Nacer Bouhanni continued his special relationship with the Paris-Nice when he won today's opening stage of the race. Having done so 12 months ago, he crashed out the following day but today it was the opposite as he came back from a crash to take the win. However, pain in his left knee makes him worried for tomorrow's sprint stage.

 

Last year Nacer Bouhanni realized a dream when he won the first stage of the Paris-Nice while wearing the jersey of French champion to not only take his first WorldTour victory but also the yellow jersey. Today he repeated that effort when he beat John Degenkob and Gianni Meersman on the first day of the French race.

 

It wasn't an easy day for Bouhanni though. A crash early in the stage had left him with a bruised knee and he spent a big part of the day near the medical car to receive treatment.

 

Nonetheless, he still felt good enough to do the sprint and he easily held off Degenkolb in the final dash to the line.

 

"This is an incredible day with a crash that bruised my left knee heavily," he said. "Each small stimulus hurt a lot. My teammates did a great job, they lifted my morale and told me I was going to win. In the following hour it hurt a lot, it ached in the knee and I went to see the doctor two or three times. They gave me a tablet. 

 

"It reminded me of the French championship two seasons ago when I crashed and still won it. I told myself I would win today in spite of the crash and I made it. It's unbelievable.

 

"I finally told Sebastien Chavanel that I would win and that I felt good. In the finale I didn't think about the pain anymore, I only thought about the sprint. I had a lot of adrenaline. 300m from the line I was shoulder to shoulder with Degenkolb. I kept my position and this was where I won the sprint. I took the lead with 200m to go and could lift my arms. I am really happy.

 

"Arnold [Jeannesson] and Arthur [Vichot] did a great job to put me in a good position. All day it's been very nervous. We always had to fight for positon but I knew that my condition was good. I did not win in the Tour of Oman or Le Samyn but I prepared for Paris-Nice and Milan-Sanremo and I always said that..

 

"Last year I won the first stage and crashed the next day. This time I crashed and won. Paris-Nice and me is already a long story!"

 

There was a slight source for concern though.

 

"Honestly, I have a bad knee after I have stepped off the bike and it worries me a little but I will hang on."

 

The win was the big thing for FDJ but the team was also happy to see Arnold Jeannesson and Arthur Vichot keep their GC options alive when a crash split the peloton in the finale.

 

"From our viewpoint, the race could not have started better, with Nacer's win and the presence of our two leaders in the first peloton," sports director Thierry Bricaud said.

 

However, he was slightly worried about Geoffrey Soupe who suffers from a stomach virus and finished the stage more than 19 minutes behind his winning teammate.

 

You can read our preview of tomorrow's stage here and follow it on CyclingQuotes.com/live from 14.25 CET.