Kris Boeckmans has won the first stage of the Tour de Picardie. Teammate Jasper De Buyst was second. The stage from Moÿ-de-l’Aisne to Tergnier was about 162 kilometres long and finished with three laps of twenty kilometres. In the last lap five early escapees were caught. The stage ended with a sprint, won by Kris Boeckmans. This was his fourth victory of the season. The Lotto Soudal rider is the first GC leader in this three-day stage race.

“Twelve kilometres before the finish we came to the front with the team," Boecjmans said. "With four kilometres to go the road got narrower, that was a dangerous point. We lost each other for a moment, but we found one another again. There were a lot of turns in the last two kilometres. Jasper and I were first to get out of the last turn at 450 metres, we couldn’t doubt anymore. Behind us there was a crash.

"The team's plan worked well and I'm very happy to win this stage. The final was very tactical, someone hit my wheel and crashed. We were two ahead and we could take first and second. This is my fourth win of the season, the last was in March in Nokere (Nokere Koerse 1.1, ed). 
 

"Now we have the leader’s jersey we’ll defend it. I expect support from the French teams like FDJ and Europcar who have a sprinter. We’ll definitely aim for another stage win the next two days.”