We just finished the 2nd stage of the Etoile de Bessèges.Yesterday the course was flat which means it was pretty fast.  There were some small attacks but the race was controlled by the sprinter teams.  I finished 61st in the pack.  Our teammate, sprinter Denis Flahaut finished 4th on his spare bike.Today was not such a flat stage,  we had a total of 1700 vertical meters and there was a lot of wind.  The stage started very fast and….. stayed very fast untill the finish.  150 km, 1700 vertical meters and an average of… 43,5 km/h.  At the finish there was a group of 98 riders still together.  I finished 51st, at 3 km from the finish there was a crash which I was just able to avoid.  Because of that crash I lost my hope on a good finish.  At the moment I am very happy about my fitness.  Tomorow is the hardest of the 5 stages, 2 first category and 2 second category climbs, the stage is 133km.I’ll keep you posted!Filip