Anton Vorobyev is back. After some difficult months with injuries, he fought his way back by finishing tenth in the 7,8 kilometer prologue of the 75th Tour de l’Eurométropole. Vorobyev finished in 11.44, 21 seconds behind the French winner Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale). Gougeard won ahead of Martijn Keizer (Lotto NL-Jumbo) and Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling), 3 and 12 seconds behind, respectively.

"It was nice to see again a good Anton Vorobyev with a fighting spirit. Anton had some hard months with back problems and a broken rib. It is nice to see that he still finds the motivation to perform in the end of season races. I am sure this stage race will give him the power to start his 2016 season. Anton is still a big talent. We will hear from him more in the future," said team director Torsten Schmidt.

The last 2 kilometers of the 7,8 kilometer time trial from Obigies to Mont Saint-Aubert were quite demanding with the Goudinière climb and the uphill finish on Mont Saint-Aubert.

Tomorrow’s stage 1 goes, on Belgian territory, from La Louvière to Chièvres over 167,1 kilometers.