Yesterday French champion, Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ), was on his bike for the first time following his violent face-against-the-asphalt crash on Tuesday at the Paris-Nice.

He is still in pain, though, and will be forced to forfeit next week’s Milano – San Remo. According to Tuttobiciweb.it Bouhanni stated as much on his Facebook site yesterday.

“Today I rode for 2 hours at an average pace of 25 km/h,” Bouhanni wrote according to Tuttobiciweb.it, “but it was really painful. Accordingly I will be forced to give up on my participation in Milano – San Remo. It’s a pity for that race was my first primary objective of the season.”