Christophe Laporte took stage one and the overall lead of the Étoile de Bessèges ahead of French rival, Nacer Bouhanni with Mads Pedersen taking third in a rapid finale that saw a large crash take several riders out of the challenge for the win.
Laporte (Cofidis) followed a late attack by Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic), pulling away from the rest of the peloton who could do nothing to pull back the French sprinters.
Results
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