The first stage of the Tirreno was a sprint, with Nacer Bouhanni finishing 18th in Sovicille.

The debrief

“Until the red flame, the whole Arkéa-Samsic team was well placed, but after that they found themselves locked in the ball. A big part of the sprinters managed to pass on the left side of the road, and the others, including our riders, couldn’t pass again once they were caught in the ball. The final part of the stage was also tortuous, on narrow roads and with the wind in the back on a road that went downhill from the first kilometre onwards, as soon as a sprinter wasn’t among the first five it was over.