Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ.fr) produced a powerful final sprint to take the spoils as a number of crashes led to a chaotic opening day of Paris-Nice.
The former French national champion was himself a crash victim, but was able to regain contact with the main bunch well before the finish, unlike overall contenders Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), Simon Gerrans (Orica-Greenedge), and Andy Schleck (Trek Factory Racing) who all lost time.
It appeared that the so-called Race to the Sun had already reached its destination as clear skies greeted the riders for the 162.5km stage around the small town of Mantes-la-Jolie to the west of Paris. The peloton certainly seemed of a sunny disposition as it let Christophe Laborie (Bretagne-Séché Environnement) escape alone, building up a lead of over ten minutes.
Back in the bunch the crashes were starting. After crashing out last year while wearing the yellow jersey, Bouhanni was one of the first to go down, bloodying his knee in the process. This time he was able to continue, but the same could not be said of Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing) who was forced to abandon with "stomach issues".
With Laborie caught at 50km the pace went up, and a combination of small roads and strong winds caused nerves in the bunch. And with 22km remaining the inevitable happened: a big crash, splitting the field in two, and ending the hopes of a number of GC contenders.
As Giant-Shimano, Belkin, and Omega Pharma-Quickstep drove the pace at the front, there was no chance to regain contact, and the chasers would eventually trail in 1:10 down on the main group.
Into the final kilometre and it was Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) who appeared to be in the best position, with the Belgian's team setting the pace on the front. But then on the left of the pack appeared Bouhanni, using his fighter's instinct to muscle Degenkolb off Meersman's wheel.
However the German was not done yet, and was the first to launch his sprint with 175 metres to go, working his way onto the shoulder of Bouhanni. But there he would stay, as the home favourite ignited the burners to take the first stage of Paris-Nice and with it the yellow jersey.
Stage 1 Result: Mantes-la-Jolie - Mantes-la-Jolie, 162.5km
1. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ.fr 3:53:11
2. John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Shimano
3. Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
4. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar
5. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp
6. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Europcar)
7. Luca Wackermann (Ita) Lampre-Merida
8. Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
9. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale
10. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana
General Classification after Stage 1
1. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ.fr 3:35:01
2. Gianni Meersman (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:01
3. John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Shimano 0:00:04
4. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing 0:00:08
5. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:09
6. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
7. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar 0:00:10
8. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp
9. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Europcar
10. Luca Wackermann (Ita) Lampre-Merida
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