John Degenkolb returned to racing after a period of training with a fine 2nd in today's first stage of the Paris-Nice after his team had dominated the race in the finale. Claiming to not yet be at 100%, the German was gracious in defeat and admitted that Nacer Bouhanni had simply been faster in the end.

At the end of the opening stage of Paris – Nice, John Degenkolb sprinted to second place, just outpaced to the line by Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ).

Team Giant-Shimnao took control of the bunch in the closing stages and kept the race together with just one focus – racing for a bunch sprint and getting Degenkolb into the best position possible for this. As the sprint opened up Degenkolb was in a good position but just didn’t quite have the speed to match Bouhanni.

Team Giant-Shimano coach, Christian Guiberteau said:

“It was a really nervous day out there today and the the guys rode a great race to keep out of trouble and avoid the crashes, as well as controlling the race towards the end for a bunch sprint.

“Throughout the stage the guys rode together and communicated well, and this was important to avoid the crashes, of which there were quite a few.

“There were a small details at the end which we could improve on and sometime it is the small details that make the difference between winning and coming second. But all in all it was a good start to Paris – Nice and there will be more opportunities to come.”

“I didn’t feel 100% today, it’s always hard getting back into race rhythm after a training period,” said Degenkolb on the bus after the race. “The bunch was very nervous but the pace wasn’t too hard so it was quite an easy stage but at the end Bouhanni was just faster than me.

“We got a few things wrong in the lead-out and maybe if that had been perfect I would have stood a better chance of winning but that’s racing. There’s still the next two days to go for it again, and the team is really motivated, everyone is in a good mood, the weather is great, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow already.”