Today’s 178 kilometer long first stage of Four days at Dunkerque between Dunkerque and Orchies was dominated by harsh wind conditions and the several cobblestone sections didn’t make the first stage any easier. CULT Energy Pro Cycling’s youngest rider finished 10th.

A breakaway trio stole the attention at the beginning of the day but already 60 kilometers from the finish town of Orchies, the escapees were swept up and a new trio managed to create a 30 second gap to the field where Europcar took control.

However, the chase was so intense that the peloton shattered and a chase group soon made the junction to the front trio. Meanwhile, FDJ took over the pace-making in the pack, which was now reduced to a rather small group where CULT Energy Pro Cycling’s Mads Pedersen was preserving as much energy as possible.

On the final cobblestone section, the front group exploded as the chasers were just about to make contact but three riders made it to the finish line where Bryan Coquard (Europcar) took the stage win and the overall lead. A few seconds later, CULT Energy Pro Cycling’s Mads Pedersen sprinted across the finish line in 10th place.

DS Michael Skelde was happy with the effort from his 19 year-old rider:

“It was very encouraging to see our youngest rider do such an intelligently strong and powerful effort in a very tough race like this. The peloton completely blew apart in the crosswind and on the cobbles but Mads managed to be in the right place at the right time throughout the stage. We’re doing the race one stage at a time so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. Maybe a new CULT rider will emerge on the front of the race."

Mads Pedersen adds:

“It was a demanding stage from start to finish. However, when I was in the chase group during the finale I was only concerned about saving as much energy as possible in the crosswind. I felt good on the cobbles but remained behind the train of FDJ riders. We had eye contact with the front all the time and in the end, it was only a matter of a few seconds. I’m happy about the result and especially about being in the finale."