After a disappointing 4 Days of Dunkirk, Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) finally returned to his winning ways when he came out on top in the first stage of the Tour de Picardie. Having well-supported by his hard-working team all day, he held off Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal) and Sondre Holst Enger (IAM) in the expected bunch kick and also took the overall lead.

We have gathered a few reactions.

Victorious Nacer Bouhanni: I am only at 70%

"I had a break of more than a month,” Nacer Bouhanni told Directvelo. “My comeback at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque was difficult, I was only at 70%. I needed this break to be 100% for the Tour. I am not in great shape but I am optimistic for the future. I did the intermediate sprint during the stage because I thought ‘if I am in a good position, I will go for the bonus seconds’. There were three seconds to take, it is always a bonus. The goal is now to keep the jersey until the end and that goes through a second stage win tomorrow. 

"It was a little unorganized sprint, you had to be in the right wheel. With this headwind, I waited until Debusschere launched the sprint and I went at 200m to go. A sprinter, even if he is not 100%, can always win. For a sprinter, it is important to score.”
 

Jens Debusschere: Bouhanni was faster than me

"I'm back after my crash at Gent-Wevelgem,” Jens Debusschere told Directvelo. “I feel good. The team worked well for me, but it was perfect for Bouhanni in my wheel in the finish sprint. It was difficult. I was on his wheel in the intermediate sprint but I failed to pass him in time. He was faster than me. I tried another tactic at the finish, staying in front of him. You never know what can happen in a sprint, he could very well be boxed in and unable to move. Tomorrow, we'll see with the team whether Kris [Boeckmans] or I will be protected for the sprint. There are still two chances to win a stage.”

Strong Sondre Holst Enger confirms form with third place in Picardie

Sondre Holst Enger takes another podium, third place this time. 

“After the Tour of Croatia, I did not slack off on my training, as a lot of cyclists do this time of year,” the young Norwegian rider explained.  “On the contrary, I was focused on my efforts.  My hard work, and the hard work of the team means that I was able to get onto the third step of the podium today.  However, I remain confident that I can get an even better result during this race.  Tomorrow’s stage is a bit more rugged than today’s stage, but that shouldn’t be a problem for me, just the opposite.  I like to ride on challenging terrain.”

Clément Chevrier spent 90km at the front of the race.  The rider from the Picardy region revisited many of his training routes, and took advantage of his local knowledge by slipping into the day’s break.

Sports director Eddy Seigneur said:

“The goals that we set in the briefing this morning before the stage were to get into the break and then meaningfully participate in the sprint.  Those instructions were successfully followed.  Clément Chevrier snuck to the front of the race, along with five other riders.  Unfortunately he was with guys who had a faster kick than him, so his attempts to contest the intermediate sprints were not successful. 

”Then in the pack, we reanimated the pace.  After all, we came to Picardy to influence the race.  With 60km to go to the finish, IAM Cycling managed to create a dangerous echelon.  The goal was to tire out our opponents.  In the end, all the riders gave their best to help Sondre Holst Enger to produce his strongest effort.  And our reward was third place.”

Kenny Dehaes after fourth place in Picardie: The podium was possible

Kenny Dehaes (Wanty) was fourth.

"It was a difficult day because of the weather,” he said. “The team put me in a good position. I was on Bouhanni's wheel. There was a huge headwind. When I started my sprint, the road curved slightly to the left and I was on the other side of the road. I think I lost the sprint at that moment. Winning was not possible today but I think I had the power to take the third place. Tomorrow I'll have another chance to win a stage."

Andrea Guardini stays optimistic despite missing out in first Picardie sprint

“It was a good final, maybe I just didn’t evaluate the direction of the wind correctly and in the sprint I was a little too exposed from the right side,” explained Andrea Guardini after taking 5th.

“The fifth position is not a great result for me but I look at the positives and it means that I had good legs to stay at the front and fight for the win. The team did a great work during the stage and I’m confident for the next stages of this race because I’ve seen that everyone in Team Astana are in a good shape,” concluded the Italian sprinter of the Kazakh Team.

Ag2r attacker targets bonus seconds in Picardie

Quentin Jauregui (Ag2r) won the first intermediate sprint and took the mountains jersey.

"I went away because the bonus seconds are very important in the Tour de Picardie, and everyone wants them. We only got away after 60-70 kilometers. I won the sprint but it's a shame that the peloton did not give us more time to do the second sprint. As soon as we got a wind 3/4 in the back, the peloton hit the gas. When I was caught, I made sure not to miss any splits,” he told Directvelo.

“I still have pain in the elbow, following my crash at 4 Jours de Dunkerque but it does not handicap me more than that. I have a little sore legs but since I managed to finish the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, I could do the Tour de Picardie.

”I will try to escape in the last two days to take time in the intermediate sprints to keep my place overall. With my 59kg, I can not to anything in the bunch sprints. A breakaway will also allow me to defend the mountains jersey.”