The Basque Country lived up to its reputation.  Narrow roads, a hilly course, and lots of crashes, including one in the last 200 meters that involved many riders, assaulted the peloton.  Only the sun, which can be a rare sight in the Basque region at this time of year, thwarted expectations by accompanying the riders throughout the day. Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEDGE) was not a surprise, winning the stage just ahead of world champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx - Quick-Step), after a sprint involving around sixty riders.

IAM Cycling had a day full of contrasts.  Though present with the best on the final climb, Sébastien Reichenbach and Jonathan Fumeaux ended the stage a handful of seconds in arrears on the first group.  On the flip side, Jérôme Coppel has been suffering from flu-like symptoms this past week, and will have to find his good feelings again, little by little.

 
When assessing this first day of racing, Jérôme Coppel nevertheless is quietly reassuring and quite confident for the future. 

“The first days of this race are often complicated and difficult to manage,” Coppel, who comes from the Haute-Savoie in France, confirmed.  “You never really know where you stand.  We have a few riders who have been suffering from a slight touch of the flu, so the sensations were only moderately good.  We’ve also had to try to recover after such hard races like the Tour of Catalonia, among others.  

"But that said, we did ride well as a group.  We weren’t lacking too much in order to have three or four riders in that front group.  Sébastien Reichenbach and Jonathan Fumeaux finished just behind that first group, but what is certain is that Sébastien had the legs to be with that front group of leaders, and we need to remember that.  There are still five stages where we can do well. 

"Personally I felt better than last week, and I am finding the right sensations.  I have been dealing with a sort of flu these past days, and things were not going well at all.  I am feeling so much better that I am confident for the rest of the race; I hope to get better and better, and I hope to be fully recovered in time for the time trial on Saturday.”
 
For his part, Mario Chiesa, directeur sportif for the Swiss professional team, feels that there are lessons to be learned from this tricky day, but does not wish to dwell on the negative points.  The Italian DS knows that the key is to move forward.

“Let’s just say this is a day to forget. I think the riders worked well up until the final climb.  We already did a recon yesterday for today’s finale so that we would know how to be well positioned today, but things did not go according to plan.

"Jarlinson Pantano was not as good as hoped. He admitted that this was a bad day, to which he can occasionally be a victim from time to time.  Unfortunately, his bad day happened today. 

"Reichenbach hung in the first group, but then he lacked a little something to be able to remain with the best until the finish.  But there must be good things to come since all the riders have done their jobs and worked very hard to be here.  So, there is no need to worry; it will come.”