Davide Rebellin claimed 14th place on stage 1 of Tour Cycliste International du Haut Var. The Italian finished in the main group which lost 7 seconds to the solo winner.

"It was a hard stage not only due to the profile but also the weather. It was rainy and cold. But I felt good. I was not able to take full advantage of my skills because the final climb leading to the finish line was not as steep as I would like to," Davide Rebellin said afterwards. 

Right after kilometer zero, the breakaway of the day began to form. 5 riders were involved in that move – Roy Curvers (Giant-Alpecin), Loïc Chetout (Cofidis), Ben Gastauer (AG2R La Mondiale), Ignatas Konovalovas (Team Marseille 13 KTM) and Thomas Vaubourzeix (Veranclassic – Ekoï). They established a solid, 4-minute lead and maintained it throughout the first part of the race.

15km from the end the leading riders started to attack. The most powerful acceleration came from Gastauer who left the other escapees behind. He didn’t let the others to catch him and took the win. The main group arrived 7 seconds after the winner and Jonathan Hivert (Bretagne – Séché Environnement) took 2nd place. Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing) was 3rd. Rebellin came in in 14th and Marek Rutkiewicz was another “rider in orange” who arrived in the bunch (43rd).