Gallery: Continental squads battle with WorldTour teams in the Étoile de Bessèges

The second day of racing in southeast France saw many smiles despite wet roads and some lingering nervousness in the peloton.

Under partially cloudy and sometimes rainy skies, the Étoile de Bessèges stage 2 rolled through the Gard department in southeast France.

EF Education-Nippo rider Michael Valgren did not start after a crash yesterday, and the second stage saw a few more riders take a tumble, including Edvald Boasson Hagen of Total Direct Énergie and Danny Van Poppel of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert.

But still, there were many smiles as racing continued.

At the end of the day, Timothy Dupont from the smaller Bingoal-Wallonie Bruxelles squad bested WorldTour sprinters, while Christophe Laporte of Cofidis continued to lead the overall.