There wasn't much to be pleased about for Sebastien Joly who was the FDJ sports director at the GP de la Somme. He saw most of his team being caught in a big crash 40 kms from the finish. Anthony Roux, seventh, was the only one to have escaped.

"We started with six riders. Johan Lebon is recovering but he is still tired. He abandoned in the feed zone," Joly explained. "The guys were very focused, involved in the race and had a desire to get a result in a race hardened by bad weather and wind. Then there was this crash caused by a rider who hit the front wheel of Arnold Jeannesson. They were riding at 50km/h. Four of our riders were involved.

"Arnaud Courteille and Marc Sarreau were not hurt, Yoann Offredo had a swollen ankle, and Arnold Jeannesson had hurt his face and was taken to hospital for treatment. He had a few stings in his upper lip and has a broken tooth and bandages on both hands and both knees. When I saw him, I thought his participation in the Giro is not possible. He still has to undergo x-rays. We will do that on Tuesday. It's a shame because after his difficult start to the season, he had a good feeling today."

Anthony Roux was a little behind his teammates and maneged to brake. He returned to the peloton which was split and even got backto the race leaders. He finished few seconds behind a trio that sprinted for the win.

"He is obviously the satisfaction of the day," Joly said. "Anthony goes well, he is happy with his feelings and he will be good this week in the Four Days of Dunkirk. I hope Yoann Offredo can do this event as originally planned."