A nervous hilly opener in France

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl returned at the start of the Circuit de la Sarthe for the first time since 2003, the team’s maiden year in the peloton, with a roster built around Mark Cavendish, a winner of three races already this season, including Milano-Torino, the oldest event in the world.
Held in and around Mamers, where the peloton had to face a 16km circuit six times, the stage got off to a furious start, several riders bursting away from the pack as they attempted to form a breakaway. After numerous skirmishes, a small group formed, but as the gap wasn’t a big one, they were joined by seven riders from the peloton with more than 70 kilometers to go, the new members helping the breakaway take their advantage out to two minutes.
Despite some serious chasing, the attackers made it and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) took the victory, outsprinting his companions in the last 200 meters. Mark Cavendish was the first Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider to come home, around 50 seconds down on the winner.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Mads Pedersen Trek - Segafredo |
4:32:04 |
2 |
Benoît Cosnefroy AG2R Citroën Team |
0:00 |
3 |
Axel Zingle Cofidis |
0:00 |
4 |
Kévin Vauquelin Team Arkéa Samsic |
0:00 |
5 |
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers |
0:00 |
6 |
Luke Plapp INEOS Grenadiers |
0:00 |
7 |
Thibaut Pinot Groupama - FDJ |
0:00 |
8 |
Sean Quinn EF Education-EasyPost |
0:05 |
9 |
Alexis Gougeard |
0:07 |
10 |
Anthony Perez Cofidis |
0:21 |
21 |
Mark Cavendish
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:49 |
70 |
Tim Declercq
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
0:49 |
77 |
Stan Van Tricht
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:09 |
89 |
Yves Lampaert
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
5:34 |
91 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
5:34 |
1 |
Mads Pedersen Trek - Segafredo |
4:31:51 |
2 |
Benoît Cosnefroy AG2R Citroën Team |
0:07 |
3 |
Axel Zingle Cofidis |
0:07 |
4 |
Luke Plapp INEOS Grenadiers |
0:12 |
5 |
Kévin Vauquelin Team Arkéa Samsic |
0:13 |
6 |
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers |
0:13 |
7 |
Thibaut Pinot Groupama - FDJ |
0:13 |
8 |
Sean Quinn EF Education-EasyPost |
0:14 |
9 |
Alexis Gougeard |
0:17 |
10 |
Alexander Kamp Trek - Segafredo |
0:29 |
21 |
Mark Cavendish
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:02 |
70 |
Tim Declercq
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:02 |
77 |
Stan Van Tricht
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:22 |
89 |
Yves Lampaert
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
5:47 |
91 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
5:47 |
1 |
Mads Pedersen Trek - Segafredo |
30 pt |
2 |
Benoît Cosnefroy AG2R Citroën Team |
20 pt |
3 |
Axel Zingle Cofidis |
19 pt |
4 |
Sean Quinn EF Education-EasyPost |
14 pt |
5 |
Kévin Vauquelin Team Arkéa Samsic |
14 pt |
6 |
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers |
12 pt |
7 |
Luke Plapp INEOS Grenadiers |
11 pt |
8 |
Alexis Gougeard |
11 pt |
9 |
Thibaut Pinot Groupama - FDJ |
9 pt |
10 |
Alexander Kamp Trek - Segafredo |
8 pt |
1 |
Maël Guégan Team U Nantes Atlantique |
30 pt |
2 |
Alexis Gougeard |
24 pt |
3 |
Sean Quinn EF Education-EasyPost |
16 pt |
4 |
Alexander Kamp Trek - Segafredo |
14 pt |
5 |
Stan Van Tricht
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
3 pt |
6 |
Cameron Wurf INEOS Grenadiers |
3 pt |
7 |
Axel Zingle Cofidis |
2 pt |
8 |
Benoît Cosnefroy AG2R Citroën Team |
1 pt |
1 |
Luke Plapp INEOS Grenadiers |
4:32:03 |
2 |
Kévin Vauquelin Team Arkéa Samsic |
0:01 |
3 |
Sean Quinn EF Education-EasyPost |
0:02 |
4 |
Olav Kooij Jumbo-Visma |
0:22 |
5 |
Marijn van den Berg EF Education-EasyPost |
0:50 |
6 |
Milan Fretin Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise |
0:50 |
7 |
Gilles De Wilde Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise |
0:50 |
8 |
Valentin Tabellion Go Sport - Roubaix Lille Métropole |
0:50 |
9 |
Filippo Baroncini Trek - Segafredo |
0:50 |
10 |
Antoine Raugel AG2R Citroën Team |
0:50 |
20 |
Stan Van Tricht
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team |
1:10 |
1 | INEOS Grenadiers | 13:37:01 |
2 | Cofidis | 0:21 |
3 | Trek - Segafredo | 0:21 |
4 | Team Arkéa Samsic | 0:21 |
5 | AG2R Citroën Team | 0:49 |
6 | EF Education-EasyPost | 0:54 |
7 | Array | 0:56 |
8 | Groupama - FDJ | 1:05 |
9 | TotalEnergies | 1:10 |
10 | Alpecin-Fenix | 1:10 |