Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-Quick Step) won the prologue of Paris-Nice, less than a second ahead of Rohan Dennis (BMC). Arnaud Démare and Laurent Pichon were the two best riders of the FDJ team.

"There are significant differences," says manager Marc Madiot. "For example, Wiggins and Porte (Team Sky) are 15 seconds behind the winner. Laurent Pichon is 14 seconds Wbehind iggo and it is a very good performance. Laurent confirms what we already knew. He is in good condition."

Arnaud Demare was also satisfied after an encouraging start. Despite a chain problem, he did a good time and was happy.

"I feel good," he says. "I am happy with my time and my feelings. The season has not been easy. In Qatar and Oman there were special conditions but I already noticed an improvement last week in Het Nieuwsblad before I punctured. The first three stages are important to me but I think I can give my team a start to Paris-Nice similar to previous editions when Nacer (Bouhanni) won the sprint."

"There are strong rivals but I'm motivated, as are my teammates. My train has been reinforced with Sébastien Chavanel. He was there at the end of last season in the Circuit Franco-Belge and it was good."

Arnaud Démare confirms that Paris-Nice is indeed the first major objective of the FDJ team.