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Pro Teams withdraw from Étoile de Bessèges after cars invade course

Several cycling teams left the Étoile de Bessèges Stage 2 last Thursday because of cars driving on the course in southern France.

Television footage showed the cyclists racing into oncoming traffic, bunching up into one lane of the road to avoid the line of trucks and cars. In another incident, a carwhich had accidentally turned onto the course was forced to reverse in the face of the oncoming peloton. Several riders crashed in the subsequent confusion.

VIDEO: 2025 Étoile de Bessèges Stage 2 Crash

The incident forced 25-year-old Belgian rider Maxim Van Gils to abandon the race after he crashed and needed to go to hospital.

In a statement, Ineos said the safety of their riders and staff "is of paramount importance". Lidl-Trek, EF Education-EasyPost, Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe and Soudal Quick-Step also withdrew from stage three because of safety concerns.

Soudal-QuickStep said it was "unacceptable" that unauthorised motor vehicles were allowed on the course.

Then, on the third stage of the race held in south-eastern France on Friday, cyclists saw another vehicle on a roundabout they were approaching. They stopped the race in protest and to discuss their safety concerns with race organizers.

VIDEO: 2025 Étoile de Bessèges Stage 1 Chaos

Belgian rider Thomas de Gendt, who retired last year after 16 years as a professional, posted on Social Media "Maybe now the organisers and UCI will start to listen. Otherwise we just stay monkeys in a circus."

Governing body the UCI later issued a statement saying it was investigating and would act, "Measures are being taken to avoid a repetition of the problems that occurred on these stages," it said, "The UCI emphasises that it takes the matter of rider security extremely seriously."

Race organisers said they could not afford to fully close roads on the route but were doing what they could to protect riders.

The stage continued even though it saw the race stopped with more protests.

VIDEO: 2025 Étoile de Bessèges Stage 3