cz)
3. Nico Eeckhout (B)
4. Raphael Jeune (F)
5. Laurent Brochard (F)
6. Ludovic Auger (F)
7. Christophe Moreau (F)
8. Koen Beeckman (B)
9. Jurgen Van De Walle (B)
10. Benoit Poilvet (F)

General classification

1. Nico Eeckhout (B), 10:14:34.
2. Damien Nazon (F), at 0:31.
3. Jan Svorada (Cz), at 0:38.
4. Raphael Jeune (F), at 0:39.
5. Benoit Poilevet (F), at 0:41.
6. Koen Beeckman (B), at 0:42.
7. Laurent Brochard (F), at 0:44.
8. Ludovic Auger (F), at 0:44.
9. Christophe Moreau (F), s.t.
10. Jurgen Van De Walle (B), s.t.