French champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) got a his first ever Giro campaign off to a solid start with a third place in yesterday's sprint finish in Naples. Despite being beating at the line the Frenchman was happy with his result as he expected winner Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) to be unbeatable in a head-to-head battle.

French champion Nacer Bouhanni made his grand tour debut in last year's Vuelta a Espana and he got very close to a stage win already in his first appearance as he took one 2nd and two 4th places in sprint finishes in the Spanish three-week race. This year he participates in the Giro d'Italia for the first time with the firm hope of taking the win that eluded him last year.

He got his first chance already on the first day of racing when he managed to avoid the big crash with 2km to go and was one of only 10 riders left to battle it out for the win. Having fought hard with Adam Blythe (BMC) for the wheel of eventual winner Mark Cavendish he ended up third behind the Manxman and Elia Viviani (Cannondale).

Despite his near-miss Bouhanni did never to be able to challenge Cavendish in a flat sprint and so he was happy with the result.

"I am pleased with my result," he said. "Anyway Cavendish was unbeatable, I am in the right place."

Bouhanni's sprint was disrupted somewhat as his final lead-out man Murilo Fischer was one of the riders to come down in the big crash in the final. Earlier in the race Laurent Pichon got his debut grand tour off to a terrible start as he hit the hard ground and struggled to keep in contact with the peloton for the rest of the day.

"Dominique Rollin (it was Murilo Fischer, ed.)  who was still in contact with Nacer, hit the ground in the crash with 2km to go as he was taken down by the Italian  Chicchi  (Vini  Fantini -Selle Italia)," sports director Martial Gayant explained. "Johan Le Bon also fell without consequences.. However, it was a bad start for Laurent Pichon who debuts in a grand tour. He finished the stage with great courage but was accompanied to the hospital to get his chin sewn up and with  the  concern of a tooth in poor condition. "

Despite the numerous falls Gayant was happy to see Bouhanni get the team off to a good start and he is confident ahead of today's team time trial in which the team hopes to limit the losses of GC captain Arnold Jeannesson.

"We started the Giro like we did in 2012," he said. "A year ago, Geoffrey Soupe finished third in the first stage. On Sunday we will start a quite hilly team time trial on the island of Ischia near Naples. I hope Laurent Pichon will be able to follow the train."

Starting at 15.30 you can follow the team time trial in its entirety on CyclingQuotes.com/live.