Today Matteo Trentin returned to competition after a highly successful Tour de France and the Italian played a prominent role in the race. Having been on the attack in the finale, he took over the sprinting job from Tom Boonen and finished 8th in the bunch sprint.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Matteo Trentin kept himself out of trouble in a final few kilometers of crashes, shuffling of position near the front, and an overall lack of leadout organization within the peloton to finish 8th in the 181.9km Eneco Tour Stage 1 on Monday.

An attack by Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Shimano) attempted to take advantage of the chaos that was due to nervous racing and some technical sections. He attacked late in the race, but was caught 50 meters before the line.

Andrea Guardini (Astana) won the stage. Yohann Gene (Team Europcar) was 2nd, and Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Merida) was 3rd.

Trentin was also part of a small front group that was eventually brought back,  as were the last riders of the original breakaway, with 17 km left to race. The peloton temporarily split earlier in the race due to crosswinds, and the high pace shed many riders off the back of the peloton well before the final kilometers.

OPQS looks next to 177.4km Stage 2, which should favor another bunch sprint.

"It was nice coming back two weeks after the Tour," Trentin said. "The condition is still good. I have to maybe do some more race efforts, as my training between competition was a bit easier due to the difficulty of the Tour. I just kept going for a few hours a day to come back here and still be in decent shape.

"My legs were actually really good today. I was 8th, which I am satisfied with. It was a little bit hectic, this stage. The leadouts weren't there in the final, so a lot the riders decided they would try to be sprinters. But, we survived and 8th is still good for the morale.

"As for tomorrow, the circuit is something like today for the last 5 kilometers. I think it will be fun to watch on TV, but maybe a bit chaotic for the peloton. Hopefully it doesn't rain, but we'll do our best for a good result tomorrow with whatever conditions are present."